Dimond High's quest to capture its first state trophy began Thursday evening with Cory Clevenger on the mound, and the sophomore did his job.
The right-hander pitched a complete-game, five-hitter and struck out seven to lead the Lynx to a 10-1 opening-round victory over Homer at Hermon Brothers Field.
"It started on the drive out here," said Clevenger (3-0), who used the hour-long drive from Anchorage to mentally prepare for one of the biggest starts of his career. "I was just thinking about getting the W."
The win put Dimond (10-3) one victory away from its first state title game. The Lynx face Ketchikan in today's 4:30 p.m. semifinal. The 7 p.m. semifinal will feature Sitka and the winner of Thursday's late game between Chugiak and Colony.
Clevenger took the mound in the bottom of the first inning with a 4-0 cushion as the Lynx roughed up Homer's Josh Gilbert from the start.
Dimond centerfielder Tynan Demoss roped a curveball into the corner for a leadoff triple and sparked a string of four straight hits.
"I usually don't like (curveballs)," Demoss said. "But I saw this one come out of his hand and just timed it right -- right on the sweet spot. It felt really good."
Dylan Lauwers followed with an RBI single and Clevenger doubled to set the table for cleanup hitter Colton Lauwers. Lauwers, who finished 3 for 3 with three RBIs, lined a two-run RBI single and Erik Cooper finished the scoring by driving in Lauwers.
Clevenger entered the game hitting .474 and Colton Lauwers came in hitting .514. Together they combined for six hits, five RBIs and five runs in a potent attack that buried Homer.
"It starts in the beginning of the lineup with Tynan," Clevenger said. "When he gets on, our offense goes to work."
Beyond sparking the first-inning rally, Demoss' leadoff three-bagger may have served a bigger purpose.
"Hopefully my hit was the momentum that'll eventually lead us into the state championship game," Demoss said.
Sitka 7, Lathrop 3
The Sitka Wolves scored seven runs on just three hits and got seven effective innings from starter Michael Svenson on Thursday to seize a first-round win.
The Malemutes (12-2) led 2-1 in the top half of the second inning, but lost the lead when their pitchers ran into trouble finding the strike zone. Starter Torgen Soderlund and reliever Kyle Olson combined for six walks and two hit batsmen.
Sophomore Michael Matz helped Sitka rally and enjoyed a 2-for-4 day to get the Wolves one step closer to winning their fourth state title in five seasons.
Svenson, a junior, struck out four, walked none and threw only 75 pitches.
The Wolves (10-6) face the winner of Thursday's late game between Colony and Chugiak.
Ketchikan 2, WV 1
Starting pitcher Chas Allen helped Ketchikan make program history, pitching seven strong innings to lead the Kings to their first state playoff victory.
Allen, a sophomore, held West Valley (11-3) to one run and had solid defense behind him. His offense helped, too, with a two-run rally in the top of the sixth sparked by Cody Hanas' single.
Hanas reached third on a stolen base and a balk, then scored on an error by the second baseman. Jesse Lindgren's single drove in the winning run.
Ketchikan (7-2), making its first state tournament appearance, faces Dimond in today's 4:30 p.m. semifinal.
ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
2009 State Baseball Championships
At Hermon Brothers Field, Palmer
Dimond 401 302 0 -- 10 11 1
Homer 001 000 0 -- 1 5 0
Dimond -- Clevenger and Olson. Homer -- Gilbert, Rowe (7) and Wolford. WP: Clevenger. LP: Gilbert. 2B -- Dimond: Clevenger. 3B -- Dimond: Demoss.
Lathrop 020 000 1 -- 3 5 5
Sitka 131 011 -- 7 3 0
Lathrop -- Soderlund, Olson (6) and Stephens. Sitka -- Svenson and Perkins. WP: Svenson. LP: Soderland.
Ketchikan 000 002 0 -- 2 7 0
West Valley 001 000 0 -- 1 7 2
Ketchikan -- Allen and Hanas. West Valley -- Howe and Clark. 2B -- Ketchikan: Hanas. WP: Allen. LP: Howe.
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