The Alaska state champions dodged bullet after bullet Thursday morning to win their first game at the American Legion Northwest Region baseball tournament in Medford, Ore.
South survived scares in each of the final three innings to claim a 5-4 victory over Cheyenne, the state champs from Wyoming.
South advances to a winner's bracket game today at 3 p.m. ADT against Billings, Mont.
Down just a run, Cheyenne left runners in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. In the ninth, it stranded the potential tying run at third base when Cheyenne's Matthew Pullos grounded out.
Game over.
The outcome was a rare first-round victory for an Alaska team at the regional tournament. In 2003, East -- led by pitching ace Anton Maxwell -- won its first game but didn't win after that and failed to advance out of pool play. This year's eight-team tournament format is double elimination.
It's been a long time since an Alaska team has advanced to the semifinals, said Steve Nerland, president of the Alliance for American Legion Baseball.
The climate makes for a short season in Alaska, which usually arrives at the regional tournament having played far fewer games than anyone else. Wednesday's game was the 34th of the summer for South and the 66th for Cheyenne.
"It's impressive for any (Alaska) team to win a first-round game," Nerland said. "It's a big deal."
South jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Cheyenne's Jeff Schmitt walked Hayden Karnos with the bases loaded. The walk scored Eric Holland, who singled and advanced to third on a double by Chris Schierhorn.
Schierhorn pitched eight innings for the win, giving up 13 of Cheyenne's 14 hits but getting good support from his defense, which didn't commit an error and turned two double plays.
South scored twice in the fourth and twice in the fifth, with Alex Archuleta providing a double and a run in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth. The Wolverines led 5-3 after five and relied on defense the rest of the way.
In the seventh, Cheyenne put runners at first and second with one out, but was denied thanks to a double play.
In the eighth, it pushed one run across with a single and a one-out double. Cheyenne's second out came when South threw out a runner at third base who -- with first base empty -- tried to advance from second to third on a grounder to the shortstop. Another single gave the team runners at first and second but the inning ended with a groundout.
In the ninth, Trevor Allred relieved Schierhorn and gave up a leadoff single to Cheyenne's Jorden Mossey but didn't let another ball leave the infield. Mossey advanced to second and third on groundouts but was left there when Pullos grounded out.
South takes a 26-8 record into today's game against the Billings Scarlets, who improved to 46-14 with a 10-7 win over Corvallis, Ore.
American Legion Northwest Region 7
First round
South 100 220 000 -- 5 10 0
Cheyenne 001 020 010 -- 4 14 2
Schierhorn, Allred (9) and Holmes; Schmitt, Smith (5) and Pullos. WP -- Schierhorn. LP -- Schmitt.
2B -- South: Schierhorn, Archuleta, Reimer, Allred. Cheyenne: Lain 2.
Anchorage Daily News
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