Alaska News

T-birds freshman corrals Mustangs

The East and Chugiak softball teams didn't have to wait long to renew their growing rivalry this season.

After facing each other in the Cook Inlet Conference title game the past two seasons, the Thunderbirds kicked off the new season with an 8-3 win over the Mustangs at Albrecht Fields on Thursday.

East freshman Sydney Smith made a strong pitching debut, getting a complete-game victory by striking out seven batters and walking none over six innings.

Senior catcher Allison Schoenborn said the addition of Smith to an already talented team -- East won the state title in 2009 and finished second in the state tournament last season -- is something she's excited about.

"The first time I caught her in practice, I couldn't stop smiling," she said.

With Smith shutting Chugiak down, Schoenborn was putting runs on the board for East. She notched four hits and four runs in four trips to the plate.

Schoenborn led off the game with a double to left field and scored on a passed to ball to put East up 1-0. She hit her second of two doubles in the third inning and gave the T-Birds a 2-0 lead when she scored from second on an Elise Mitchell single.

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With the T-birds leading 2-1 in the fourth, Schoenborn sparked East again, igniting a three-run, two-out rally with a single, followed by a steal of second base.

Schoenborn said she puts a lot of pressure on herself hitting in the lead-off spot and was thrilled to start the season off so well, especially against Chugiak.

"There's always gonna be that tension in this rivalry," she said.

Chugiak beat East in the CIC title game last season but was eliminated from the state tournament by the T-birds. East coach Paul Schoenborn said the rivalry is still young, because until about five years ago, East had never beaten Chugiak, he said.

He thinks the T-birds have a chance to be much better this year, in part because Smith isn't the only impressive freshman pitcher added to the team's arsenal. Freshman Kaela Emerson, who played shortstop Thursday, is also a pitcher, and the East coach said the best thing about the two freshmen is how much they want to pitch.

"Last year we had girls that didn't want to pitch, but had to," he said.

Chugiak coach Jim Huber said he fully expects to face Smith again the next time the Mustangs play East, because the Mustangs didn't show that they could handle her -- at least not until the final inning.

Regulation softball games last seven innings or 90 minutes, whichever comes first. East and Chugiak hit the time limit in the top of the sixth, while East was extending its lead to 8-1.

Chugiak started the bottom of the sixth inning with two scorching hits off Smith. Brooke Dunlap ripped a single and Kacey Brooker blasted a double past the center fielder to plate Dunlap. After Smith retired the next two batters, Jessi McMullen drove Brooker home with a single. Kenzie Matthis flew out to center field to end the game.

Huber said the last inning was an indication of his team's talent. Eight girls from the Mustangs' CIC championship team are back and Huber is confident they'll play well the rest of the season.

"I think we came out real flat," he said. "You can't do anything if you don't get on base."

Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.

E. River 8, Dimond 6 Sarah Peyton's three-run double keyed a huge third inning Thursday that carried Eagle River to an 8-6 season-opening win over Dimond at Albrecht Fields.

Down 3-0, the Wolves racked up seven run to claim a 7-3 lead and held on for the victory.

Peyton, a sophomore, was one of three young players to come through for Eagle River. Freshman Lauren Weinburger was 2 for 3 and scored a run and Carrie Oyebi struck out three to get the pitching win and added an RBI single.

Brittany Coleman hit a solo home run to highlight a three-run first inning for Dimond.

South 5, Bartlett 1

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Kelsey Gierke and Mollie Madden drove in runs in South's four-run fourth inning Thursday to break open a tight game and lift their team to a 5-1 season-opening win over Bartlett at Albrecht Fields. The score was knotted 1-1 before the big inning.

Gierke and Madden were both 1 for 1 and both scored a run to spark South's offense and Gierke pitched the final inning of the four-inning game.

West 17, Service 0

Nikki Olsen's two-run homer and Denali Smith's four-inning, six-strikeout no-hitter sparked West's 17-0 romp over Service in Thursday's season-opener at Albrecht Fields.

Olsen was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Smith drove in two runs and Pauline Tufi added a pair of hits, one of them an RBI double, for the Eagles.

By JEREMY PETERS

jpeters@adn.com

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