Duffys no-no helps Eagles soar in finale
Sean Duffy saved his best for last, capping West's season with a no-hitter in the Eagles' 5-1 win over East on Saturday at Mulcahy Stadium.
"His stuff was really good, it was electric," said West coach Tim Davis, whose team finished 2-8 in the Cook Inlet Conference. East also finished 2-8 in the CIC.
Davis said Duffy, a junior lefthander, walked the first batter he faced, then allowed the runner to score on a steal, wild pitch and passed ball. But Duffy settled down after that, eventually notching 14 strikeouts in the seven-inning contest.
"He actually pitched and mixed his stuff together really well," said Davis, who said Duffy's change-up was virtually unhittable.
Duffy also had 2 RBIs at the plate for West, who got a 3 for 4 performance from catcher Dyson Dammeyer.
Davis said the win was a nice way for his young team – which played three freshman on Saturday and have every player returning next season – to finish its campaign.
"To go in and win a game like this in the last game of the season feels pretty special," he said.
Mustangs earn top seed at state
Chugiak earned the Cook Inlet Conference's top seed at the state tournament with a 4-3 extra-inning prep baseball win over South on Saturday at Mulcahy Stadium.
The game was tied 3-3 through four innings and remained that way until the bottom of the eighth, when the Mustangs' Zach Bohrer smacked the game-winning RBI single to clinch the regular-season crown.
Both teams finished the season 8-2 and will advance to state, but the Mustangs were awarded the top seed based on Saturday's win in the final game of the CIC round-robin playoffs.
The state tournament is June 4-6 at Mulcahy.
Lynx claw past Cougars for comeback win
Dimond wrapped up third place in the CIC – one spot out of a state tournament bid – with a come-from-behind 8-7 win over Service on Saturday at Mulcahy.
The Lynx (6-4) scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning and went on to win it in the eighth on a Joe Fitka RBI single. Fitka went 3 for 3 with a double, two runs scored, three stolen bases and two RBIs. Jesse Boese went 2 for 3 at the plate and pitched a scoreless bottom half of the eighth to pick up the win.
Service finished 4-6.
Bartlett 3, Eagle River 2
In the final game of the CIC season on Saturday night, Bartlett improved to 5-5 for the season with a 3-2 comeback win over Eagle River.
Ryan Dudley's two-run single in the fifth inning plated the game-tying and game-winning runs.
R.J. Dirscherl had a two-run double to stake the Wolves to a 2-0 lead.
The Wolves also finished 5-5.