The American Legion state baseball tournament opened Tuesday with a big upset and a huge blowout at Mulcahy Stadium.
Service knocked off third-seeded South 8-4 in an all-Anchorage battle that produced the day's biggest upset, and top-seeded Juneau throttled Ketchikan 16-1 in the only game that ended early because of the mercy rule.
In other games, second-seeded Kenai and fifth-seeded Wasilla rode big innings late in their games to dispatch a pair of Anchorage teams.
Kenai's four-run eighth inning doomed seventh-seeded Dimond 6-3, and Wasilla's six-run eighth toppled fourth-seeded Chugiak 9-6.
Action continues Wednesday at Mulcahy. The winner of the eight-team tournament, which wraps up Saturday, will play in the Northwest Regional in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Sixth-seeded Service made it into Wednesday's winners bracket by scoring runs in each of the last four innings to surprise South.
After going scoreless through five innings, Service erupted for three runs in the sixth to grab the lead for good, 3-1. Ben Clayton provided the inning's big play with a two-out, two-run single.
Clayton pitched six innings to earn the win and provided three hits at the plate. Teammate Michael Yandell drove in three runs.
Julito Fazzinni led South with three hits.
[Legion, ABL baseball players have strong attachments to their gloves]
Stealth on the base paths keyed Kenai's win over Dimond. The Twins stole seven bases, with Josef Becher stealing three and Joshua Darrow swiping two.
Kenai trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth, but the Twins seized control by plating two runs on errors, one on a balk and one on a fielder's choice.
Dimond put a runner on base with one out in the top of the ninth, but Kenai ended the game with a double play.
Calvin Hills provided two hits and two RBIs and Tyler Covey scattered six hits and struck out four in six-plus innings for the Twins.
Kyle Henrickson sparked Dimond with two hits, one run and an RBI.
In Wasilla's win over defending state champion Chugiak, William Boyer pitched the final three innings for the win and delivered a two-run single in the eighth inning.
Wasilla trailed 4-3 going into the eighth, which included James Arend's steal of home plate. Wasilla finished with seven stolen bases, including two from Arend.
Benjamin Werner and Matthew Palmer both scored twice, and Palmer tallied three hits for Wasilla.
Matthew Hess gave Chugiak a boost with three hits, two RBIs and a run.
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In the matchup between the tournament's two Southeast teams, Juneau took command early by scoring four runs in the second inning. An eight-run fifth sealed the deal.
Juneau pitcher Jake Tanner scattered three hits over seven innings for the complete-game victory.
His team made the most of nine hits and eight walks. Among the team leaders were Quin Gist (three hits, three RBIs, three runs), Stefan Beedle (three RBIs) and Alexander Muir (three runs).
American Legion state tournament
Mulcahy Stadium
Tuesday's scores
Service 8, South 4
Kenai 6, Dimond 3
Wasilla 9, Chugiak 6
Juneau 16, Ketchikan 1
Wednesday's games
9 a.m. – Chugiak vs. Ketchikan (loser out)
Noon – South vs. Dimond (loser out)
3:15 p.m. – Kenai vs. Service (winner's bracket)
6:30 p.m. – Wasilla vs. Juneau (winner's bracket)