Juneau Douglas -- the defending state softball champion -- came into Friday's state tournament quarterfinal play with one loss and left with two more to have its season abruptly ended.
Chugiak handed the Crimson Bears (18-3) their first loss at Cartee Fields, with the help of freshman pitcher Darion Gobert, who furnished eight strikeouts and allowed one hit to propel the Mustangs to a 4-1 quarterfinal victory.
"That's awesome against Juneau, because they're usually a good-hitting team," said Chugiak assistant coach Kim Martin.
In consolation action, Railbelt Conference fourth-place finisher Lathrop upset Railbelt champion Juneau 3-0.
Chugiak coach Jim Huber attributed the quarterfinal upset to Gobert, timely hitting and two sixth-inning errors by Juneau -- a dropped ball in left centerfield and an overthrow at third base.
The Mustangs, down 1-0 in the top of the sixth, capitalized on the mistakes by coming up with six hits in the inning.
Senior Mariah Bookbinder scored the first run and went 3 for 4.
In the first round, Ashley VanRyn struck out 10 batters to help Chugiak thump Colony 12-1.
The Mustangs face East today at 9:30 a.m.
Last week the undefeated T-birds snatched the CIC title from runner-up Chugiak, winning the championship game 12-11 in overtime.
"I'm not worried. Our hitting has (improved) a lot," said Bookbinder, who has appeared at state in each of her four years, never having advanced to the championship game.
The Mustangs finished fourth last year and earned third in 2007.
"Maybe the fourth time will be a charm," she said.
East 7, Bartlett 3
Down by one heading into the 5th inning, East's Devin Chapman crushed a dead-center home run to tie Bartlett 3-3.
The T-birds scored three more runs in the sixth inning and one more in the seventh for the quarterfinal victory.
Chapman nailed the homer despite the lob pitches from Bartlett's Katie Steffens, which East coach Paul Schoenborn said frustrated East batters.
"(Those lobs) just drove me even more to want to hit it hard," said Chapman.
The win guarantees East at least third place -- an improvement upon its fourth place finish last year.
ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
2009 State Softball Championships
at Cartee Fields
First-round results
East 11, Lathrop 4
Bartlett 11, West Valley 1
Juneau-Douglas 12, Dimond 1
Chugiak 12, Colony 1
Consolation results
Lathrop 7, West Valley 5
Dimond 10, Colony 0
Lathrop 3, Juneau 0
Bartlett 12, Dimond 11
Small-schools Friday results
First-round
Homer 11, Eielson 7
Ketchikan 7, Kodiak 5
Quarterfinals
Sitka 5, Homer 0
Ketchikan 10, Monroe Catholic 0
Consolation results
Monroe Catholic 5, Eielson 3
Kodiak 8, Homer 7
By HEATHER MARCH
hmarch@adn.com