East faced off with Chugiak three times in the state softball tournament Saturday, finally putting an end to the tug-of-war for the state title with a 13-3 victory over the Mustangs in the afternoon finale.
The victory at the Cartee Fields marked the T-birds' first state softball title.
And they certainly earned it, playing four games in a row Saturday and winning three of them.
Once they were knocked into the losers bracket by Chugiak, which won a morning meeting 7-6 to advance directly into the championship game, the T-birds had to defeat Lathrop for a chance to meet Chugiak again.
East took care of Lathrop 4-3 to set up the first rematch. A Chugiak victory would have given the Mustangs the title in the double-elimination tournament, but East outlasted the Mustangs 5-4 in 10 innings to force the if-necessary game.
Then, after playing three straight one-run games, the T-birds enjoyed a romp. They won 13-3 in a game that ended after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
The T-birds jumped to a 6-2 first-inning lead in the finale.
"Once we got that first lead, the girls knew they had 'em," said East coach Paul Schoenborn.
East's stingy defense allowed just one more run, and as they headed into the bottom of the fifth inning, the T-birds were dominating 8-3.
Rachel Schoenborn drove in two runs and Amanda Ng drove in another to make it 11-3. Then junior shortstop Ginny Rosser took the plate.
"I told her 'You hit this one, we're done,' " said Schoenborn, who joked that Saturday's marathon added more gray to his hair.
Rosser smacked a double to dead center to give East a 10-run lead and the win.
In addition to her the game-ending double, Rosser had a pair of singles and five RBIs. Rachel Schoenborn finished 2 for 4 with four RBIs.
Schoenborn, a second baseman, spent the majority of the season off the field after breaking her hand in the second game of the season -- against Chugiak. The junior recovered just in time to play in the conference and state tournaments.
Ketchikan 5, Sitka 4
J.C. Seludo drove in the tying run and Kathleen Reno drove in the winning run in an eighth-inning rally that lifted Ketchikan to the small-school state softball title Saturday at Cartee. The matchup was the ninth time this season the two Southeast Conference teams faced each other.
In the most recent face-off, Sitka defeated the Kings 12-2 for the conference title.
"They kicked our behinds," said 15-year Ketchikan coach Joe Austin.
The Kings got even at the state tournament, where they've played for the championship in each of the last four seasons. Last season Ketchikan finished second to Kodiak .
Seludo went 2 for 4 and Reno went 2 for 3 and drove in three runs -- two on a third-inning double -- for the Kings, who last won the state title in 2007.
"This is the best-hitting tournament we've ever had," said Austin.
2009 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
Softball State Championships
Saturday's results
Large-school semifinals
Chugiak, 7 East 6
Lathrop 9, Bartlett 8
East 8, Lathrop 7
Championship Games
East 5, Chugiak 4
East 13, Chugiak 3
Small-school semifinals
Ketchikan 11, Sitka 8
Kodiak 9, Monroe 3
Sitka 6, Kodiak 4
Championship Game
Ketchikan 5 Sitka 4
All-tournament teams
Large schools -- Ilaura Reeves (Lathrop), Eve Manumalueuna (Bartlett), Mariah Bookbinder (Chugiak), Ginny Rosser (East), Allison Schoenborn (East), Shelby Carlson (Lathrop), Yolanda Alailefaleula (Bartlett), Morgan Payovich (Chugiak), Danielle Kirchner (East), Caela Kaszuba (Chugiak), Rachel Schoenborn (East), Devin Chapman (East).
Small schools -- Monica Clark (Monroe), Carrie Ferris (Kodiak), Taylor White (Sitka), Mykayla Martin (Ketchikan), Nichelle Raschick (Sitka), Sarah Clark (Ketchikan), Emily Garner (Kodiak), Caitlin Way (Sitka), Kathleen Reno (Ketchikan).
By HEATHER MARCH
hmarch@adn.com