Sports

State tournament looms for Alaska baseball teams — but first, some all-star games

It’s late-inning time for the Alliance Baseball League. The brief regular season ended Monday, a pair of All-Star games will be played Tuesday and Wednesday, and the state tournament begins Friday at Mulcahy Stadium.

Dimond, Eagle River and South will enter the eight-team tournament with league-best records of 8-2, although Dimond has the superior overall record — 20-4 after Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of Fairbanks.

Juneau secured the final tournament berth in dramatic, controversial fashion with a 3-2 win over North Pole in a game that started Sunday but didn’t end until Monday because of a protest.

The game was the second of a Sunday doubleheader that seemed to end with Juneau winning both games by the same score, 3-2.

North Pole filed a protest after the second game, claiming one of Juneau’s pitchers violated the league’s pitch-count rule, which limits the number of pitches a player can throw over a certain amount of days or innings.

On Monday, the game was replayed from the point of the violation, but the final score didn’t change: Juneau won 3-2. Had North Pole won, the Wild would be going to the state tournament instead of Juneau.

Another key outcome came Sunday with Eagle River’s 14-10 win over Service. A Service victory would have put the Cougars in a three-way tie for the last tournament spot, but the loss eliminated all hope.

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On Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives from all 14 Alliance teams will play all-star games against squads made up of American Legion alumni.

First pitch both nights is at 6:30 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium. The National Division all-stars play Tuesday, and the American Division all-stars play Wednesday.

The state tournament begins Friday with four games at Mulcahy Stadium. The championship game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29.

Dimond, West, Wasilla, Chugiak and Juneau qualified for state from the National Division, and South, Eagle River and Kenai qualified from the American Division.

The state champion typically represents Alaska at the American Legion regional championships, but not this year. The American Legion season was canceled nationwide because of COVID-19, leading to a modified season made possible by the Alliance for the Support of American Legion Baseball, a longtime Anchorage organization.

Alliance Baseball League final standings

(League record, overall record)

National Division

Dimond 8-2, 20-4

West 7-3, 13-11

Wasilla 6-4, 18-5

Chugiak 6-4, 14-11

Juneau 5-5, 6-7

North Pole 4-6, 7-15

Fairbanks 0-10, 5-15

American Division

South 8-2, 16-7

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Eagle River 8-2, 15-8

Kenai 5-5, 6-20

Palmer 4-6, 12-10

Service 4-6, 8-15

Bartlett 4-6, 7-10

East 1-9, 6-19

National Division All-Stars

Tuesday vs. Legion alumni, 6:30 p.m. Mulcahy Stadium

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Pitchers

Joshua Bronson, Fairbanks

Zak Cole, Chugiak

Jerimiah Eneix, Dimond

Gavin Fischer, North Pole

Jacob Gilbert, Wasilla

Brock McCormick, Juneau

Leland Wilson, West

Position players

Austin Bull, Chugiak

Alex Garcia, North Pole

Ryan Henrickson, Dimond

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Zach Jenkins, Dimond

Gus Jensen, Fairbanks

Shawn Jones, West

Luke Langnes, West

Christian Ludeman, Juneau

Oliver Mendoza, Juneau

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Nolan Murphy, Wasilla

Justin Nevells, Chugiak

Dustin Peterson, North Pole

Isaac Roehl, Fairbanks

Max Wanser, Wasilla

American Division All-Stars

Wednesday vs. Legion alumni, 6:30 p.m. Mulcahy Stadium

Pitchers

Ben Alley, Palmer

Zack Barnhart, East

Sam Berry, Kenai

Sam Maudsley, Service

Taylor McCart, Bartlett

Ryan Watson, South Open

Gage Webster, South

Position players

Blake Bacho, Bartlett

Reid Brock, South

Oliver Brown, South Open

Ian Byrd, Bartlett

Damien Fredericks, Eagle River

Corey Gagnebin, East

Luke Guggenmos, Palmer

Mose Hayes, Kenai

Curtis Hebert, South Open

Henry Helgeson, Service

Jacob Hulst, East

Dylan Maltby, South

Brady Shults, Palmer

Hutton Stiles, Service

Tanner Ussing, Kenai

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