The familiar faces of South, East, Thunder Mountain and Juneau will meet in semifinal games on the final day of the state high school softball tournament in Fairbanks on Saturday.
South and East, which played in last year's large-school title game, advanced by shutting out their opponents on Friday. South blanked West Valley 15-0 and East stopped Dimond 12-0 in winner's bracket action.
Thunder Mountain and Juneau, who played in last year's small-school championship game, also advanced via blowouts. Thunder Mountain beat Soldotna 15-0
and Juneau tripped North Pole 13-5.
Leading undefeated and defending champion South was Danni Desjarlais, who allowed just two hits and tallied four RBIs in the win over West Valley. The Wolverines led 12-0 after three innings.
East jumped on Dimond with doubles in the second inning from Leona Taua'ese, Precious Tofaeono, Khiana Smith, and Chloe White.
Daisy Page hammered two home runs, including a three-run shot, and pitched four scoreless innings for the T-birds.
ASAA/First National Bank softball championships
South Davis Park, Fairbanks
Large schools
Friday's scores
West Valley 6, West 5
Dimond 13, Wasilla 0
South 15, West Valley 0
East 12, Dimond 0
Dimond 10, West 1
West Valley 15, Wasilla 0
Saturday's games
10 a.m. – South vs. East
10 a.m. – Dimond vs. West Valley
12:30 p.m. – South-East loser vs. Dimond-West Valley winner
3 p.m. – South-East winner vs. 12:30 p.m. winner
Small schools
Friday's scores
Soldotna 18, Homer 3
North Pole 8, Hutchison 7
Thunder Mountain 15, Soldotna 0
Juneau 13, North Pole 5
North Pole 16, Homer 13
Hutchison 8, Soldotna 0
Saturday's games
10 a.m. – Thunder Mountain vs. Juneau
10 a.m. – North Pole vs. Hutchison
12:30 p.m. – Thunder Mountain-Juneau loser vs. North Pole-Hutchison winner
3 p.m. – Thunder Mountain-Juneau winner vs. 12:30 p.m. winner