The South Wolverines captured their third state softball championship in six years Saturday night at Cartee Fields, giving their school its second diamond celebration of the night.
Powered by leadoff batter Karsyn Decker, South dispatched the Chugiak Mustangs 8-2 in the Division I championship game.
A couple of hours earlier and a few miles away at Mulcahy Stadium, the Wolverines claimed the state baseball championship.
South’s softball victory marked the end of the 2020-21 high school sports year in Alaska, a wild several months that played out amid uncertainty and adaptations due to COVID-19.
Decker scored four runs, was 3 for 3 with a triple and stole three bases to help the Wolverines go out on top. Hitting behind her was Sabrina Jolin, who singled twice and scored twice to support her own pitching effort.
South trailed 2-1 after one inning but Jolin didn’t give up a run the rest of the way. In the final six innings she faced just three batters over the minimum.
South started the day with a tough 4-3 win over East, the 2018 and 2019 state champion. The Wolverines, who also won titles in 2017 and 2016, went 3-0 in the six-team tournament, with two wins coming against Chugiak.
They sent the Mustangs to the losers bracket with a 7-4 win Friday. Chugiak earned a rematch by winning a pair of elimination games Saturday, 14-0 over Dimond and 10-6 over East.
In the Division II tournament, the Juneau Crimson Bears won a squeaker and a blowout Saturday to take home their first state softball championship since 2010.
Juneau rode the hot bats of Tristan Oliva and Kiah Yadao to a 16-4 victory over North Pole in the title game. Oliva was 3-for-3 and scored four times, and Yadao scored twice and had two hits.
Earlier in the day, Juneau pulled out a 13-12 win over Ketchikan to advance to the title game. North Pole battled through the losers bracket, beating Delta 24-21 and Ketchikan 10-2.
The title is the first in Division II for the Crimson Bears, who captured seven large-school titles, their last in 2010, before dropping into the classification for smaller schools.
ASAA/First National Bank softball state championships
Division I
Saturday’s results
South 4, East 3 (winners bracket)
Chugiak 10, Dimond 6 (loser out)
Chugiak 10, East 6 (loser out)
Championship — South 8, Chugiak 2
All-tournament team
Cameron Rollison, Dimond
Karsyn Decker, South
Amber Smith, East
Morgan Traxinger, Chugiak
Sabrina Jolin, South
Malia Ogee, Dimond
Laila Tosi, East
Sophie Fuller, Chugiak
Adriana Haddox, Chugiak
Mackenzie Moore, South
Division II
Saturday’s games
Juneau 13, Ketchikan 12 (winners bracket)
North Pole 10, Ketchikan 2 (loser out)
North Pole 24, Delta 21 (loser out)
Championship — Juneau 16, North Pole 4
All-tournament team
Haylee Owen, Homer
Shaelyn Mendoza, Ketchikan
Llah Murrah, NorthPole
Mackenzie Jackson, Juneau
Alicia Guzman, Norht Pole
Paige Boehlert, Ketchikan
Leslie Spear, Kodiak
Maria Schauwecker, Juneau
Emily Bevard, Delta
Kiah Yadao, Juneau