Oliver Brown
South’s Oliver Brown set the table and set the tone for the Wolverines in a 9-0 victory over Service on Monday Night Baseball at Mulcahy Stadium.
The senior shortstop led off the game with a single and scored the first run as part of a five-run first inning that carried defending state champion South (9-0) to its 27th straight win dating back to 2019.
The 27-game win streak is a state record, matching Wasilla’s unbeaten run between 2017 to 2019.
“We know people are gunning for us,” Brown said. “I think one of our keys to success is that everyone stays within themselves and doesn’t try to do too much. We just play our game and have fun out there.”
Starter Hunter Manderson and two relievers combined on a 1-hitter with 14 strikeouts. Manderson was masterful after racking up seven strikeouts in three perfect innings while Gavin Parch had one K in two innings and closer Curtis Hebert fanned all six batters he faced.
South’s Hunter Manderson was masterful. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
“Our pitching staff, what’s really nice about them, is they are very efficient. Day in and day out, they are really consistent,” Brown said. “They throw a lot of strikes and trust the fielders behind them.
“Today they just straight up carved and there really wasn’t a need for us.”
Brown found other ways to stand out. He reached base four times on a single, two walks and a hit by pitch. He scored three runs and stole three bases.
The Wolverines’ wonder might be the best base runner in the Cook Inlet Conference. He reads opposing players like a book, allowing him to book it around the bases.
On one play, Brown’s jump off second base was so clean he reached third base for a stolen bag before the pitch reached home. The catcher had no chance.
“I study the pitchers and look for tendencies they might give away,” Brown said. “When I stole third, I just timed that perfectly.”
South’s Oliver Brown cruises into third base on a no-throw steal. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
On another play, he went first to third on a groundball to third base after waiting for the throw to be made across the diamond and then beating the throw back across the diamond.
“I’m usually a pretty aggressive base runner, so that was an instance of timing,” he said.
South pushed the lead to 7-0 in the third inning on Ben Neuberger’s two-run double. Kaden Bevegni made it 8-0 with an RBI single.
The game looked like it might be a laugher as six South batters got their third at-bat before Service’s No. 7 hitter got his first plate appearance. That’s the Wolverines’ MO – they usually score early and often.
It’s a recipe of success that’s helped South cook opponents for years:
Most Alaska Prep Baseball Coaching Wins
The Century Club
124 – David Combs, Palmer
114 – Ken Ottinger, Wasilla
112 – Bill Lierman, Eagle River/Chugiak
103 – Taylor Nerland, SouthLongest Win Streaks
27 – Wasilla 2017-2019
27 – South 2019-2022
22 – Juneau-Douglas 2010
21 – South 2016-2017
South got it done tonight with pitching, baserunning and defense. The Wolverines turned a 6-4-3 double play in the fourth inning and pulled off a rare 9-3 putout in the fourth inning.
Meanwhile, Service (5-2) pitchers struggled early before settling down late. The Cougars issued nine walks and hit a batter in the first 15 batters but then tossed shutout frames in four of the final five innings.
Hunter Christian delivered his team’s lone hit in the fourth inning, pitched a scoreless frame in the seventh and made some slick defensive plays at shortstop. Sebastian Fournier was in the middle of a 4-6-3 double play in the second inning and pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth inning.
South’s Sean Giffen relays a throw to first to complete a double play. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
WEST 19, EAST 5
Leadoff hitter Savion Bishop blasted a solo home run on the third pitch of the game to get the party started for the Eagles, who soared for a 19-5 victory for the team’s first win of the season.
Bishop cranked a shot down the left-field line – a no-doubter on a cold and windy night at Mulcahy Stadium.
West (1-7) had players up and down its lineup contributing to the 12-hit attack; from top-of-the-order guys like Bishop and Orion Halliburton to bottom-of-the-order players like Paul Dittrich and Athena Clendaniel.
Bishop was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs. Last year it took the final game of the high school season for a prep player to hit the ball over the new outfield wall at Mulcahy and then Bishop did it Day 1 of this year.
West’s Savion Bishop is greeted at home plate after his solo home run. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Halliburton went 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs. He tripled and scored in the second inning to push West’s cushion to 8-4.
Dittrich – a freshman making his high school debut at Mulcahy – went 2-for-3 with pair of RBIs and Clendaniel went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Beckett Stolp scored four times.
West pitcher Michael Tillman had six Ks out of the bullpen.
East (2-4) battled back after falling behind 6-0 after the top of the first inning by scoring four times in the bottom of the first, keyed by RBIs by Willy Nunez and Austin Johnson. Two other runs came home on wild pitches.
When the T-birds pulled within 8-5 on Nunez’s second RBI with no outs in the second inning, it looked like we might be in for a slugfest. But West’s relief pitchers shut down East’s offense from then on.
Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
DIMOND 6, SOUTH OPEN 2
The Lynx scored six unanswered runs to erase an early deficit and post their first win of the season with a 6-2 triumph at Bartlett High School, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Dimond pitching ace Garrett Lick – last season’s winner of the CIC Wade Blasingame Top Pitcher Award – turned in a strong effort with two shutout innings and six strikeouts, including four in one inning.
Luke Hoen stayed hot, clobbering a double and earning a pair of walks to make him 5-for-7 over his last three games.