South’s Ben Neuberger. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
‘The streak’ is gone but the South baseball team’s stranglehold on the Cook Inlet Conference remains strong.
The Wolverines were successful on their revenge tour in the CIC Tournament as they avenged both regular-season losses, beating Service in the semifinals and Chugiak in Friday night’s final.
South beat the Mustangs 5-0 in the title game at Mulcahy Stadium behind Ben Neuberger’s 4-hit shutout as the left-handed pitcher allowed only two runners to reach third base.
Two-time defending state champion South improved to 6-0 all-time in the three-year tournament and 16-2 this season, clinching a No. 1 seed for next week’s ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka. Chugiak (13-7) secured a No. 2 seed.
Neuberger was lights out on an overcast night with the lights on at Mulcahy Stadium. He struck out six of the first dozen batters and held the Mustangs hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.
“Ben did a great job tonight of using his off-speed to keep Chugiak off balance and the run on his fastball helped make it difficult for their hitters to barrel him up,” said South coach Taylor Nerland.
Neuberger had two 1-2-3 innings and three more frames when he allowed just one baserunner. He also fielded his position with three assists on defense.
South’s Kaden Bevegni fields the ball while a Chugiak runner slides into third base. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
The southpaw showcased pinpoint control as 66 of his 100 pitches were strikes. South had closer Kaden Bevegni warmed up in the bullpen ready to go for the seventh inning, but Neuberger was allowed to finish what he started.
“We warmed up Bev just in case Ben needed some relief,” Nerland said. “At the end of the sixth inning, Ben was at about 90 pitches. He asked what the pitch limit was, Coach Maltby said 120, he said ‘I’m finishing this thing.’”
Neuberger also reached base all three times on walks, with two of them being intentional. He walked the hard way in the first inning to set up the game-winning run.
Carson Maltby, who is playing with a cast to protect a broken thumb, replaced him on the base paths and came around to score on a balk, sac bunt and Gavin Alexander’s RBI single.
Alexander, a senior, was a utility player last season but has emerged as an everyday catcher. He had two hits and an RBI in a 7-2 win over Service in the semifinals. Tonight, he moved up in the lineup and drove in the game’s first run to get the party started for South.
“Alexander has done a great job this year. Last year, he would have started on a great deal of different teams; we just happened to have some unbelievable players on our team at those positions,” Nerland said. “Coming into the season, we knew that he would be our best option at catcher, and he has been great for us back there.”
In the third inning, Landon Drumm reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and came around to score on Kaden Bevegni’s RBI single. Drumm was a thorn on Chugiak’s side as the outfielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI and tournament-tying four stolen bases.
The Mustangs are the only team to beat South twice during the team’s 60-3 run since 2019. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
South salted the game away in the sixth inning with three runs, thanks in large part to Chase Mascelli’s safety squeeze RBI and Drumm’s RBI single. Another run was scored on an error, the only blunder for either side.
South’s win avenged its loss earlier this season to Chugiak, which snapped the team’s state-record 52-game winning streak dating back to 2019. A week later, the Wolverines lost to Service.
Since then, though, they have rattled off seven straight wins and beaten both teams that beat them.
In the past, the Wolverines crushed teams. Now they crush an opponent’s spirits by winning in unconventional ways. They are 6-1 in one-run games, including a win when the team was no-hit against Eagle River.
South has scored 130 runs in 18 games on only 118 hits, thanks to an unrelenting running game that puts pressure on the defense.
“At practice we try to put our guys in situations where they have to react and cope with different stressful situations,” Nerland said. “When we are on the basepaths, we try to do what we can to take advantage of what the other team gives us.”
Chugiak managed hits by Michael Boudreau, Gabe Gruszynski, Landon Luebke and Preston Rau.
The first three hits came in the first six plate appearances as Chugiak came out swinging. But Neuberger settled down nicely. The only hit he gave up over the final five innings was a pinch-hit single to Rau.
Third Annual CIC Tournament
Game Records
RBIs
5 – Coen Niclai SER 2021
5 – Coen Niclai SER 2023
Home Runs
1 – Connor Johnson ER 2022
1 – Coen Niclai SER 2023
1 – Tyler Cage CHU 2023
Hits
4 – Shane Stephan DIM 2022
4 – Liam Lierman ER 2023
Runs
4 – Hunter Christian SER 2021
Stolen Bases
4 – Peyton Montagna DIM 2023
4 – Landon Drumm SOU 2023
Strikeouts
13 – Blake Bacho BAR 2021
Shutout
1 – Isaac Johnson SOU 2021
1 – Ben Neuberger SOU 2023
Assists
7 – Orion Halliburton WEST 2021
Caught Stealing
3 – Coen Niclai SER 2023
In the CIC Tournament third-place game, Eagle River’s Liam Lierman and Gunner Mountcastle combined on 2-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Service.
Eagle River (13-6) punched the conference’s third and final automatic berth to the ASAA Division I state tournament while the Cougars (14-5) will have to sweat it out until Sunday, when ASAA announces the lone at-large berth.
Lierman pitched the first five innings and racked up nine punchouts while allowing two singles. The sophomore southpaw struck out the side in the first and fourth innings.
Service’s Hunter Christian singled up the middle to lead off the third inning, snapping Lierman’s eight-inning no-hit streak dating back to his no-no against South last week.
The lean lefty was in complete command, throwing five shutout innings and lowering his ERA to 0.63 in 22 innings this season. He ended four of five innings with a strikeout, including back-to-back Ks to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning.
Eagle River’s Liam Lierman. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Lierman also stayed hot at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. He reached base in seven of nine plate appearances in the tournament.
Mountcastle had all four strikeouts in consecutive order, including three in a row to get out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning as Service left 10 runners on base.
Eagle River leadoff hitter Josh Thompson singled, stole second and, went to third on Mountcastle’s single and scored on wild pitch in the first inning.
Mountcastle also singled as part of a three-run third inning, when Tommy Molloy’s two-run single and Landon Hudson’s RBI single pushed the lead to 4-0. Molloy’s single got under the glove of the Service third baseman and Hudson slapped a perfectly placed blooper into right field.
The Wolves’ only sin was that they kept testing the bionic arm of Service catcher Coen Niclai, who threw out baserunners in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Niclai hosed five runners in the tournament, with all of them coming over his final six innings. A day earlier, he threw out two South runners in the same inning. He also hit a grand slam against West in the second round and tied his own CIC Tournament record with five RBIs.
Service’s Coen Niclai. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report