Eagle River pitcher Tommy Molloy put in some series yard work Saturday as the right-hander mowed down the Central Point Comets to key a 6-2 win at the American Legion baseball Northwest Class A Regional Tournament.

Molloy struck out nine batters in his complete-game effort at Bill Gray Stadium in Roseburg, Oregon, where local fans packed the stands and watched Molloy throw a 102-pitch masterpiece to become the first Alaskan in five years to go the distance at the NWCART.

The last time it happened was in 2019, when the Wasilla Road Warriors advanced to the title game, and that’s where Eagle River is headed Sunday. The Wolves (30-9) will face Gallatin Valley, Montana, in the NWCART championship game at 10 a.m. ADT. The Alaskans are undefeated in the tournament and will have two chances to win it.

This is the third time Alaska has sent a team to the title game (Service made the 2023 final) in five years, but the state is still searching for that elusive regional championship.

However, the gap has closed – not at just the NWCART, but the granddaddy Northwest Regional as well.

Alaska sends its state champion to the NW Regional while the runner-up travels to the NWCART. The NW Regional features teams that draw from four to six high schools while NWCART teams are more like Alaska where they draw from single high schools.

It’s a more balanced playing field, which is why Alaska teams have bagged 21 wins at the NWCART since 1999 compared to 20 wins at the NW Regional since 1954.

No longer seen as a punching bag by the rest of the Northwest region, Alaska teams have made great strides in recent years. Case in point: the state has posted a 12-12 record against Lower 48 competition at the NWCART since 2019 compared to nine tournament wins between 2018 and 1999.

NWCART wins vs. Lower 48
5 – Willie Paul, Service
4 – Bill Lierman, Eagle River
4 – Ken Ottinger, Wasilla
3 – Andy Macauley, Juneau
2 – Vic Aure, Fairbanks
2 – Russ Baker, South
1 – Chris Williams, South

Molloy was marvelous as he retired 11 straight batters across the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to hold serve while the Wolves got the bats warmed up. It didn’t take long.

Trailing 2-0 in the second, Eagle River got RBIs from Kam Kurtz, Molloy and Gunner Mountcastle to take a 3-2 lead. In the third, Dallin Roberts drove in a run. In the fourth, Ryan Mullen knocked in a run. In the fifth, it was Mountcastle again as the lead swelled to 6-2.

Meanwhile, Molloy was motoring right along. He mixed speeds and used a beautiful breaker as his out pitch. After swinging over the top of those curveballs early, the Comets stood and watched them go by late as they were helpless to slow down the Alaskan.

Molloy is the first player from the state to throw a seven-inning complete game at the NWCART since Wasilla’s Clayton Boyett in 2019.

The Wolves gave their guy plenty of run support and staked him to an early 3-2 after scoring three times in the second inning. Dalton Smith got the party started with a leadoff single and came around to score on Kurtz’s chopper to third base after the throw home was late. Molloy got another run home on a safety squeeze and Mountcastle drew a bases-loaded walk for the third run.

At this point, shadows started taking over the field and the second half of the game was played under the lights.

Roberts made it 4-2 in the third when he singled in a run, although the second runner was thrown out at the plate. In the fourth, the Wolves used three infield singles to get another run. In the fifth, Mountcastle’s sac fly made it 6-2.

Eagle River had no trouble putting guys on base but getting them home was another matter as the Wolves stranded 15. Liam Lierman reached base five times with a triple and four walks.

In the end, though, it didn’t matter. Molloy’s pitching and solid defense behind him made the difference.

In the sixth, Central Point threatened to draw closer but was foiled after confusion on the base paths led to the final out of the inning. As a hush fell over the pro-Oregon crowd, the Eagle River players skipped off the field knowing they had just dodged a bullet.

In the seventh, the Wolves chopped down a runner at second base after he tried to extend a single into a double.

Eagle River 031 110 0 – 6 8 1
Central Point 200 000 0 – 2 5 2
Eagle River – Molloy and Roberts. Central Point – Johnson, Bruce (5) and Keith. W – Molloy (6-1). L – Johnson. SO – Molloy 9, Johnson 2, Bruce 2. LOB – Eagle River 15, Central Point 4. SF – Mountcastle (ER). 2B – None. 3B – Bruce (CP), Lierman (ER). HR – None. RBI – Mountcastle (ER) 2, Roberts (ER) 1, R. Mullen (ER) 1, Kurtz (ER) 1, Molloy (ER) 1, Bruce (CP) 1, Noce (ER) 1.