Nick Cunitz came up clutch for Bartlett on Friday night. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The last Bartlett baseball player to throw a shutout helped Akito Shimizu get his on Friday.
Catcher Nick Cunitz ended the game by throwing out a runner at second base to put the finishing touches on Shimizu’s 6-hitter as the Golden Bears ended the regular season by beating East Anchorage 2-0 in a Cook Inlet Conference game at Mulcahy Stadium.
Before saying Sayonara to Alaska, the Japanese exchange student threw a 95-pitch gem, scattering six hits and three walks and dancing out of trouble all night by leaving nine runners stranded on base. He held the T-birds to 0-for-5 hitting with runners in scoring position in his final appearance for Bartlett.
“He is sadly flying back to Japan (on Saturday),” said his head coach, Tyler Walters.
In the seventh inning, East leadoff man Edgar Pozo doubled and went to third on a wild pitch before Chase Dumas walked, bringing the winning run to the plate.
In an effort to put the tying run in scoring position, Dumas took off for second but was thrown out by Cunitz to end the game on a nice tag by defensive replacement Kaison Postma.
Cunitz pitched a 1-hit shutout last year against East in this exact same situation, the final game of the regular season. In fact, it was 364 days ago.
With Friday’s win, Bartlett improved to 6-12 this season for its most wins since 2022. It also helped fifth-year bench boss Walters move within one victory of catching Chris Williams (2003-06) atop the school’s all-time wins list.
Bartlett head coach Tyler Walters (left) has the Bears playing their best baseball entering next week’s CIC Tournament. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
East starter Dylan Dumas went the distance on Friday, throwing 72 pitches in six innings and taking a hard-luck loss. He gave up five hits, zero walks and struck out seven batters.
The T-birds chopped down three runners at the plate and another at third base in the game.
Bartlett’s Luis Ventrua drove in Bryson Jensen with an RBI single in the fifth inning and Johnny Parker’s run-scoring ground ball made it 2-0 in the sixth.
East Anchorage 000 000 0 – 0 6 5
Bartlett 000 011 x – 2 5 1
East – Dumas and Frost. Bartlett – Shimizu and Cunitz. W – Shimizu. L – Dumas. 2B – East: Pozo, Wirschem. Bartlett: Abner-Esahu. 3B – None. HR – None.
Dimond 4, West Anchorage 3
Closer Dax O’Brien ended the game on a strikeout with the tying run on third base to seal a nonleague victory for the Lynx on Friday at Mulcahy Stadium.
After West’s Owen Tierney pulled the Eagles within a run with a two-out double in the seventh inning, O’Brien was summoned from the bullpen to shut it down, which he did after back-to-back strikeouts.
Dimond did all its scoring in the first four frames and without the benefit of an RBI, taking advantage of three West errors. Shane Flannery scored twice, including a steal of home that put the Lynx up 4-0.
West reliever Kaden Smith deserves a tip of the cap, throwing four scoreless innings with four Ks.
In the sixth, the Eagles put the first two batters on base after Jacob Wesselman singled and Layton Kriner walked but came away empty handed after one runner was out at home and another at third base after being picked off by catcher Gase Faapouli.
Dimond 003 100 0 – 4 4 1
West Anchorage 000 001 2 – 3 4 3
Dimond – Keith, Lambert (6), O’Brien (7) and Faapouli. West – Wesselman, Smith (4) and Damrill. W – Keith. L – Wesselman. SV – O’Brien. 2B – West: Homan, Tierney. 3B – None. HR – None.
Chugiak 13, Eagle River 0
Sampson Young went 4-for-4 with a triple and his first home run of the season to lead the Mustangs over their archrival on Lee Jordan Field at the Loretta French complex.
Young launched a two-run nuke to left field in the fifth inning. The catcher also tripled and scored in the first inning.
The Chemeketa College recruit is batting .444 with a team-best 21 RBIs in 19 games.
Leadoff man Caiden Capozzi went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Jonah Shearer had three RBIs on a sac fly and two groundouts.
Chugiak 313 15 – 13 12 1
Eagle River 000 00 – 0 1 5
Chugiak – Morgan, Salle (3), Lux (4) and Young. Eagle River – Marrero, Steeves (5), BetSayad (5) and Seebold. W – Lux. L – Marrero. 2B – Chugiak: Lux. 3B – Chugiak: Capozzi, Young. HR – Chugiak: Young.
Service 11, Wasilla 0
Five different players had two hits apiece and starter Connor Monahan pitched all six innings as the Cougars beat the Warriors in the Valley on Friday.
Sage Garsha and Jazz Abad were each 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Monahan, Braun Precosky and Takumi Kosaka banged out a pair of base knocks.
Service 502 202 – 11 12 0
Wasilla 000 000 – 0 2 2
Service – Monahan and Kosaka. Wasilla – Johnson, Kennedy (1), Mette (4), Brandlen (5), Allen (6), Ross (6) and Berta. W – Monahan. L – Johnson. 2B – Service: Abad, Garsha. 3B – None. HR – None.
Palmer 6, Soldotna 1
It was Tristan Time on Friday in the Valley.
Starter Tristan Barrey threw a 3-hit complete game with seven strikeouts in addition to going 2-for-4 at the dish.
Palmer leadoff man Reed Craner went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Logan Gavin knocked in a run and reached base twice.
Palmer 021 030 0 – 6 9 1
Soldotna 001 000 0 – 1 3 4
Palmer – Barrey and Beal. Soldotna – Graham, BeDunnah (6) and Koetitz. W – Barrey. L – Graham. 2B – Palmer: Bridgman. 3B – None. HR – None.
Sitka 8, Ketchikan 4
Brian Campbell went the distance and Olen Weathers went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as the Wolves doubled up the Kings on Friday in Southeast.
Cambell scattered six hits and five walks while striking out five in his 118-pitch outing.
Sitka nine-hole hitter Josh Partido went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Weathers had a two-run single in the sixth to break the game open.
Ketchikan’s Charles Kroscavage went 2-for-4, scored a run and threw two innings of relief.
Ketchikan 200 001 1 – 4 6 3
Sitka 103 022 x – 8 8 0
Ketchikan – Manabat, Kroscavage (5) and Albecker. Sitka – Campbell and Gluth. W – Campbell. L – Manabat. 2B – Sitka: Ross, Gluth, Weathers. 3B – None. HR – None.
