With his college plans sewed up, Rilen Niclai is free to let it rip in his final season of high school baseball.

Not only is the Service all-star leaving it all on the field but he’s also leaving no doubt about his 2026 season being the greatest in the 34-year history of the Cook Inlet Conference.

Niclai on Wednesday night continued to rewrite the CIC record book as he threw a 108-pitch complete game with 17 strikeouts in an 11-4 victory over Dimond at Mulcahy Stadium.

Niclai’s strikeout total is the most for a CIC player in the pitch count era dating back to 2018, breaking the previous record of 16 set in 2021 by Bartlett’s Carl Colavecchio. The reigning Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year also matched the Service school record set in 2013 by former MLB draft pick Johnny Meszaros.

CIC Baseball

Most Strikeouts GAME
All-Time
19 – Dalton Chapman, West 2014
18 – Anton Maxwell, East 2003
17 – Max Karnos, South 2013
17 – Johnny Meszaros, Service 2013
17 – Rilen Niclai, Service 2026
 
Pitch Count Era (since 2018)
17 – Rilen Niclai, Service 2026
16 – Carl Colavecchio, Bartlett 2021
15 – Hunter Christian, Service 2024
15 – Rilen Niclai, Service 2025

Two weeks ago, the Arizona State signee became the CIC’s single-season home run king after his second two-dinger game this year gave him a total of five, breaking the old record of four that was set in 1998 and stood since 2000.

In 14 games, Niclai is batting .595 on 22-for-37 hitting with 21 RBIs and 30 runs scored. In four appearances at pitcher, he’s 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 15 innings.

On Wednesday, he flexed his strength on both sides of the plate.

At the dish, he went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and three runs. On the bump, he gave up two hits, two walks and recorded eight consecutive strikeouts between the first and fourth innings.

Last season, Niclai struck out 15 batters against Chugiak. Between that and Wednesday, he owns two of the CIC’s top four single-game strikeout totals in the pitch count era.

Niclai threw his low-90s fastball early and often coupled with a sharp breaking ball. Of the four outs he got that weren’t strikeouts, two came on the base paths, one was a flyout and the other a groundout.

Niclai also got a lift from teammate Kegan Lennox, who crushed a two-run home run in the fourth inning to make it 8-3. The first baseman finished 4-for-5 and added a double and five RBIs.

The dinger was the third of the season for Lennox, who became the third Service slugger in three seasons to hit at least three home runs in a season. In 2024, Jake Rafferty went yard three times.

Lennox, a left-handed power hitter, is batting .488 in 16 games and has knocked in 26 runs to pull within three of matching the Service school record of 29 RBIs shared by Coen Niclai (2023) and Rilen Niclai (2024).

Service 203 330 0 – 11 13 2
Dimond 300 001 0 – 4 2 2
Service – Niclai and Kosaka. Dimond – Flannery, Severson (4) and Willis. W – Niclai. L – Flannery. 2B – Service: Niclai 2, Precosky, Monahan, Lennox. 3B – None. HR – Lennox.