The ASAA Division I state baseball tournament was injected with new blood on Thursday.

West Valley, Juneau-Douglas and Dimond each ended lengthy droughts in postseason openers by claiming winner’s bracket victories at Mulcahy Stadium to give the final four a different look.

West Valley snapped a 14-game overall losing streak at state dating back to 2015, Juneau ended its five-game skid in the first round going back to 2018 and Dimond advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2011.

Meanwhile, Cook Inlet Conference power Service got there for a fifth consecutive season and looks to pocket its second title in three years.

Prep Baseball

ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
Division I State Tournament
At Mulcahy Stadium
Thursday
Juneau 8, Colony 3
West Valley 4, South 2
Dimond 5, Palmer 2
Service 9, Soldotna 4
⚾
Friday
Semifinals
4:00pm Juneau (14-2) vs. West Valley (13-6)
7:00pm Dimond (15-8) vs. Service (19-2)
Elimination Games
10:00am Colony (11-11) vs. South (15-6)
1:00pm Palmer (11-7) vs. Soldotna (14-5)
⚾
Saturday
4:30pm Title Game
1:30pm Third Place
11:00am Fourth Place

West Valley 4, South 2

Finn Lindsey’s two-out, two-run double in the fifth inning put the Wolfpack in the driver’s seat as the Fairbanks team raced into the state semifinals for the first time since 2015.

After a two-out error by the South right fielder extended the inning, Lindsey ripped a line drive into the gap in left-center field for the go-ahead base knock for the Wolfpack.

The next batter was eight-hole hitter Elias Powell, who blooped one over the shortstop’s head to knock in Lindsey and make Powell 3-for-3 on the day.

West Valley ace southpaw Mikko Sunie took it from there, topping off his 90-pitch complete game by retiring six of the final seven South batters to extend his team’s winning streak to six games.

This was the first meeting between these two schools at the state tournament, dating back to South’s inaugural season in 2007.

Sunie gave up three hits, two walks and zero earned runs. He struck out five and became the first West Valley pitcher to throw a first-round CG win since Tyler Christmann 11 years ago.

Among his five Ks was against South sophomore slugger Landon Gasser, who struck out for only the fifth time in 81 plate appearances this season. Gasser is batting .492 with a school-record 32 hits in 21 games.

Catcher Ethan Gray went 2-for-4 and threw out a baserunner in the first inning for the Wolfpack (13-6). First baseman Wyatt Otness hit a deep fly ball to the warning track in right field in the third inning.

South (15-6) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth after Kyler Jensen singled with two outs and Jack Zuspan followed with a double to put both runners in scoring position.

An error by the West Valley first baseman allowed both runs to score.

South starter Ian Langerman matched Sunie goose egg for goose egg through three innings and reliever Will Preston helped extend a scoreless game into the fifth.

South Anchorage 000 020 0 – 2 3 1
West Valley 000 040 x – 4 7 1
South – Langerman, Preston (4), Zuspan (5) and Bonin. West Valley – Sunie and Gray. W – Sunie. L – Preston. 2B – South: Zuspan, Gasser. West Valley: Powell, Lindsey. 3B – None. HR – None.

Dimond 5, Palmer 2

Jaden Estigo outdueled Timothy Bridgman and the Lynx broke up a scoreless game in the fifth inning Friday as the CIC team advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2011.

Estigo went the distance, throwing 102 pitches, scattering seven hits and striking out eight batters.

He got a 4-6-3 double play behind him to end the first inning and then wiggled off the hook with runners in scoring position in each of the second and third before settling down, carrying a shutout bid into the sixth inning.

Meanwhile, Bridgman struck out 13 in seven innings and threw 112 pitches. He fanned seven consecutive batters from the second to fourth innings.

Dimond center fielder Caleb Cooke recorded an outfield assist to end the fourth and then put the Lynx ahead with a two-run single.

Drew Dittman’s RBI single and Estigo’s sac fly pushed the lead to 4-0.

Palmer’s Sawyer Leingang drilled a two-run double to get the Moose on the board in the sixth. The Valley team brought the tying run to the plate in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but Estigo held firm.

Dimond 000 041 0 – 5 7 0
Palmer 000 002 0 – 2 7 3
Dimond – Estigo and Faapouli. Palmer – Bridgman and Beal. W – Estigo. L – Bridgman. 2B – Palmer: Leingang. 3B – Dimond: Faapouli. HR – None.

Juneau 8, Colony 3

Three Juneau pitchers combined to hold Colony’s potent offense in check as the Crimson Bears won the first-round game at Mulcahy.

Hunter Carte started and struck out four in the first three innings before giving way to the bullpen. Micah Nelson came on in relief first, followed by Drew Cadigan-McAdoo.

Carte was also crafty with the bat, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a walk and a run scored for the Crimson Bears (14-2).

First baseman Riley Fick gave Juneau the lead with a two-run single in the second inning as part of his 3-for-4 day at the plate.

Nine-hole hitter Chris Anderson singled, stole two bags and scored two runs. Madden Mendoza banged out two hits and an RBI.

Colony’s Easton Cook pitched five innings and struck out the side in the third.

First baseman Cody Otto hit an RBI triple and nine-hole hitter Joshua Varland also knocked in a run for the Knights (11-11).

Shortstop Chase Carlson saved a run with a nice diving play and flip to second base in the third inning.

Juneau-Douglas 021 104 0 – 8 12 1
Colony 100 100 1 – 3 5 3
Juneau – Carte, Nelson (4), Cadigan-McAdoo (6) and N. Fick. Colony – Cook, Wood (6), Sherman (7) and Varland. W – Nelson. L – Cook. 2B – None. 3B – Colony: Otto. HR – None.

Service 9, Soldotna 4

Connor Monahan threw an 85-pitch complete game and got an 11-hit attack behind him as the Cougars avenged a regular-season loss to the Stars in the last game of the first round.

Leadoff man Sage Garsha and nine-hole hitter Takumi Kosaka each had two RBIs, while Kegan Lennox, Noah Cummings and Casey Stoops each scored twice.

Monahan was lights out, throwing four scoreless frames and holding a strong Soldotna lineup to just one crooked number in the sixth, when the Cougars (19-2) had already built a big lead.

Stoops went 3-for-4 and Lennox and Kosaka were both 2-for-4. Monahan also hit a double in addition to his quality outing.

Service turned two double plays and Soldotna had one.

Soldotna’s Matthew Schilling each had RBI doubles Jayden Stuyvesant, while Jackson Koetitz and Ethan Piscoya each knocked in one run.

The Stars (14-5) walloped Service 18-10 in the middle of May at the Kosinski Fields. This time around, however, the Peninsula squad struggled defensively with six errors, leading to four unearned runs.

Starter Jack Harper and reliever Malakai BeDunnah, however, did hold reigning Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year Rilen Niclai of Service hitless in four trips to the plate.

Service 120 411 0 – 9 11 1
Soldotna 101 002 0 – 4 7 6
Service – Monahan and Kosaka. Soldotna – Harper, BeDunnah (5), Stuyvesant (7) and Koetitz. W – Monahan. L – Harper. 2B – Service: Monahan. Soldotna: Stuyvesant, Schilling. 3B – None. HR – None.