Don’t let the braces fool you.

Service right-hander Noah McGarry may look boyish, but he pitched like ‘the man’ on Wednesday in the biggest game of the season for the Post 28 American Legion baseball team.

The Class of 2029 rising star threw a four-hit complete game and got late run support to headline Service’s 5-2 come-from-behind victory over the Palmer Pioneers in the state semifinals at Mulcahy Stadium.

McGarry outdueled Palmer counterpart Tristan Barrey, who carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before everything fell apart for the Valley team as Service rallied in the sixth inning to punch its ticket back to the state title game for a fifth straight summer.

For most of the game, Service didn’t do McGarry any favors. The Cougars (17-9) had kicked the ball around defensively, which led to a pair of unearned runs, and they were having no luck against Barrey, a smooth southpaw who mixed a fastball and sharp curveball to stifle the two-time defending state champs.

Barrey was in total control before a leadoff error in the sixth opened the flood gates as the Cougars sent 10 batters to the plate, scored five runs and got extra-base hits from Palmer Dalton and Noah Cummings.

Dalton doubled in the first run on Service’s first hit and scored on Cummings’ triple that tied the game. After Kyler Jensen was hit by a pitch, catcher Takumi Kosaka laid down a bunt to bring home Cummings with the go-ahead run after swimming around the tag at the plate.

Ryker Schreck hit an RBI single to bring in the fourth run and Rawlin Mascelli later scored on a passed ball to make it 5-2.

The Service dugout was hyped and McGarry was in the middle of the party. The youngest player on the team then had to settle down before going back to the mound for the seventh inning, and that composure has been big this year.

McGarry has emerged as one of the three aces on the staff, joining Connor Monahan and Kegan Lennox, who both threw 1-hit shutouts in pool play earlier in the tournament.

McGarry, an all-state first team selection, improved to 4-1 this summer and lowered his ERA to 1.24 in 33.2 innings.

This is why his teammates have nicknamed him ‘Prospect,’ as in major college prospect.

Service head coach Willie Paul is the first Alaska Legion bench boss since East’s Tony Wylie two decades ago to lead his team to five straight state title games. Paul ranks fifth in state history with 273 wins.

For Palmer, this was the first time the Pioneers had advanced to the state semifinals in the history of Post 15, which dates back to 1978.

Led by head coach Ricardo Solis and all-stars Cody Otto, Timothy Bridgman, Wyatt Beal and Barrey, the Pioneers (14-14) took giant strides this summer after snapping a 12-game state playoff losing streak in pool play and becoming the first Palmer team to win two games at the stats tournament.

Six of Palmer’s losses were at the hands of Lower 48 teams at a tournament in Omaha, Neb.

Barrey is one of the best outfielders in Alaska, but on Wednesday he pitched like the state’s top hurler. The southpaw struck out six of the first eight batters he faced and finished with nine punchouts, mixing a fastball and sharp curveball.

Palmer took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning on sac flies by Otto and Barrey after a walk, two bunts and two errors by Service.

Palmer 000 020 0 – 2 4 1
Service 000 005 x – 5 3 4
Palmer – Barrey, Meals (6) and Beal. Service – McGarry and Kosaka. 2B – Service: Dalton. 3B – Service: Cummings. HR – None.

American Legion Baseball

74th State Tournament
At Mulcahy Stadium
Wednesday’s Semifinals
Service 5, Palmer 2
Kenai 7, Wasilla 3
Thursday’s Title Game
1:00pm Kenai (23-8) vs. Service (17-9)
⚾
● State champion will advance to the Northwest Regional in Medford, Ore.
● State runner-up will go the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament in Casper, Wyo.

Kenai 7, Wasilla 3

Jayden Stuyvesant on Wednesday continued his torrid hitting at the state tournament as he threatens to re-write the record book.

The all-state first baseman hit a two-run double to kickstart a third-inning rally and then knocked in a run in the sixth to put the finishing touches on the semifinal victory that catapulted Kenai to the state title game for the first time since 2016.

The cleanup hitter has cleaned up with runners on base as his 14 RBIs matches Josiah Covey’s 2012 team record for most RBIs by a Post 20 player at state.

Stuyvesant is batting .733 on 11-for-15 hitting and going into Thursday has a shot to catch Covey for most hits (14) in a state tournament.

Stuyvesant’s average ranks No. 2 in state tournament history, trailing only the great John Kennedy, who batted .818 in 1979 on 9-for-11 hitting.

You can find Stuyvesant in the middle of the state’s most lethal lineup as the Twins (23-8) feature five all-state players among its first six batters – Daniel Steffensen, Jacob Joanis, Matthew Schilling, Jackson Koetitz and Stuyvesant.

It’s a modern day’s murderer’s row, fueling an offense that has averaged 10.5 runs and posted a 4-0 record at state.

But what makes Kenai even scarer is the supporting cast. On Wednesday, the team’s four-run rally in the third was keyed by Jett Brophy and Clyde Clemens, the eight- and nine-hole hitters who drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to put the Twins in front for good at 4-3.

Brophy also came on in relief to pitch five shutout frames and earn the winning decision.

Kenai head coach Rob Quellend ranks seventh in Alaska history with 204 wins.

Wasilla’s Ramon Guzman is another all-star who’s torn it up in the tournament. He keyed two wins in pool play, pitching five innings of relief on Monday and scored three runs on Tuesday.

In the semifinals, Guzman hit an RBI double in the first inning and an RBI single in the third before throwing out a runner at the plate in the fourth.

Logan Freeman had a pinch-hit single in the sixth and then stayed in the game to replace Bridger Berta behind the plate.

The Road Warriors were trying to get back to the state final for the second straight summer.

Wasilla 102 000 0 – 3 4 1
Kenai 004 102 x – 7 6 1
Wasilla – Sonnentag, Ro. Guzman (3), Berta (6) and Berta, Freeman. Kenai – Graham, Brophy (3) and Koetitz. 2B – Wasilla: Ra. Guzman. Kenai: Stuyvesant, Schilling. 3B – None. HR – None.