It’s late-inning time for the Alliance Baseball League. The brief regular season ended Monday, a pair of All-Star games will be played Tuesday and Wednesday, and the state tournament begins Friday at Mulcahy Stadium.
Dimond, Eagle River and South will enter the eight-team tournament with league-best records of 8-2, although Dimond has the superior overall record — 20-4 after Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of Fairbanks.
Juneau secured the final tournament berth in dramatic, controversial fashion with a 3-2 win over North Pole in a game that started Sunday but didn’t end until Monday because of a protest.
The game was the second of a Sunday doubleheader that seemed to end with Juneau winning both games by the same score, 3-2.
North Pole filed a protest after the second game, claiming one of Juneau’s pitchers violated the league’s pitch-count rule, which limits the number of pitches a player can throw over a certain amount of days or innings.
On Monday, the game was replayed from the point of the violation, but the final score didn’t change: Juneau won 3-2. Had North Pole won, the Wild would be going to the state tournament instead of Juneau.
Another key outcome came Sunday with Eagle River’s 14-10 win over Service. A Service victory would have put the Cougars in a three-way tie for the last tournament spot, but the loss eliminated all hope.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives from all 14 Alliance teams will play all-star games against squads made up of American Legion alumni.
First pitch both nights is at 6:30 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium. The National Division all-stars play Tuesday, and the American Division all-stars play Wednesday.
The state tournament begins Friday with four games at Mulcahy Stadium. The championship game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29.
Dimond, West, Wasilla, Chugiak and Juneau qualified for state from the National Division, and South, Eagle River and Kenai qualified from the American Division.
The state champion typically represents Alaska at the American Legion regional championships, but not this year. The American Legion season was canceled nationwide because of COVID-19, leading to a modified season made possible by the Alliance for the Support of American Legion Baseball, a longtime Anchorage organization.
Alliance Baseball League final standings
(League record, overall record)
National Division
Dimond 8-2, 20-4
West 7-3, 13-11
Wasilla 6-4, 18-5
Chugiak 6-4, 14-11
Juneau 5-5, 6-7
North Pole 4-6, 7-15
Fairbanks 0-10, 5-15
American Division
South 8-2, 16-7
Eagle River 8-2, 15-8
Kenai 5-5, 6-20
Palmer 4-6, 12-10
Service 4-6, 8-15
Bartlett 4-6, 7-10
East 1-9, 6-19
National Division All-Stars
Tuesday vs. Legion alumni, 6:30 p.m. Mulcahy Stadium
Pitchers
Joshua Bronson, Fairbanks
Zak Cole, Chugiak
Jerimiah Eneix, Dimond
Gavin Fischer, North Pole
Jacob Gilbert, Wasilla
Brock McCormick, Juneau
Leland Wilson, West
Position players
Austin Bull, Chugiak
Alex Garcia, North Pole
Ryan Henrickson, Dimond
Zach Jenkins, Dimond
Gus Jensen, Fairbanks
Shawn Jones, West
Luke Langnes, West
Christian Ludeman, Juneau
Oliver Mendoza, Juneau
Nolan Murphy, Wasilla
Justin Nevells, Chugiak
Dustin Peterson, North Pole
Isaac Roehl, Fairbanks
Max Wanser, Wasilla
American Division All-Stars
Wednesday vs. Legion alumni, 6:30 p.m. Mulcahy Stadium
Pitchers
Ben Alley, Palmer
Zack Barnhart, East
Sam Berry, Kenai
Sam Maudsley, Service
Taylor McCart, Bartlett
Ryan Watson, South Open
Gage Webster, South
Position players
Blake Bacho, Bartlett
Reid Brock, South
Oliver Brown, South Open
Ian Byrd, Bartlett
Damien Fredericks, Eagle River
Corey Gagnebin, East
Luke Guggenmos, Palmer
Mose Hayes, Kenai
Curtis Hebert, South Open
Henry Helgeson, Service
Jacob Hulst, East
Dylan Maltby, South
Brady Shults, Palmer
Hutton Stiles, Service
Tanner Ussing, Kenai
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