East High T-birds capture state softball crown behind Page’s big game

You can take the bat out of Daisy Page's hands, but as the Dimond Lynx learned Saturday afternoon in Fairbanks, the East High softball star can beat you in more ways than one.

Page powered the T-birds to a 14-6 victory over Dimond in the championship game of the state high school softball tournament, inflicting damage on the pitching mound, on the base paths and on defense.

The victory at South Davis Park vaulted East back to the top of the softball world. The T-birds were playing in their seventh straight championship game and emerged victorious for the first time since 2015.

Page, a slugger and a pitching ace, proved unstoppable.

She pitched all six innings, striking out nine, walking one and giving up five hits. And although Dimond refused to pitch to her, Page scored four times after drawing four intentional walks.

Page also provided the game's pivotal defensive play.

East was leading 11-6 in the fifth inning when Dimond loaded the bases with one out.

With the potential tying run on deck for the Lynx, Page fielded a comebacker and threw the ball home to begin a double play that ended the Dimond threat.

East grabbed a 10-1 lead in the second inning by scoring eight runs on six hits. Chloe White blasted a two-run double and Glacier Alaelua supplied a two-run single to highlight the outburst.

Megan Luther's two-run home run to center field helped Dimond get four runs back in the third inning, making it 10-5.

Luther finished with three hits and four RBIs and Alice Ma had two hits and one RBI to lead the Lynx.

White and Alaelua each finished with two hits for East, with White driving in two and Alaelua driving in three.

The victory capped an undefeated tournament run by East, which defeated Dimond twice on Saturday. The T-birds took a 10-2 win in a morning winners bracket game that sent the Lynx into the losers bracket.

Dimond stayed alive by edging two-time defending state champion South 10-9, a win that put the Lynx in the championship game for the second time in school history.

In the Division II tournament for smaller schools, Thunder Mountain captured its third straight state title by battling past Ketchikan.

The two Southeast Alaska teams met three times on Saturday. In the first encounter, Ketchikan eked out a 7-6 victory to move into the championship game and send Thunder Mountain to the losers bracket.

Thunder Mountain defeated Delta 13-3 to stay alive, and then beat Ketchikan twice to take the title. The Falcons won the first game 12-2 to force the if-necessary game, where they dominated the Kings 12-0 in four innings.

ASAA/First National Bank state softball tournament

Division I

Saturday's scores

East 14, Dimond 6 (championship)
East 10, Dimond 2 (winners bracket)
Dimond 10, South 9 (losers bracket)
South 9, Wasilla 5 (losers bracket)

Friday's scores

First round
Eagle River 10, West Valley 6
South 7, Wasilla 6

Winners bracket
Dimond 12, Eagle River 5
East 10, South 1

Losers bracket
South 7, West Valley 1
Wasilla 14, Eagle River 6

Division II

Saturday's scores

Thunder Mountain 12, Ketchikan 0 (if-necessary game)
Thunder Mountain 12, Ketchikan 2 (championship)
Ketchikan 7, Thunder Mountain 6 (winners bracket)
Thunder Mountain 13, Delta 3 (losers bracket)
Delta 14, North Pole 13 (losers bracket)

Friday's scores

First round
Homer 19, Kodiak 14
North Pole 11, Delta 5

Winners bracket
Thunder Mountain 18, Homer 0
Ketchikan 13, North Pole 9

Losers bracket
North Pole 14, Kodiak 10
Delta 8, Homer 7