AMERICAN LEGION POST 33
21426 Old Glenn Hwy Peters Creek, Alaska, 99567

The title was East High's fourth consecutive.

The Mustangs experienced an exodus, losing four of their players throughout the week, depleting the squad's lineup down the stretch, noted Chugiak manager Bill Lierman.

Junior pitcher Lane Gray left for a family vacation and college visits. Recent Chugiak graduate Matt Devlin left for freshman football camp at Humboldt State University in California. Ben Rosen was ejected from the tournament early in the first championship game on Saturday after the umpire ruled he interfered with a base runner. Lastly, Larson Frank was pulled from the title game in the second inning after pulling his hamstring.

Lierman said too many things went wrong for the Mustangs to unseat East Post 34 from its perch on the state leader board.

"We just didn't play our best baseball at the end of the year," said Lierman Sunday from the team's end-of-season picnic at Oberg Field, the team's home field.

"We had more errors in that tournament than any other time this season. When you're making three and four errors a game you're not going to win," he added.

And yet in the first three games, the Mustangs dodged bullet after bullet.

In the tournament opener, Chugiak slid past Service 8-7, helped by three runs in the top of the sixth, despite five very good innings from Mustang starter Conor Spink. Reliever Gray gave up the three-pack in the sixth then settled in nicely, allowing only one runner in the last three innings. The game ended on a crackerjack play when outfielder Zack Morse made a sliding catch on a drive to short center field, then threw a one-bounce strike to Conor Spink at first base to complete the double-play.

The Mustangs' biggest hit was a three-run homer supplied by Ben Rosen as the Chugiak power-hitter was given the green light on a 3-0 pitch and swatted the Service offering well beyond the left field wall.

Three Chugiak errors contributed to another close game in round two, with Chugiak eventually winning in the bottom of the tenth on a bases-loaded one-out single to right center field by Morse, scoring graduate Keegan Kucko, who had opened the inning with a walk.

Starter Rosen pitched seven solid innings before a pitch hit a batter. Then came two errors that led to two base runners. A base hit scored one of them and brought Eagle River High junior Ty Griffith onto the hill. Bartlett scored the tying run on a squeeze bunt, but Griffith weathered the onslaught with no other harm to collect the victory in the extended game.

With the slim win, Chugiak slipped into the semi-final game against the tournament's only other unbeaten team, East, and recorded one of their bigger wins of the season, beating Post 34 10-7 in nine innings with Griffith collecting his second win in as many nights.

Larson Frank pitched masterfully against the highly touted T-Birds after giving up five runs in the second. He yielded the mound to hard-throwing Griffith in the seventh.

Tied 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth, reserve infielder Breton Henry opened with a triple down the right field line, followed by a walk by Rosen. With runners at first and third, Morse delivered a triple to the leftcenter gap that narrowly eluded East's center fielder Trevor Harrison. Morse then scored on a double to left-center by Conor Spink. Spink finished the game going 3-for-4 from the plate. He also pitched the ninth inning to collect the save.

No doubt, one of the sloppiest games of the tournament was the Mustangs' 12-8 win over Kenai when the teams combined for eight errors on a rain-soaked field Friday.

With Chugiak already guaranteed a berth in the title game, the team appeared a little lackluster in the early going, trailing 8-4 after three innings. Starter Matt Geurts was relieved in the third by Casey Spink who, after giving up three runs in the inning, settled down to shut down the Kenai attack the rest of the way.

Conor Spink and Ben Rosen supplied the team's big hits with doubles, while the team narrowly out hit the Twins 12-11.

After the ejection of Rosen in the first game Saturday, the Mustangs appeared to reel somewhat, losing their leadoff hitter and top-batting average, and the scheduled starter in the "if necessary" game.

"It was tough to ask sophomores to step up and produce in those situations," said Lierman.

"When you take two .400 hitters out of your lineup, along with Gray and Devlin not being available, it hurts," he continued.

Lierman said the team had been playing the last few years with incredible pressure heaped on them. "They were expected to win state for the past two years."

Instead, Lierman had the more daunting task of saying goodbye to the tight nucleus of seniors, including Conor Spink, Ben Rosen, Larson Frank and Casey Spink.

"They have set an incredible example for the rest of the guys," he said.

While denied a state title, Lierman said the real gauge of the team's success was not measured on the field.

"I believe that both players and parents would say these kids are better players and people than they were at the beginning of the season," he said.

East High's Chad Nading was named the tournament's top pitcher and Most Valuable Player, while Zach Plancich, also of East, was given the "Big Stick Award" for the best slugging percentage. Chugiak centerfielder Zack Morse won the "Golden Glove" award for best defensive play.

Members of the 2006 Chugiak Post 33 American Legion state tournament team included David Sorensen, Tim McCollum, Doug Henie, Breton Henry, Wes Martin, Keegan Kucko, KC Morgan, Matt Devlin, Matt Geurts, Robert Baker, Zack Morse, Casey Spink, Ty Griffith, Ben Rosen, Larson Frank, Lane Gray and Conor Spink. Coaches included Bill Lierman, John Sims and Bob Jones.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, August 10, 2006.