Just when it appeared the Crimson Bears softball team was getting back into the game, Sitka answered in a big way.
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé fell behind early against Sitka in the second game of the Region V Softball Tournament but chipped away, cutting the Lady Wolves’ lead to 6-5 midway through the fourth inning.
Then the floodgates opened. Sitka scored five runs in the bottom half of the inning and three in the following inning to claim a 13-5 victory on its home turf at Moller Field in Sitka. The game ended in the bottom of the fifth inning due to the mercy rule after the Lady Wolves extended their lead to eight runs.
The loss sets up a showdown with crosstown rival Thunder Mountain, as the Falcons lost 5-2 to Ketchikan on Thursday. That game will be at 3 p.m. Friday at Moller Field.
The win sent Sitka to the semifinals to face Ketchikan.
Ariana Connally had two hits for the Bears, and Page Adams, Sophia Schauwecker and Amanda VanSlyke tallied RBIs. For Sitka, Tyla Gleeson got on base all four times she came to the plate, and she was one of seven Lady Wolves to drive in at least one runner. Miah Dumag had three RBIs to lead the way for Sitka.
JDHS struck first, scoring a run in the top of the first inning, but Sitka quickly got to JDHS starter VanSlyke, who exited after Sitka scored four runs in the bottom of the inning. Sitka added a pair of runs in the third. JDHS chipped away, scoring twice in the second and twice in the fourth to cut the lead to just one run before Sitka’s explosive fourth inning.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
