Juneau’s Legion baseball team sweeps Palmer

Juneau’s Auke Bay Post 25 American Legion Baseball team swept visiting Palmer Post 15 in a pair of Alaska Legion games Sunday at Adair Kennedy Memorial Park behind a walk-off single by Kasen Ludeman in a 7-6 game one win and a Ludeman four-hit pitching gem in an 11-0, game two blitz.

“The team is starting to rebound from some of the game mishaps quicker,” Juneau manager Jeremy Ludeman said. “And they are keeping good attitudes and they are picking each other up and continuing to stay in the game, keep battling all the way to the end.”

The heroics in the seventh inning of Sunday’s opener began with Brenner Harralston hitting a one-out single, Noah Lewis singling and Madden Mendoza being intentionally walked to load the bases, setting set up a Palmer double play.

Instead, K. Ludeman took the first pitch and laced a line drive into left field to score Harralston and end the game.

“I had confidence,” K. Ludeman said. “I mean, I had been put in those positions throughout my career in high school. I’m not saying I knew I was going to do it but I just had a little bit more confidence. It felt good. They intentionally walked my teammate before me. I knew he would have done it, too, as he has been hitting line drives pretty much every at bat, so I had confidence in him to at least put it deep in the field and get that runner in. I had as much confidence as he did so that felt pretty nice to get the win for them.”

Juneau had taken a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning that started with a one-out single by Jacob Katasse and a two-out walk by Lewis. Madden Mendoza walked to load the bases, Ludeman earned a walk to score Katasse, Marcus Mendoza singled, scoring Lewis and Madden Mendoza, Hunter Carte reached on a fielder’s choice scoring Ludeman and JJ McCormick singled to left field, scoring Marcus Mendoza and Carte.

Juneau’s defense was on point the entire series.

A fielding gem behind the plate drew crowd cheers as McCormick tracked down a high pop up that drifted multiple directions in the wind.

“For me, I just try to stay focused,” McCormick said. “For our players in general, you just have to keep the ball in front of you. You can’t let the ball get by you. Everyone is going to get on those pitches and everyone is throwing around the same speed. So as a catcher you just have to be ready for the pitch.”

A series of top plays came through the outfield as fielders tracked down long fly balls, including center fielder Katasse and left fielder Lewis, who is called “Wheels” by teammates. Lewis chased a tailing shot in the top of the third inning to end a brief three-run Palmer rally.

“I am certainly one of the faster players on the team,” Lewis said. “But it is really fun to be in the outfield. You get to show off everything you can do. We have really started coming together more as a team now, not bickering in the dugout, just coming together and putting it all on the line to win the game.”

Palmer added two runs in the top of the fourth inning to pull to 6-5 and tied the game in the top of the sixth inning with two more runners on the bags waiting to come in. But Carte fielded a ground ball and threw the third out of the inning to first baseman Drew Cadigan-McAdoo.

Juneau couldn’t break the tie in the bottom half and needed another string of defense in the top of the seventh inning to stay in the game. Lewis chased down another hard-hit fly ball in left field, Carte handled a line drive and closer Marcus Mendoza struck out the third batter.

“In left field, you have to have a good mindset,” Lewis said. “If you miss a ball, get a bad read and it short hops you, just flush it and move on to the next one. Don’t hold onto that.”

Cayman Huff started for Auke Bay, going 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits and five runs (five earned), walking two batters and striking out one. Marcus Mendoza closed (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 SO).

K. Ludeman went 2-3 at the plate with two RBI, two walks and one run scored. Lewis had three hits, McCormick two, and Marcus Mendoza, Katasse and Harralston one each. Marcus Mendoza and McCormick had two RBI apiece and Carte one. Madden Mendoza earned three walks, and Lewis, Marcus Mendoza and Carte one. Lewis, Madden and Marcus Mendoza, Carte, Katasse and Harralston scored one run each.

Palmer’s Reed Craner led Post 15 with three hits, three runs and one RBI. Craner started on the mound (2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 SO), and Clay Wood relieved (4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO).

“We are starting to get our bats together, which is really nice,” K. Ludeman said. “Our pitching, we don’t have the fastest velocity but I think we are good enough with off speed stuff to get them where we want and our defense has been holding up pretty good. I think we have come a long way since the start of the season.”

In Sunday’s nightcap, K. Ludeman pitched a five-inning, run-shortened 11-0 win (4 H, 2 BB, 4 SO). Marcus Mendoza led Juneau bats with three hits, and K. Ludeman, Carte, McCormick, Cadigan-McAdoo and Harralston one each. K. Ludeman, McCormick and Marcus Mendoza had two RBI each, Lewis, Carte and Cadigan-McAdoo one each. Madden Mendoza scored three runs, and Lewis, K. Ludeman, Marcus Mendoza, Carte, McCormick, Cadigan-McAdoo, Katasse and Harralston one each. Madden Mendoza earned three walks, Lewis, McCormick and Katasse two each.

“I think our chemistry is coming around,” McCormick said. “Most of us were playing for the JDHS season and we still mesh together pretty well. But there are new people coming in and out of this team and we all just needed that to really mesh together and be good teammates.”

Juneau also defeated Palmer 9-6 in a non-league game Saturday. Marcus Mendoza tallied 6 RBI with a three-run double in the bottom of the third inning for a 5-2 lead and another in the bottom of the sixth to take the 9-6 lead. Carte, Christian Brown, Harralston and K. Ludeman all spent time on the mound.

Juneau will play another non-league game against Palmer on Monday.

“It is good to see our progress even when things don’t go our way,” Juneau manager J. Ludeman said. “Overall, I think we are stronger as a team and are working together better. It is all the little things. We played really well up north against West… We just really have to relax and just play the game. That is one of the things we keep encouraging the guys is just to relax and not be so hard on themselves. Just have pride in their fielding and throwing. That’s it. Just truly believe that if the ball comes to them they will field it cleanly and make good throws.”

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.