The Kenai Central Kardinals will face off against the Soldotna Stars at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Kenai Central is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Homer, who was ranked 11th at the time (Kenai Central was ranked fifth). The Kardinals fell 12-7 to the Mariners on Friday. The Kardinals' defeat signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Braden Smith was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. On the mound, he struck out six batters over 5.2 innings while giving up three earned (and five unearned) runs off four hits. Smith was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
Daniel Steffenson
| 05/09/25 vs Homer | 2 |
| 05/03/25 @ Palmer | 1 |
| 04/28/25 @ Soldotna | 3 |
| 04/25/25 vs Homer | 1 |
| 04/18/25 @ Kodiak | 2 |
| 04/17/25 @ Kodiak | 1 |
In other batting news, Daniel Steffenson made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-5 with one home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. Steffenson is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Gabe Joanis was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Soldotna). They were the clear victors by a 17-7 margin over Homer on Monday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Stars.
Like Kenai Central, Soldotna also got a great game from a two-way player: Colby Sturman. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Sturman has become a key player for Soldotna: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-8-2 otherwise. Sturman was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Soldotna got a massive performance out of Tucker Blough, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Those four RBI gave Blough a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jett Brophy, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.
Soldotna always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They are 2-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Kenai Central's loss dropped their record down to 5-2. As for Soldotna, their win bumped their record up to 5-9-2.
Soldotna's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Kenai Central hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .341. It's a different story for Soldotna, though, as they've only averaged .244. Will they be able to contain Kenai Central's hitters?
Kenai Central skirted past Soldotna 4-3 when the teams last played two weeks ago. Will the Kardinals repeat their success, or do the Stars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
