The Soldotna Stars are taking a road trip to square off against the Kenai Central Kardinals at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Kenai Central took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Soldotna, who comes in off a win.
Soldotna is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Homer with a sharp 17-7 victory on Monday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Stars.
Colby Sturman
| 05/05/25 vs Homer | 4 |
| 05/01/25 @ Wasilla | 2 |
| 05/02/24 @ Palmer | 2 |
| 05/24/24 vs Houston | 1 |
| 05/04/24 @ Houston | 1 |
Colby Sturman was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has become a key player for Soldotna: the team is undefeated when he posts at least eight strikeouts, but 2-9-2 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 was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Kenai Central faced Homer in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Kardinals took a 12-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Mariners. The Kardinals' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Braden Smith put in work while hitting and pitching. 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.
In other batting news, Daniel Steffenson was cooking despite his team's loss, going 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.
Kenai Central's defeat dropped their record down to 5-2. As for Soldotna, their record now sits at 5-9-2.
