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Photo by John Wagner

The North Pole Patriots rallied for five runs in the seventh inning to pull out a hard-fought 9-5 victory over the West Valley Wolfpack in Mid Alaska Conference baseball action Monday evening at West Valley.

The Patriots’ rally came after West Valley overcame a 4-0 deficit in the first inning to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on a base hit by Josh Jefferies that scored Trey Chiu.

“It was a pretty good baseball game,” West Valley coach Dave Hall said. “Outside of a few execution maneuvers we played pretty well. They were just good enough to beat us tonight.”

The victory improved the Patriots to 3-0 in league play heading into a three-day break for graduation and final exams.

The Patriots return to action at noon Saturday when they play a doubleheader against the Eielson Ravens on Wright Field at Newby Park in North Pole. West Valley returns to action on May 20 at Delta Junction.

North Pole used some “small ball” tactics in the seventh to pull out the win.

“I don’t think there were any real big hits in there,” said North Pole coach Vic Aure. “We got some walks and put some pressure on their defense with a couple of bunts.”

Aure lauded the Wolfpack for playing a strong game.

“My hat’s off to West Valley; they played a heck of a game,” Aure said. “They’ve got an awfully young team and they’re go to be very good the next couple of years.”

Mike McAllister, Travis Wolfe and Chris Aure handled the pitching chores for North Pole. Aure pitched the final two innings. He recorded five strikeouts in notching the win.

Hall said Tyler Boles and Tristan Winslow turned in strong pitching performances for the Wolfpack.

Patriots sweep

The North Pole soccer teams swept the Hutchison Hawks in Mid Alaska Conference soccer games Monday night at Allridge Field. The boys posted a 4-1 triumph and the girls captured a 12-1 victory.

The Patriots boys had to work hard to beat “The Beast” — Hutchison defender Cole Daniel.

“The kid is tall, and it’s really hard to get the ball past him,” North Pole coach Rob Martinez said of the 6-5 Daniel. “We call him ‘The Beast’ because that’s exactly what he is.”

Four different Patriots did manage to score goals — Navarone Copley, Dave Ebanez, Travis Church and Phillip Hingst.

Martinez also lauded Hutchison goalie Steffan Katechis.

“He shut us down last year and he did an excellent job again tonight,” Martinez said. “The kid can play.”

Bryant Palm scored the lone goal for the Hawks.

Chelsea Wilkes and Liz Rodgers each scored three goals in the Patriots girls win over the first-year Hawks. Kayla Rivers, Emily Chiarell, Anita Holladay, Sicely Shankle, Kim Hingst, Allyse Eide also scored for North Pole. Kacey Fugate pitched in with a strong defensive performance.

Junior Feya Hutchens scored an historic first for the Hawks. She became the first girls player in school history to score a goal for Hutchison.

“The girls are working hard and I’m really proud of them,” Hutchison coach Scott Tompkins said. “They kept their heads up and played a strong game all the way to the end.”

Wolfpack sweeps

The West Valley boys and girls posted a Mid Alaska Conference soccer sweep of the Monroe Catholic Rams Monday night at West Valley.

The Wolfpack girls notched 4-0 win and the boys claimed a 3-0 verdict.

Malia Simpson scored West Valley’s first three goals and Shelby Solomon notched the final tally. Keeper Mackenzie Maxwell registered the shutout.

Details of the boys game were not available Monday evening.

Ahlstrom no-hitter

West Valley’s Sam Ahlstrom pitched a no-hitter and helped her own cause with a triple as West Valley defeated Monroe Catholic 9-1 in a nonconference game against the Monroe Catholic Rams, who were playing their second game of the day at the Interior Girls Softball Association Fields.

Jen Brand had a triple and a run batted in for the Wolfpack. Kaitlyn Evans also had a triple and two RBI. Katrina Lydon came through with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate.

The Wolfpack return to action Friday evening when they host the Wasilla Warriors in a Railbelt Conference game at the IGSA Fields. West Valley takes on North Pole and Eielson on Saturday.

Patriots prevail

Nicole Chalstrom connected for a two-run game-winning hit in North Pole’s last at bat as the Patriots pulled out a 7-6 win over Monroe Catholic in nonconference softball action.

Kelsie Stidhim also drove in two runs for the Patriots.

Christine Sanderson had two singles and a home run for Monroe Catholic.

Contact the News-Miner sports department at 459-7581.