Legion A baseball team goes 5-0 in Fairbanks tourney to avenge regionals loss to Alaskan team last summer

The satisfaction wasn’t as overwhelming as it maybe would’ve been a year ago for the Central Point Comets, but sweeping their way to a tournament championship in Alaska still felt pretty darn good Tuesday night.

The Comets capped a 5-0 run at the Lions’ Midnight Sun Matchup Tournament in Fairbanks, Alaska, with a 6-2 triumph in the championship game over the Ketchikan Kings — earning a measure of redemption after being eliminated by Eagle River of Alaska in last year’s American Legion A Northwest Regional.

“We owed the state of Alaska a little payback for ending our season last summer when that Eagle River team beat us in the regionals,” Central Point head coach Jay Campbell said with a laugh.

While the post-tourney mood may have been light-hearted for the Comets, they certainly took a business-like approach to their trip north. Central Point was virtually untouchable through wins covering last Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

When it came time for Tuesday’s finale against Ketchikan, the Comets got their first dose of drama when the Kings scored in the bottom of the first and led 2-1 through four innings.

After that, however, Central Point ratcheted up its play and used a three-run fifth inning and two closing runs in the seventh to seal the tourney title.

“We played really well and had been pretty dominant the whole tournament,” said Campbell. “The championship game was a good game, we actually were trailing for the first time in a while and just were able to get it going starting with a run in the fourth inning. From then on, we kind of just played well to finish the game.”

Alex Johnson pitched a complete-game five-hitter with eight strikeouts, and supplied the go-ahead run in the fifth with an RBI triple. Johnson, who was an all-state selection as a Crater junior this spring, retired nine of the final 10 batters.

“He actually got stronger as the game went on,” said Campbell. “He struck out the side in the sixth and 2-of-3 in the seventh. He kind of settled and was pretty dominant down the stretch.”

Ketchikan scored its runs on a wild pitch and an outfield error.

Zack Harrington and Caleb Cornett each drove in a pair of runs for the Comets, while Johnson, Harrington and Mason Snopl came through with extra-base hits.

The journey to Alaska began last Thursday for the local baseball team, and included an opportunity to watch the 120th W.G. and Eddie Stroecker Midnight Sun Game at Growden Field in Fairbanks last Friday.

The event takes advantage of the Alaska phenomenon around the summer solstice where the sun remains visible for 24 hours a day in certain locations due to the Earth’s tilt on its axis and its orbit around the sun. Many areas experience a “midnight sun” where the sun barely dips below the horizon and it remains twilight for a significant portion of the night.

“It pretty much stays light all day long here,” said Campbell. “There is no nighttime, so it’s pretty wild.”

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035