Homer heavy hitters still focused on that ‘next pitch’
Hannah Larue is having a good week; at least from a softball point of view.
The Lady Mariner junior is batting .564, with 10 doubles, one triple and one home run so far this season. She has driven in 23 runs.
Oh — and she threw a no-hitter against Bartlett on Saturday.
“It was my first no-hitter, and I actually had no idea it was a no-hitter until Coach told me a couple hours after the game,” Larue said. “It had been a long weekend and I was just focused on having a good game and finishing strong.”
Baseball comes home after long stint on the road
The Homer Mariner baseball team returned for games at home after going 1-2 on the road over the past week in Kenai and Kodiak.
The M’s opened play on Thursday, traveling to Kenai to play the Kardinals in a conference match-up. Homer fell 1-4 in the game. Mariner sophomore Brian Rowe scored the lone run for Homer in the first inning, while sophomore Zack Haning, freshman JJ Sonnen and senior Tayler Downes each produced hits for the team. Downes’ success came in the form of a double in the fourth inning.
Kenai was held to five hits for the game, none of them for extra bases. Homer Head Coach Lary Kuhns said that errors by the Mariners proved to be the difference.
“Three of the four Kenai runs were unearned,” Kuhns said.
Sports Briefs – May 16
Lady Mariner soccer ends season The Homer Lady Mariner Soccer team ended its 2012 season last week with a 0-1 loss to the Lady Bulldogs in Nikiski on Saturday. The Bulldogs scored an early goal and maintained a strong defensive pressure on the Lady M’s to hold Homer scoreless for the match. The Lady Mariners [...]
Mariners remain undefeated going into post-season play
Homer junior Konstantin Reutov netted a hat trick in the Mariners’ 8-1 road win over Nikiski on Saturday. The M’s remain undefeated at 9-0-2 for the season as they head into Regional play this weekend.
Homer fell behind for the first time this season when the Bulldogs scored early in the contest.
But Reutov and team were having none of that. The Mariner offense kicked things up a notch, punching in five goals before the half.
“After I scored two goals, I just tried to stay aggressive,” Reutov said of his quest for the hat trick. “I pressured the defense, trying to make them mess up so I could score again.”
Reutov said he got a lot of help from his teammates.
“My game is trying to make good runs,” he explained. “My teammates saw the openings and passed to me.”
Homer also got two goals from Connor McCarron, while brothers Mario and Robin Glosser each chipped one in. The Bulldogs inadvertently scored on themselves to account for Homer’s final point.
Shutout ends Lady M’s 5-game losing streak
Lady Mariner Mady Gerard scored four goals on Thursday to lead Homer to a 5-0 victory over visiting Houston. Maggie Koplin picked up the fifth goal in the win that snapped a five-game losing streak.
“Our girls are playing extremely tough, with a never-give-up attitude,” said Homer Head Coach Mickey Todd. “We struggle putting the ball in the net as we figure out how to move together as a team.”
According to Todd, with the toughest part of their schedule behind them, the Lady M’s are hoping to pick up a couple of future wins from the hard lessons learned over the past two weeks.
“A couple of wins this week would really help boost their morale,” Todd said of his team. “Our main goal this year is to return to the Region Tournament after a two-year hiatus.”
Lady Mariners hope softball history repeats itself
Homer High softball coach Bill Bell can see the big picture. He’s seen it before. Bell captained a cohesive team of very talented young athletes to a state softball title in 2006. They were focused and committed — and had a lot of fun playing softball together.
Have you seen this year’s Lady Mariner Softball team?
“It’s deja vu all over again.” (Yogi Berra, circa 1961)
These Lady M’s are a definite force to be reckoned with. Powerful pitching and brawny bats help round out a squad of otherwise pleasant and friendly young ladies. Surely fleeting thoughts of the ‘06 season must be dancing in Coach Bell’s mind.
“We talk a lot about having no expectations other than ‘next pitch,’” Bell explained. “They are not taking anything for granted. They are totally focused on what is important now.”
M’s remain undefeated following 5-1 Kardinal crushing
The Homer boys soccer team extended its season record to 7-0-2, following a 5-1 win over the Kenai Kardinals on Monday. The Mariners are now 3-0 in the Northern Lights Conference Southern Division.
The M’s had little trouble on offense against the Kards, grabbing goals from Lennart Von Schlicting, Mario Glosser, Vegard Unhjem and Cole Krikac.
Kenai’s lone goal found the back of the net after glancing off a Mariner defender.
The Mariners spread the scoring around fairly evenly against Houston on Thursday, picking up goals from six different players in their win at home. Von Schlichting, Robin Glosser, Konstantin Reutov, Mario Glosser, Grant Arseneau and Burl Tonga each scored a goal for the Mariners.
“Houston was missing two key players on Thursday,” explained Mariner Coach Warren Waldorf. “That made our work a bit easier than it might have been.”
Sports Briefs – May 9
Tracksters shine at Boroughs Senior Travis Smith earned the lion’s share of his team’s points with strong finishes in both sprint and field events at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Track and Field Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Mariner team placed fourth overall, edging Soldotna by one point. Smith placed second in the long jump, [...]
Matured Mariners march toward soccer greatness
Every few years, a Homer High School team comes along that just seems destined for success. Some of them sneak up on you, like last fall’s mean and mighty Mariner football team earning its first-ever appearance at the state tournament.
Others are practically palpable.
Homer Middle School had a relatively substantial Husky soccer program four years ago. That was back when this year’s upperclassmen were seventh and eighth graders. How is it not logical that these young men would only improve with stronger skills and athletic maturity? Let’s do the math.
Fish and Game restricts Anchor River king fishing
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fishing, announced Monday that sport fishing on the Anchor River will be open during five, three-day weekends (Saturday–Monday) for 2012: May 19–21, May 26–28, June 2–4, June 9–11 and June 16–18. The river will not open to sport fishing on Wednesdays, as stated in the 2012 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulation Summary booklet.
In addition, the ADF&G regulatory marker will be relocated to approximately 1,000 feet downstream of the junction of the North and South forks beginning 12:01 a.m., Saturday, May 19, through 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, July 31. These changes are being taken to conserve Anchor River king salmon.
