Softball off and running

The Homer High School softball team went on a shakedown cruise last week, with Head Coach Bill Bell at the helm.

In four nonconference games, the Mariners faced the Anchorage teams of East, West and South, as well as Chugiak.

“We were touring the compass,” said Bell. “We lost all (of the games), all pretty much the same. We started off strong for a couple of innings and then didn’t get it going. It was a shakedown cruise and we learned a lot.”

In the game against Chugiak, Homer scored 2 runs to Chugiak’s 11. East’s Thunderbirds made 10 runs to the single run by the Homer Mariners. It was a 16-3 victory for the West Eagles against Homer and a 10-2 win for the South Anchorage Wolverines.

On Tuesday, the Mariners played their first conference game this season against the Skyview Panthers, who also made the Anchorage area circuit last weekend.

“They beat Eagle River and then lost their other three games,” said Bell of games Skyview played in the Anchorage area last week.

In Tuesday’s game at Skyview, by the end of the third inning, Skyview held a 3-1 lead over Homer.

The Panthers added three more runs in the fourth inning and Homer came back with four runs in the fifth inning.

However, Skyview was able to maintain the lead, claiming a 6-5 victory, the school’s first win over the Mariners.

Today, the Mariners begin the three-day Invitational Round Robin in Juneau, facing teams from Juneau-Douglas, Thunder Mountain, Sitka and Ketchikan.

Games are scheduled for today, Friday and Saturday.

“That’s what we want, as tough a competition as we can have,” said Bell.

Returning to the Kenai Peninsula, the Mariners take on the Kenai Kardinals in Kenai on Monday.

Later in the week, they play the SoHi Stars here in Homer.

For game times call Homer High School, 235-4600.

“If people want to follow the games, go to www.gamechanger.io,” said Bell.

“There’s a link to it off our web site, www.marinersoftball.net”