The Bears came into the season with plenty of experience, returning 13 seniors, most of which were on hand for the season before's disappointing 7-6 loss to Kodiak in the Mat-Su invitational championship game.
The Bears lost to Ketchikan 13-8 in the opening round of the State Invitational Baseball Tournament but were able to keep their title hopes alive in the double elimination format with convincing wins over Kodiak and Palmer.
The Bears beat Kodiak 11-1 behind a four-hit pitching performance from Casey Walker. Walker went the distance, striking out five. Luke Fanning went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI and Matt Cary drove in two.
In the second game, the Bears beat host Palmer, 14-3. Kory Lanz went all five innings for the win. Bentz (two RBI) and Cary (three RBI) had three hits each. Snuffy Jones, Garrett Schoenberger and Ben Muse had two hits each. Jones and Josh Dean scored three runs each.
The Bears season ended after falling to Ketchikan for the second time in the tournament, this time 2-0. Kings pitcher Kenny Terpsma no-hit the Bears in the win for Kayhi. The Kings went on to win the championship with back-to-back wins over Colony.
Led by senior, pitching standout Chad Bentz, the Bears turned to pitching and defense as their mainstrengths. After Bentz, Casey Walker and Kory Lanz logged the majority of the innings, while Luke Fanning, Kent Mearig, John Blasco, Collin Pilcher, Ben Muse, Patrick Turley, Brent McCurley, and Brian Kostenko all saw action on the mound.
Matt Cary held down first base while sharing catching duties with Garett Schoenberger and Ryan Greg. Turley and Blasco split time at third base, and the Middle infield duo of Chris Lamonica and Snuffy Jones helped keep the Bear’s infield defense tight.
Rob Ridgeway patrolled the grounds in center field and Josh Dean, who was sidelines for the first few weeks of the season with a wrist injury, played his way into the starting lineup for the Bears.