Sitka and Anchorage face off on the ball field

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The 2013 Little League state championships kicked off Wednesday in Wrangell.

While hot weather took its toll on the district play-offs the last two weeks, wet baseballs and mud dominated Wednesday’s first game in the statewide championships.

Torrential downpours bombarded the players with raindrops the size of pebbles.

But the two teams stepped up to the plate with game faces on and toughed it out.

The state is divided into two little league districts. District 1 covers most of continental Alaska. District 2 is Southeast.

In this statewide tournament, northern champ Anchorage faces off against Southeast All-Star team Sitka.

Anchorage took Wednesday’s game 10 to three in the sixth inning. That’s the hardest they’ve played this season, according to team manager Mel Jessie.

He says that while the other teams tried their hardest, the regional tournament just wasn’t that tough for Anchorage.

Sitka manager Rich Riggs says his team is rested up and ready to play. But he says, having back to back tournaments away from home is tough on the kids

Both Jessie and Riggs say their players are working hard. And whichever team wins, they say the game is about more than just baseball.

But, back to the weather. It might be rainy here, but the team that heads south to represent Alaska in the regional tournament in San Bernardino, California next month can expect temperatures in the hundreds when they step off the plane.

The teams are playing for best three out of five. Friday’s game has been re-scheduled for 3pm due to possible rain delays. There are also games set for noon on Saturday and Sunday.

You tune in to KSTK or stream us online at kstk.org for live coverage of the games.