Wood Bat tourney carries on legacy of Coz

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From 1975 until his death in 2020, former Twins manager and head coach Lance Coz built a Post 20 Twins program known for great baseball and even better hospitality.

That legacy continues Friday through Sunday at the Lance Coz Wood Bat Tournament at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.

Friday saw South Post 4 defeat Auke Bay Post 25 13-5, the Twins defeat South 11-2 and Madisonville (Kentucky) Post 6 defeat Auke Bay 9-2.

Twins head coach Robb Quelland said Coz used to put in a country email list tremendous amount of time at the field, particularly at the tournament that has been renamed for him.

“Lance would be very excited,” Quelland said. “He would be ecstatic that we won, but he’d also be ecstatic with the quality of the team we’re putting on the field, and what we’re playing against.”

Under Coz, the Twins qualified for state 43 times in his 45 years, won state titles in 1991, 1995, 2012 and 2016, and produced big-leaguers Marshall Boze and Chris Mabeus.

South coach Terry Dannenbring said Post 20 remains a formidable opponent under Quelland.

“Kenai is one of the best teams in the state,” Dannenbring said. “I was hoping we’d have a little better showing. But we’ll get better.”

Auke Bay head coach Joe Tompkins said he’s been involved in Little League or Legion baseball in Juneau for about 35 years now.