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A sunset over the left field fence carried the North Pole Patriots from Thursday night into Friday morning.

Mike McAllister carried the Patriots into the second round.

Before their game against Soldotna, Patriots coach Vic Aure decided to save No. 1 starter Chris Aure for the second round, opening the ASAA State High School Baseball Tournament with McAllister on the mound.

Five bend-but-don’t-break innings later, the Patriots set up a second-round showdown with three-time defending champion Sitka after claiming an 8-0 win over the Stars in the six-inning, light-shortened opening-round matchup at Growden Memorial Park.

The game ended a long opening day that saw the second game — a 6-5 Sitka win over Chugiak — go 10 innings, causing a delay of two hours for the start of the Game 3 between West Valley and Colony. That game lasted almost three hours before Colony prevailed 16-12.

With an overpowering fastball and an on-again, off-again curve, McAllister worked six scoreless innings, striking out 13 while allowing four hits and walking four.

It wasn’t always easy going for the junior, who was forced to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth and forced the Stars to strand runners at second and third in the third inning.

The Patriots provided their starter with plenty of run support — though they often did it in unconventional fashion.

With the bases loaded in the top of the third inning, Nick Crutcher crossed the plate on as the front end of a triple steal, with Larsen Kohler’s throw beating Crutcher to the plate but Beau Sisson’s tag not getting applied in time. Mike McAllister, who went to third on the triple steal, came home a pitch later on a wild pitch.

Aure, playing center field, then finished off the three-run inning. Aure tried to steal home, and was tagged out, but the umpires ruled that Kohler balked on his throw home, allowing Aure to score.

The Patriots got on the board early in the bottom of the first when Chris Wolfe led off with a double and came around to score on McAllister’s lazy-fly double to left field. McAllister would come around to score on a wild pitch by Stars starter Junior Griffin. The Patriots then gave themselves insurance in the bottom of the fifth. Aure walked and scored when Travis Wolfe reached on an error to shortstop, and Wolfe came around to score on a passed ball.

After Wolfe scored, Lewis Williams reached on a base on balls, and crossed the plate when Sisson’s throw to second on a steal attempt went deep into center field.