Burning the midnight oil: Serra graduate Ian Armstrong takes to Alaska for the summer

“It’s interesting because the sun never sets here,” Armstrong said. “So, you have like 24 hours of the day to go out and go do whatever you want.”

With the Panners’ games regularly starting at 6:30 p.m., Armstrong has developed a unique postgame ritual with his teammates. They’ll usually enjoy a late dinner, then head over to the Chena River to go grayling fishing. Not a bad way to spend your summer midnights.

Armstrong has been having just as much fun during normal daytime hours on the diamond. Splitting time between his natural catching position and first base, he is currently batting .301 with a team-leading four home runs and 12 RBIs. He opened the summer season hitting safely in 13 of his first 16 games, and finished June with a nine-game hitting streak, batting .357 (15 for 42) over that stretch.

“I think, for me, it was kind of tapping into some pull-side power a little bit,” Armstrong said. “Becoming more, not necessarily a power guy, but hitting the ball more consistent to the left side of the field.”

Armstrong showed off some power at Saint Mary’s, slashing .364/.402/.576 while totaling five home runs and 40 RBIs. It was quite a splash for the freshman who joined a Gaels roster with a good depth of catching talent. When Saint Mary’s opened its season with a four-game series in Moraga against Saint Louis University, however, Armstrong found himself splitting catching time with redshirt senior Hayden Driggs, starting two of those games.

“Yeah, kind of looking back on it, our first little catching meeting, we had guys who had played before ... just big guys,” Armstrong said. “I was just taken how this was a different level, so I was a little surprised.”

A week later, when the Gaels traveled to Nashville for a three-game series at No. 15 Vanderbilt, Armstrong was in the starting lineup for the series opener, along with 2022 Half Moon Bay Jared Mettam at shortstop, with Armstrong going 2 for 3 in Saint Mary’s 11-4 loss.

“I was in the starting lineup, and that was kind of surreal for me,” Armstrong said. “Playing a top-25 team in the starting lineup. I don’t know. I was kind of shocked.”

By the time Saint Mary’s advanced to the NCAA regional playoffs — the second regional appearance in program history — Armstrong was catching full time. That includes the May 30 series opener against Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon, going 1 for 4 with a double in Saint Mary’s 6-4 victory. It marked the first victory in an NCAA playoff game in Gaels history.

“It was a cool thing to be a part of,” Armstrong said.

After Saint Mary’s was eliminated — falling 6-4 to USC May 31, and 20-3 to Oregon State June 1 — Armstrong headed home and attended one Serra game before heading to Alaska. His Saint Mary’s teammate, right-handed pitcher Lukas Sarantos, also joined the Panners, and is one of Armstrong’s fishing buddies, along with catcher Efren Ortega, out of Long Beach State.

Ortega has been getting a majority of the playing time behind the plate, with Armstrong getting reps at first base. He is so new to the position, he has been borrowing a first-base glove from teammates Alex Garcia.

“The first game they put me in there I texted my dad and I said: ‘I can’t remember the last time I played first base,’” Armstrong said.

Catching comes second nature to Armstrong, and his family. His younger brother Jack, who graduated from Serra in the spring, took over behind the plate for the Padres this past season after the elder Armstrong’s graduation in 2024. Each of the brothers has been catching so long, Armstrong said he recalls a Christmas morning from his childhood when they both received new catching gear from Santa Claus.

Armstrong’s biggest thrill this summer came at the plate, though, in the most anticipated game on the schedule for the Panners at their Growden Memorial Field home — the annual Midnight Sun Game. While the Panners fell 7-2 to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Armstrong got his team on the board before a packed house of approximately 3,000 fans, with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

“It was just kind of fun to hear that big of a crowd, their reaction,” Armstrong said. “It was just surreal. It was kind of cool.”

With a current 22-5 record, the Panners haven’t done much losing. Dealing with a minor knee injury, Armstrong has only played in two games in July, but said he expects to return to the lineup this week — well before the team’s Aug. 2 season finale.