The Peninsula Oilers gritted out a win Tuesday, defeating the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks 9-8 in Alaska Baseball League play at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks.
With the win, the Oilers move to within two games of the league-leading Goldpanners in the league standings and into a tie with the AIA Fire for second. The top two teams in the league standings earn a spot in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
The Oilers jumped on the Goldpanners early, scoring five runs in the second inning and following it with two more in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead.
Oilers starter Chad Decker cruised through the first six innings before the Goldpanners made a game of it, scoring six runs in the seventh.
Decker went 6 1-3 innings and was charged with six runs, five of them earned, on seven hits. Decker walked four and struck out five.
The Oilers added two more runs in the top of the eighth ‹ and needed both of them as the Goldpanners scored two more in the bottom of the eighth.
Dusty Bensko came on in the ninth to record the save after a solid day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and three runs batted in.
Kris Gawriluk worked two-thirds of an inning, and Mike Ekstrom went 1 1-3, allowing two runs on six hits.
The Oilers notched 11 hits, with Joe Holland going 2-for-5 with two runs driven in and Andy Dahl going 2-for-3 with a double and and RBI.
A complete box score will be available in Thursday's Peninsula Clarion. The Oilers will face the Goldpanners in a doubleheader today starting at 5 p.m. in Fairbanks.
