Oilers drop 2 to Pilots

In a one-run game with the tying man 90 feet away, the Peninsula Oilers couldn’t find a way to bring him home in what was a microcosm of the their night.

The Oilers left the bases loaded in the ninth inning to fall 5-4 Friday night to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Coral Seymour Memorial Park. The Oilers lost 9-5 Saturday to the Pilots, sending the Oilers to their fifth straight loss. The Oilers (7-15) have now lost nine of the last 11 Alaska Baseball League contests to drop eight games behind the league-leading Anchorage Bucs (15-7).

Saturday, the Oilers had 11 hits to the 13 of the Pilots, but Peninsula pitchers issued eight costly walks.

Overall, the Oilers stranded 11 total men on base Friday, including every inning but one. Oilers head coach Kyle Brown pinned it on lack of offensive execution in the clutch.

“We left multiple guys on base, multiple guys in scoring position,” Brown said. “We just can’t seem to get that knock. We can get on base, we can hit the ball, but pushing them across home plate and getting a run, it’s not happening right now.”

The Pilots (11-9) won even with five errors on the night, leaving head coach Jeff Pritchard surprised after thrashing the Oilers 15-6 the previous night.

“I have a checklist as a coach in my mind, you have to come back and win a game like we did last night,” Pritchard said. “And sometimes you have to win a game when you don’t play well.

“I tell these guys, wins are like your children — you have to love them even if they’re ugly.”

Hunter Rigsby, who hasn’t allowed a single earned run in over 16 innings of relief this summer, came on to get the last four outs for the Pilots and escaped the bottom of the ninth after giving up a hit and two walks, one intentional.

“Those are free runs that we are not manufacturing right now,” Brown said. “Pitching staff did their part tonight, kept us in the ballgame and gave us a chance to win, but the offense didn’t execute.”

The Oilers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, with the tying run 90 feet away and the winning run in scoring position, but a fly ball to center field by pinch-hitter Giancarlo Servin ended it and gave the Pilots a huge sigh of relief.

Prior to the last out, Calvin Farris was intentionally walked to load the bases after working a 3-1 count against Rigsby, but on the last throw home to send Farris to first, the Oilers dugout called for a balk on Rigsby, who they believe didn’t reach his set on the fourth ball. That led to Oilers bench coach Larry McCann getting ejected by the first-base umpire for arguing the noncall.

Brown said from his third-base post, he didn’t discern Rigsby coming to a stop or not, and was more interested in keeping the two-out rally going from the plate.

“It’s got to be pretty blatant for an umpire to call that,” he said.

Pritchard said after getting their road trip off to a great start Thursday, the Pilots got lucky with Friday’s game.

“This game does not allow you to be careless about any details,” he said. “Now you can get away with being lucky, but you can’t get away with being careless, so you can pick which category that falls under.”

Alameda, California, native Bryan Woo started strong for the Oilers, mowing down Pilots batters with seven strikeouts in four innings of work, but gave up three runs on five hits and three walks.

Drew Thorpe whiffed five in four innings of relief, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks, while Farris pitched a pristine top of the ninth with one strikeout.

Anchorage’s Logan Freeman gave up just two earned runs in five innings, scattering five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Connor McCord helped the Oilers’ offensive woes early with a first-inning homer that barely cleared the left field fence and the foul pole.

Anchorage’s Matt Ottino continued haunting the Oilers with a two-run single lined to right field in the second inning to tie the game at 2-2. Later, Mackay helped Peninsula’s cause with a slick strike-out, throw-out double play on a throw to first.

Alex Baeza put the Pilots ahead 3-2 in the fourth on an RBI single lofted to left field, but Jonathan Villa retorted in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly to knot it up again at 3-all.

Four consecutive base hits off Thorpe to lead off the sixth inning led to two Anchorage runs, with RBI singles by Mendazano and Zach Sehgal providing the scoring punches for a 5-3 Pilots lead.

Mackay got a run back on a sac fly in the bottom of the frame.

The Oilers finish off their five-game series with the Pilots today at 2 p.m. and Monday at 6 p.m.