For the third time in four games, the Peninsula Oilers took an early lead only to see it fall Tuesday night in a 13-4 loss to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium.
The loss dropped Peninsula to seven games behind the Alaska Baseball League leaders Mat-Su Miners (18-11), and a game behind their closest opponent, the Chugiak Chinooks (13-18).
Thomas Ruddy went 2 for 4, including a leadoff home run in the top of the ninth, to lead the Oilers, finishing with two runs scored. Matthew Acosta, Josh Congdon, Kellen Strahm, Jack Bauer, Ben Wanger and Jimmy McDonald each scraped out a base hit as well.
One night after ripping a pair of two-run homers, Caleb Hicks finished 0 for 4.
The Pilots broke out the bats with 17 hits against the Oilers. Peninsula starter Tyler Waldrop was pulled with one out in the third inning, finishing with seven earned runs on 11 hits and two walks, while striking out two, dropping his ABL season ERA to 7.17.
Preston Plovanich took over for Waldrop and went 1 2-3 frames, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out two. Mason Corneliussen closed for the Oilers, holding Anchorage scoreless over the final three innings while giving up just two hits. Corneliussen struck out one and did not walk a batter.
Strahm led off the game with a home run to give the Oilers a quick 1-0 lead, and Matthew Acosta followed it with a double, helping him to score later on a wild pitch by Pilots starter Brandon Gomer.
Gomer finished with seven solid innings on the mound, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk, while striking out one.
In the bottom of the first, Anchorage’s Malcom Tipler scored on a throwing error from the outfield, and Carter Bins tied it up with an RBI double. Chris McCready gave the Pilots a 3-2 lead with a sacrifice fly to right field.
An RBI groundout by Jack Bauer in the top of the second helped close the gap to 4-3 for the Oilers, but Anchorage answered in the bottom of the inning with a run.
The Pilots scored four more in the bottom of the fourth to stake out a six-run lead, getting RBI singles by Tipler and Ian Evans, a sac fly from Bins and a run-scoring single from McCready.
The Oilers continue their road trip with a date against the Anchorage Bucs tonight at 7 p.m. at Mulcahy.
