The Peninsula Oilers defeated the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 6-1 on Monday in Alaska Baseball League action at Lee Jordan Field in Chugiak.
Behind two home runs from Colin Robson, the Oilers finished an eight-day road trip at 4-5.
The performance on the road leaves the Oilers in relatively good shape for the rest of the season.
The Anchorage Bucs, at 16-6, are threatening to run away with the league. But the Oilers and Mat-Su Miners are tied for second place at 12-11. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots are in fourth at 9-15, while the Chinooks are last at 7-13.
The Oilers have 17 games left in the regular season. Ten are at home — five against the fourth-place Pilots and five against the last-place Chinooks.
The series against the Chinooks is Thursday through Monday. All games are at 6 p.m. at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, except for the 2 p.m. Sunday tilt.
On the remaining road trip, the Oilers play the Bucs twice, the Pilots twice, the Chinooks twice and the Miners once.
Peninsula, which had lost two straight coming into Monday, can chalk a lot of the feel-good momentum up to Robson.
In the third inning, Robson, who bats lefty, put the Oilers up 2-0 when he drove in Max Roffwarg by striking a home run off the foul pole in right field.
In the ABL, home runs have been rare this season. Robson, now with four, is the only player with more than two.
But speaking of rare, in the top of the ninth inning Robson homered off the foul pole again to score Cole Dawson and put the Oilers up 6-0.
As if that were not enough, Robson, a center fielder, also factored in one of the biggest defensive plays of the game.
In the sixth inning, with the Oilers clinging to a 3-0 lead, Robson collected Jordan Jaffe’s no out double off the wall and threw to shortstop Cole Dawson, who cut down Louis Zulaica, trying to score all the way from first, at the plate.
Max Sasaki cruised through five innings to get the win for the Oilers, allowing no runs on three hits while walking one and striking out none.
The Oilers were able to get to Chinooks starter and loser Jacob Hayes for three runs on three hits in three innings.
In the fourth, the Oilers went up 3-0 when Cole Wilson walked and Bryce Burkey, who was 2 for 4, moved Wilson to third with a single. Roffwarg then grounded into a double play to score Wilson.
Nathan Hoffman then worked three scoreless innings for the Oilers, getting a lift not only from the play in the sixth, but also a catch from Petey Soto running into the outfield that was so good the runner was caught off second base for a double play.
The Oilers got to Chinooks reliever Gavin Alveti for one run in five innings. That run came in the seventh to make it 4-0.
Dawson started with a single, then a Robson bunt sacrificed Dawson to second. Ty Thomas singled in Dawson.
John Green came on in the ninth for the Chinooks and served up the homer to Robson.
Colby Reynolds gave up a run for the Oilers in the ninth.
