The Peninsula Oilers moved into a tie with the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks on Thursday for the final spot in the Alaska Baseball League Top of the World Playoffs.
The Oilers defeated the Anchorage Bucs 11-2 at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, while the Chinooks lost to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots 5-0 at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.
The Oilers are now 14-27 with three home games left to play — today and Friday at 6 p.m. against the Bucs, and Sunday at 2 p.m. against the Bucs. The Chinooks are 13-26.
The Bucs continue to lead the league with a 27-13 record, while the Mat-Su Miners and Anchorage Glacier Pilots are tied for second at 22-16 — four games back.
The Oilers fell behind early Thursday but then exploded on offense to turn it into a feel-good laugher.
The Oilers ended up banging out 17 hits, with Skyler Messinger going 5 for 5 with four runs and two RBIs. Messinger hit his first home run of the season and also turned three double plays.
Also for the Oilers, Travis Bohall was 2 for 5, Connor McCord was 2 for 4 with two runs, Jaden Fein was 3 for 5 with two RBIs and Jonathan Villa had three RBIs.
Eric Reardon picked up the win with another solid start. He went six innings and gave up two runs on six hits. Reardon lasted at least six innings for a fourth consecutive start.
Giancarlos Servin and Heath Olive finished up by combining for three innings of scoreless relief.
Olive also provided the feel-good moment of the game when the Oilers were scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh to stretch the lead to 10-2. Olive, in his first at-bat of the season, tripled to score Villa.
Bucs starter Ian Mejia pitched 4 1-3 innings and gave up six runs — five earned — on nine hits before leaving with an injury. Justin Cook was 4 for 4 for the Bucs.
Peninsula Oilers’ Skyler Messinger slides under the tag of Anchorage Bucs third baseman Justin Cook on Thursday, July 25, 2019, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
