The Peninsula Oilers defeated the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks 4-3 on Wednesday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in a nonleague game shortened to six innings.
The game was shortened because both the Panners and the umpires had to get to the airport in time for flights.
The Oilers now take today off before jumping into a dense part of their schedule: a 4 p.m. Friday doubleheader at the Chugiak Chinooks, a 3 p.m. Saturday doubleheader at the Mat-Su Miners and a 3 p.m. Sunday doubleheader at the Chinooks.
The regular-season Alaska Baseball League title is still very much in the balance. The Oilers are in second, trailing the Miners by 1 1-2 games. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots are two games out of first, while the Anchorage Bucs are four games out of first.
The top two teams in the league have the option of hosting a playoff series, so Wednesday’s game may not be the last at Seymour Park this season. The Oilers could be hosting a series on Aug. 5 and 6.
If not, the home side left a large crowd with a win due to a three-run rally in the sixth inning. It was a double by Brody Wofford that brought in what would be the winning run. Wofford finished with a pair of RBIs on the day.
Daniel Szpik was 2 for 4 for Peninsula, while Marshall Boggs and Austin Piscotty were 1 for 3.
Hasten Freeman got the start and went 4 1-3 innings, giving up three earned runs. Yi-Hsin Huang pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for the victory.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Yi-Hsin Huang delivers home for the Oilers on Wednesday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
