The Peninsula Oilers nabbed their first two wins of the season on Friday and Saturday night, beating the Anchorage Bucs 2-0 and the Chugiak Chinooks 4-2 in their away game series.
Kenai and Chugiak played neck and neck for the first four innings on Saturday night at Lee Jordan Field, not allowing any runs early in the game.
The Chinooks started to put the ball in play in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring one run with one single and one double.
Kenai came back to overwhelm Chugiak in the top of the sixth with four hits.
Andrew Sojka had a single, both Dylan Ditzenberger and John Hanley had doubles, and Grant Roosma had a solo home run to score four, pushing themselves in the lead position.
Neither the Oilers nor the Chinooks scored in the seventh inning, the score still in Kenai’s favor, 4-1.
Chugiak scored an unearned run after two Kenai errors in the bottom of the eighth, tightening the Oilers lead heading into the final inning to 4-2.
Only four Oilers had plate appearances in their last at-bat. They had zero hits and one walk.
Kenai’s Lee Atkinson took the mound in the bottom of the ninth giving up a single and a walk, while striking out two and forcing a putout to win the game.
The Oilers won with four runs on 10 hits and three errors. The Chinooks lost with two runs on seven hits and one error.
Starting pitcher Ben Briggs pitched for five innings. He struck out four, walked one and gave up four hits and one run.
Dylan Crowley pitched for three innings. He struck out six, walked one and allowed one run on two hits.
Relief pitcher Atkinson pitched one inning. He struck out two, walked one and gave up one hit.
The Oilers take the field against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium on Sunday at 4 p.m. Kenai is now with two wins and two losses in the Alaska Baseball League regular season.
Oilers 2, Bucs 0
The Oilers pulled out an impressive win on Friday at Mulcahy Stadium, 2-0, after the Anchorage Bucs almost succeeded in a last-minute run at the plate.
Kenai and Anchorage both played hard defense for over half the game, holding each other scoreless with limited baserunners up until the top of the fifth inning.
In Kenai’s fifth at-bat, Bryce Marsh put himself on base with a single to right field and Taylor Johnson reached on a walk. Henry Novicki smashed a base hit to center field, scoring Marsh and getting the Oilers on the board.
Anchorage held Kenai to just the one run through the sixth and seventh innings, but couldn’t overcome Oilers pitcher Alec Weigel at the plate.
Weigel saw just six Anchorage batters for six outs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings.
The Oilers came with their bats to the eighth inning, both Johnson and Trevor Antonson reaching on singles.
Johnson scored Kenai’s second run on a Bucs pass ball.
Anchorage pitcher David Christie saw just three Oilers batters for three outs in the top of the ninth, the Bucs heading to the dugout for their last at-bat down 2-0.
The Oilers made two putouts in the bottom of the ninth inning. Kenai’s pitcher Weigel gave up two walks, a hit by pitch and threw a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth to put Anchorage runners on base.
With two outs and bases loaded — Anchorage’s tying run on second base and winning run on first — the Kenai coaches subbed Weigel out and put Jake Putnam on the mound in an effort to end the game.
Putnam struck out Anchorage’s Matt Erickson to secure the win for the Oilers.
Kenai won with two runs on four hits and zero errors. Anchorage had one hit, one error and zero runs.
Antonson and Marsh each batted one for four and Johnson and Novicki each went one for two.
Oilers starting pitcher Mason Posey threw five innings. He struck out four, walked five and gave up one hit.
Weigel pitched for 3.2 innings. He struck out two, walked two and gave up zero hits.
Save pitcher Putnam only faced one batter in the bottom of the ninth inning, who he struck out.
Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.
