The Peninsula Oilers split an Alaskan Baseball League doubleheader with the Anchorage Bucs Tuesday evening, dropping the first seven-inning game 7-1 before returning to claim the second game 4-3 at Mulcahy Field in Anchorage.
The split leaves the Oilers with a 4-2 American League record, and 5-2 overall, a game and a half ahead of the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks in the American League standings. The Bucs still trail the Oilers by two games.
In the late game, Peninsula took an early 2-0 lead with a run by Jordan Washam at the top of the first inning that was scored on a balk by Bucs pitcher Quin Grogan. The run was set up by a single by Washam, a walk by Jimmy Galusky and a hit by Brian Ruhm that advanced Ruhm to first on fielder’s choice that put Galusky out. Later in the inning, Brent Diaz then took first base on fielder’s choice that scored Ruhm.
Ruhm hit his second triple of the day in the top of the fifth that brought Galusky in to score, extending the lead to 3-0. Bennett Oliver followed up with a sacrifice fly that scored Ruhm.
The only scoring done by the Bucs was by Stephen Trosclair, who hit two home runs Tuesday — one in each game — to lead Anchorage. Trosclair hit his first homer in the fifth inning of the opener, then brought home Anchorage’s only three runs in the second game with a long shot in the bottom of the sixth.
Josh Medeles earned the win on the mound for the Oilers, going five innings and giving up four hits, three runs, two walks and one strikeout. Paul Lujan secured the save in the seventh and final inning with no hits, no walks and two strikeouts.
In the first game, Aaron Soto, a University of Tennessee freshman, earned the win on the mound for the Bucs with a complete game, giving up eight hits and one run while walking none and striking out two. Cory Abbott took the loss for the Oilers with four innings of work, giving up five hits and four runs while walking two.
Trosclair and Cory Voss both hit 2 for 3 to lead Anchorage, while Trosclair added two RBI and Sam Brown batted in three runs.
The Oilers struck first with a single by James Fowlkes at the top of the first inning that scored Ted Boeke, who got on base with a double on a full count.
The Bucs answered in the third inning with a single by Zane Gurwitz that brought Brodie Leftridge home for a tie game. Two batters later, it was Brown’s two-RBI double that scored Gurwitz and Jake Placzek to give Anchorage a 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, a fielding error by second basemen Washam helped Brown get on base, and scored Gurwitz and Placzek in to score, and Trosclair followed that up with a two-run homer that pushed the Bucs lead to 7-1.
Ruhm recorded a two-out triple in the third inning, but a fly ball by Fowlkes ended the inning shortly after. Ultimately, the Oilers left six men on base.
The infield trio of Washam, Galusky and Oliver twice turned a double play, continuing their early season spectacle of defensive play.
First game
Bucs 7, Oilers 1
Oilers AB R H BI Bucs AB R H BI
Wshm 2b 4 0 1 0 Gurwitz cf 2 2 1 1
Bke 3b 2 1 1 0 Plmr 2b 2 0 0 0
Ruhm lf 3 0 1 0 Brwn lf 3 1 1 3
Flks rf 3 0 2 1 Tclr 1b 3 1 2 2
Olvr 1b 3 0 2 0 Voss c 3 0 2 0
Glky ss 3 0 0 0 Mcty 3b 2 0 0 0
Wlfg c 3 0 1 0 Wrrn dh 2 0 0 0
Hrms dh 3 0 0 0 Lftr rf 3 1 1 0
Wlsn cf 3 0 0 0 Pczk ss 1 2 0 0
Totals 27 1 8 1 Totals 21 7 7 6
Oilers 100 000 0 —1 8 1
Bucs 003 040 x —7 7 0
HR — Trosclair (1). SB — Leftridge (2), Placzek (1). CS — Fowlkes (1). E — Washam (1). DP — Oilers 2 (Washam-Galusky-Oliver), (Washam-Galusky-Oliver). Bucs 1 (Palmer-McCarthy-Trosclair). LOB — Oilers 6, Bucs 2.
IP H R ER BB SO
Oilers
Abbott, L 4.0 5 4 4 2 0
Bovy 1.0 2 3 3 1 0
Kron 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
Bucs
Soto, W 7.0 8 1 1 0 2
HBP — Boeke (5), Placzek (1).
