The Peninsula Oilers split a Thursday doubleheader with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium, winning the opener seven-inning affair 5-4 and losing the nightcap 2-0.
The split left the Oilers 8-14 overall this summer, eight games behind the Alaska Baseball League leading Mat-Su Miners (18-8).
Soldotna product Joey Becher got the start in the first game, giving up three runs (two earned) on six base hits and two walks, striking out one. Trent Paddon ended up nabbing the win in relief, finishing the final 2 2-3 innings and holding the Pilots to one run on two hits and a walk, while striking out three.
Kellen Strahm and Nathan Webb notched two hits apiece to lead the Oilers, with Webb notching a solo home run.
The Pilots took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third with an RBI single by Ian Evans, but the Oilers got one back in the bottom of the inning, then tied it up at 2-all in the bottom of the fourth with Webb’s solo shot.
Will Brennan put Anchorage back on top with an RBI double in the fifth, but Benjamin Wanger tied it up yet again in the bottom half with a run-scoring single with two outs, and Webb gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead with a single. Thomas Ruddy scored an insurance run for the Oilers with a single at the next bat.
In the second game, Max Karnos pitched the Pilots to the win with a stellar complete game, notching five strikeouts in seven innings, and giving up just one hit and one walk.
Strahm broke up the no-hitter with two outs in the sixth for the Oilers. The Pilots finished the night with five hits, highlighted by an RBI triple by Cuba Bess.
The Oilers continue their road trip today with a 7 p.m. game against the Miners at Hermon Brothers Field, followed by another 7 p.m. clash Saturday.
