Ben Griffin entirely changed the course of the home opener with one swing of the bat for the Peninsula Oilers on Wednesday in Alaska Baseball League play at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
Before Griffin’s two-run home run in the bottom of the first that keyed a 5-1 victory over the Anchorage Bucs, not much was going right when it came to the home opener.
The event was supposed to be Tuesday, but rain postponed it. A doubleheader was scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, but rain again had other plans. The Oilers decided to play a single game at 6 p.m., but the first pitch came at 7:47 p.m. due to lingering showers.
That first pitch from Oilers starter Arnad Mulamekic sailed clear to the backstop. The eight after it also were balls. Mulamekic would walk four in the first inning, and strike out three, as a Lex Boedicker walk scored Cade Lacy to put the Bucs up 1-0.
Oilers head coach Larry McCann said there were a number of things that threw Mulamekic off. In all the toil of getting the field ready, the game balls were not rubbed up, leaving them a bit slick. Mulamekic also had to wait a little longer than normal for the game to start after finishing his pregame bullpen, and he was hitting the Seymour Park mound for the first time.
“I don’t want to blame the balls or anything for that,” Mulamekic said of the slow start. “I think just my mechanics didn’t feel that well until the later innings.
“It was just a mix of everything. But reinforcing myself mechanically and in my mind-set thinking, ‘I got this,’ was really helpful in me being successful the rest of the game.”
So was Griffin, Mulamekic’s battery mate.
With two away in the first inning, Theo Forshey, who finished 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI, singled.
Griffin then hit a high and tight pitch he later said might have been ball four high into the heavy air in left field.
The catcher said he was surprised the ball carried all the way over the Seymour Park fence.
“Starting the game, Arnad and I got off to a rough start, but then we dialed it back in,” said Griffin, who was 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs. “Theo got us going, then I got my barrel out front and it carried over the wall, which was pretty cool.”
After the first inning, Oilers pitching was dominant. Mulamekic went five innings and gave up the one run on a hit while walking six and striking out seven.
Connor Throneberry went four scoreless innings for the save, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out four.
Griffin said the Oilers pitchers had success pitching backward, or using offspeed early in the count and fastballs later.
“We started pitching backwards in the second and started working that slider a lot more,” Griffin said. “And (Mulamekic) hit the gates running.
“Connor came in and same deal — working that slider in between pitches and they couldn’t really catch up to the heater.”
The Oilers put together another two-out, two-run rally against Bucs starter and loser Stephen Hernandez in the third.
It started when Forshey hit a broken-bat dribbler that trickled over third base for a single. Griffin then walked. Forshey stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Dylan Maltby.
Griffin would then score on a ground-rule double by Khadim Diaw, who was 2 for 4.
The Oilers finished the scoring in the fourth against reliever Cade Wiegert. Wiegert loaded the bases with one out by hitting Leighton Helfrick and walking Nick Costello and Drewbie Pinkston. Forshey scored Helfrick with a sacrifice fly.
The win keeps the Oilers in the thick of the ABL race. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots lead at 7-5, while the Mat-Su Miners are 7-6. A cluster of teams is 1.5 games back — the Bucs at 6-7 and the Oilers and Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks at 5-6.
The Oilers and Bucs will try another 4 p.m. doubleheader Thursday, then the two squads play at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
McCann said the way the team bonded during the season-opening, 10-game road trip in 10 days was encouraging. The coach also liked the way the team worked to get the rainy field ready to play.
“We have a pretty good group of kids,” McCann said. “It’s one of the better teams we’ve had so far. I’m excited.”
Peninsula Oilers catcher Ben Griffin celebrates his first inning homer with Theo Forshey on Wednesday, June 22, 2023, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Peninsula Oilers’ Leighton Helfrick slides in front of Bucs shortsthop Logan Hokuf on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai. Helfrick’s effort did not result in a stolen base because the base was already his due to a walk. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchorage Bucs’ Myles Smith slides past the tag of Peninsula Oilers shortstop Michael Elko on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Peninsula Oilers second baseman Ryson Ujimori turns a double play in front of Anchorage Bucs’ Jaxon Sorenson on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
