The Peninsula Oilers defeated the Anchorage Bucs 5-2 on Sunday before falling 13-10 on Monday in Alaska Baseball League play at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
The series is now 2-2 and will be decided at 6 p.m. today.
With the Mat-Su Miners and Anchorage Glacier Pilots still playing Monday night, the Miners lead the league with an 11-6 record, while the Chugiak Chinooks are in second place at 10-8. The Bucs are 9-7, the Pilots are 8-9 and the Oilers are 5-12. The top four in the league make the playoffs.
Monday, the Oilers scored more runs than they had in any game all season, but also gave up more runs than they had all season.
Pitching and defense have normally been solid for the Oilers this season, but the home team committed seven errors as four of the 13 runs were unearned. Both teams racked up 13 hits as the Bucs committed one error and let in three unearned runs.
The Bucs grabbed a 2-0 lead after the top of the first, but the Oilers came back in the bottom of the frame for a 3-2 lead. The Bucs went up 4-3 in the fourth, but the Oilers tied the game in the fifth.
Anchorage then really opened up the game with five runs in the seventh and four runs in the eighth. The Oilers tried to keep pace with three in the seventh and three in the eighth, but it was not enough.
Cole Moore was 4 for 5 for the Oilers, while John Hanley had a pair of doubles and Trevor Antonson had two hits and three runs. Alex Reelfs picked up the victory for the Bucs, while Liam Rocha suffered the loss for the Oilers.
Sunday, Peninsula fell behind 2-0 in the fourth inning only to storm back with three runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth.
Oilers pitching was solid. Mason Posey got the start, lasting five innings while allowing two runs on four hits. Henry Bird then pitched four scoreless innings for the save. Bird allowed two hits and struck out four.
Bryce Marsh led the Oilers at the plate, collecting two hits and three RBIs.
