The Peninsula Oilers came back from a 4-0 deficit in the final three innings to top the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 5-4 on Thursday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
The Oilers move to 6-6 in the Alaska Baseball League and move 2 1-2 games in back of the American League-leading Anchorage Bucs, pending a late game Thursday in Anchorage.
Alex Rubanowitz propelled the Oilers to victory, finishing 3 for 5 and getting both of his RBIs with a two-run double in the eighth inning that put the Oilers ahead to stay.
“I think it’s going to turn our season around,” Rubanowitz said of the victory in a postgame interview on 1140 AM. “We can start winning a few games in a row.”
Zachary Freeman came on in relief in the eighth inning for the Chinooks. He quickly got the first two outs of the inning, but Drake Zarate reached on an error and Jake Sandlin walked.
Zarate and Sandlin then moved up on a passed ball with Rubanowitz at the plate.
Rubanowitz fouled off four pitches before striking a double just out of the reach of the shortstop.
“He left one up and I got it,” he said.
The Chinooks struck first in the third inning against starter Nick Rogowski, who gave up four runs in five innings. With one out, Josh Altmann singled.
The Oilers got the second out, but the Chinooks continued the rally as Kyle Conkle walked. Steven Pollex then doubled to score Altmann and Conkle. Jackson Cramer then followed with a double of his own to bring home Pollex.
In the fourth inning, the Chinooks stretched the lead to 4-0. With one out, Griffith Roark doubled. Then, with two away, Altmann singled to score Roark.
The Oilers began to battle back with three runs in the sixth inning.
Ethan McGill and Nick Thurman began the inning with singles, then Shane Armstrong came in for Thomas Altimont on the mound.
McGill would come in to score on an error by the shortstop, then Thurman and Mylz Jones would score on a double by AJ Hernandez.
The Oilers bullpen made the comeback possible. Chad Rieser had two scoreless innings, while Nolan Sheridan and Jeff Paschke each had a scoreless inning. Sheridan got the win and Paschke picked up the save.
The Oilers host the Mat-Su Miners at Seymour Park at 7 p.m. today and 3 p.m. Friday.
Oilers notes: Vince Belnome, who played for the Oilers in 2008, made his Major League Baseball debut Thursday night. Belnome hit .239 in 44 games for the Oilers.
Belnome served as the designated hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays and finished 0 for 3 with two strikeouts as the Rays lost 8-1 to the Tigers and Max Scherzer.
Thursday
Oilers 5, Chinooks 4
Chinooks AB R H BI Oilers AB R H BI
Ardt 2b 5 0 0 0 Sdln cf 3 1 0 0
Almn ss 4 1 2 1 Rbwz 3b 5 0 3 2
Clns dh 3 0 0 0 McGl 1b 4 1 1 0
Ckle lf 0 1 0 0 Trmn dh 3 1 1 0
Knny ph 1 0 0 0 Rose rf 0 0 0 0
Plx cf 4 1 1 2 Snfd lf 3 0 1 0
Cmr 1b 3 0 2 1 Jnes ss 4 1 0 0
Nvnt rf 4 0 0 0 Hrdz 2b 3 0 1 2
Mrpy c 4 0 0 0 Pske rf 4 0 1 0
Rrk 3b 4 1 1 0 Zrte c 4 1 0 0
Totals 32 4 6 4 Totals 33 5 8 4
Chugiak 003 100 000 —4
Peninsula 000 003 020 —5
2B — Pollex, Cramer, Roark, Rubanowitz, Hernandez. SH — Sanford. SB — Altmann, Rubanowitz, Jones. CS — Rubanowitz. LOB — Chinooks 6, Oilers 10.
IP H R ER BB SO
Chinooks
Altimont 5 5 2 2 3 4
Armstrong 2 2 1 0 1 3
Freeman, L 1 1 2 0 1 1
Oilers
Rogowski 5 5 4 4 5 0
Rieser 2 0 0 0 0 2
Sheridan, W 1 1 0 0 0 0
Paschke, S 1 0 0 0 0 1
PB — Murphy 2. P-S — Altimont 95-61, Armstrong 45-27, Freeman 23-16, Rogowski 102-53, Rieser 23-16, Sheridan 8-6, Paschke 9-6. T — 2:34.
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion Peninsula Oilers left fielder Jordan Sanford slides into second base on a ground ball hit by shortstop Mylz Jones in the fourth inning of their game against the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks at Coral Seymour Memorial Park.
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion Peninsula Oilers third baseman Alex Rubanowitz lines a pitch into right field for a single in the first inning in Thursday’s game against the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks at Coral Seymour Memorial Park.
