The Peninsula Oilers hitters saw live pitching from the Oilers pitchers during batting practice Wednesday before the current two-game series with the Seattle Studs.
That paid off with an 11-0 victory over the Studs on Thursday night at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in nonleague action.
It was by far the best offensive effort for the Oilers thus far this season. The most runs the Oilers (6-7 overall) had scored in a game before Thursday was four. Peninsula had eight runs alone in the fourth inning.
“Having the pitchers come out here and throw live absolutely helped us get in the groove,” said Oilers left fielder Alex Seifert, who finished 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI, in a postgame interview on 1140 AM. “To have them come out there and do that for us is great.”
The offensive outburst was particularly encouraging because it came on the heels of the Oilers getting swept in a three-game series against the Everett (Washington) Merchants.
The Oilers scored just two runs on 13 hits in the series, and Everett had all three of its starters throw complete games. The Oilers matched that 13 hits in Thursday’s game.
One thing that didn’t change in Thursday’s game was the dominance of the Oilers pitching staff.
Conner Dotson got the start and went six scoreless innings, giving up just four hits while striking out two and walking two.
Dotson told 1140 AM that a big reason for his success was the return of his curveball.
“The last two games I haven’t been able to throw it at all,” Dotson said. “I’ve been relying on my change-up to get me outs.
“Today, it felt really good. That’s probably the most I’ve thrown it all year.”
Dotson had to wait about 30 minutes for the Oilers to complete their rally in the fourth inning, but said he was able to stay warm in the bullpen and appreciated the run support.
“We’ve been fighting for that for the last four games,” Dotson said of the run support. “It finally felt good to scratch them all out.
“Hopefully, we didn’t use all of them today.”
Also for the Oilers, Joe Mata threw two scoreless innings and Sterling product Mitchel Daugherty finished the game with a scoreless inning.
Leadoff hitter Jordan Washam also had a big day at the plate, going 2 for 5 with a run and five RBIs.
“I had some runners on base,” he told 1140 AM. “I decided I needed to go ahead and try to get them in and give our pitchers some run support.”
Washam also gave credit to the pitchers for throwing batting practice.
“It really helped us get in a groove,” he said. “It really showed today. All of our hitters came ready to play.”
Also for the Oilers at the plate, Bennett Oliver was 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI, James Fowlkes was 2 for 4 with a run, and Jimmy Galusky and Blake Wilfong each scored a pair of runs.
Kenai Central product Hector Rivera got his first at-bat for the Oilers in the eighth inning and popped out.
Mitchel Viydo took the loss for the Studs, going 3 2-3 innings and giving up six runs on five hits.
The series concludes with a 7 p.m. game tonight at Seymour Park. After that, the Oilers go on a six-game road trip to Fairbanks and won’t be back at Seymour Park until July 4.
Despite the extended time off from league play, the Oilers remain in first place in the American League of the Alaska Baseball League with a 4-4 record, which is 1 1-2 games better than the second-place Anchorage Bucs.
Thursday
Oilers 11, Studs 0
Studs AB R H BI Oilers AB R H BI
Clyd lf 4 0 0 0 Wshm ss 5 1 2 4
Svge dh 3 0 0 0 Sfrt lf 4 2 2 1
Boe 3b 3 0 1 0 Olvr 1b 5 1 2 1
LVle ss 4 0 0 0 Bke 3b 4 1 1 1
Bcks 1b 4 0 1 0 Ruhm rf 4 0 1 1
Srld c 4 0 1 0 Flks cf 4 1 2 0
Mrcr rf 3 0 0 0 Mreu dh 4 1 1 1
Bckr cf 3 0 2 0 Rvra dh 1 0 0 0
Hnkl 2b 3 0 0 0 Glsy 2b 3 2 1 0
—- — — — — Wlfg c 3 2 1 2
Totals 31 0 5 0 Totals 37 11 13 11
Seattle 000 000 000 —0
Peninsula 000 800 21X —11
2B — Backet, Becker, Washam, Ruhm, Galusky. 3B — Seifert, Oliver. S — Mercer. E — Hinkle. LOB — Studs 7, Oilers 8.
IP H R ER BB SO
Studs
Viydo, L 3 2-3 5 6 6 2 3
Gray 2 1-3 4 2 2 3 2
Ben 1 3 2 0 0 1 0
Cody 1 1 1 1 0 0
Oilers
Dotson, W 6 4 0 0 2 2
Mata 2 1 0 0 0 2
Daugherty 1 0 0 0 0 0
WP — Gray 2. HBP — by Cody (Fowlkes).
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Kenai Peninsula Oilers’ Adam Moreau cheers Jimmy Galusky through home base during a double play in the game against the Seattle Studs, Thursday, June 25, 2015, at Coral Seymour Park in Kenai, Alaska.
