The Peninsula Oilers came up big in the late innings for a second straight day Thursday, scoring all five runs of a 5-3 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the eighth inning at Mulcahy Field in Anchorage.
One night after playing 14 innings of a heated game with the Anchorage Bucs, the Oilers returned to record 10 hits while holding the Pilots to seven hits. The Oilers moved to 12-8 in the Alaska Baseball League, four games ahead of the Anchorage Bucs (7-11) in the American League standings, and have won six out of their last seven games.
Wednesday night, Oilers coach Kevin Griffin was involved in a brief altercation with Bucs coach Michael Grahovac, who was ejected for arguing a call just prior to returning to the field and confronting Griffin. The two coaches got into a heated discussion, which ended when Grahovac chest-bumped Griffin, who shoved Grahovac back. Grahovac responded by taking a swing that just missed Griffin, and the two were quickly separated by players and officials as Griffin took a swing at Grahovac. Griffin was not ejected after the incident. He was suspended for three games, is appealing the suspension on the grounds he did not initiate the incident, and was not in uniform Thursday.
In their first game against the Pilots this summer, Peninsula shook off the dust and showed why it is the top team in the AL with its plate prowess. Alex Seifert and Jimmy Galusky both hit 2 for 4, while Jordan Washam went 2 for 5.
Sean Michel recorded the save for the Oilers, pitching the final two frames with a single run scored on three hits, while retiring two batters. Joe Mata went the first five innings of scoreless play with three hits given up.
The Pilots struck first in the bottom of the sixth, as Adalberto Carrillo brought Joe Moroney home on a sacrifice fly to right field.
In the top of the eighth, the Oilers brought all nine batters up to bat, with five earning a hit, starting with a leadoff double by Billy Wilson. James Fowlkes, Washam, Seifert and Bennett Oliver all got on base with singles, which brought in three runs. After batting in the go-ahead run, Oliver scored on a throwing error by the shortstop, and Ted Boeke scored on a wild pitch to give the Oilers a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, 6-foot-7, 250-pound Joe Wainhouse blasted a homer to center field to close the gap, but it was all the Pilots could manage. On the final out of the game, Kevin Viers struck out swinging on a full count with the tying run on second.
The Oilers return home for a 7 p.m. game tonight against the Pilots at Coral Seymour Memorial Park.
Thursday
Oilers 5, Pilots 3
Oilers AB R H BI Pilots AB R H BI
Wshm ss 5 1 2 1 Hmbn cf 5 0 1 1
Sfrt lf 4 0 2 1 Mrny rf 3 1 2 0
Olvr 1b 4 1 1 1 Vzqz ph 1 0 1 0
Bke 3b 3 1 0 0 Lbsk 1b 4 0 0 0
Ruhm dh 4 0 0 0 Vrs ph 1 0 0 0
Diaz c 4 0 1 0 Trtw c 3 0 0 0
Glky 2b 4 0 2 0 Novk c 0 0 0 0
Wlsn rf 3 1 1 0 Crlo 3b 2 0 1 1
Fwks cf 3 1 1 0 Tcio dh 1 0 0 0
— Wnhs ph 1 1 1 1
— Lchr lf 4 0 0 0
— Crts 2b 4 0 1 0
— Wtsn ss 2 1 0 0
— Andr ph 0 0 0 0
Totals 34 5 10 3 Totals 31 3 7 3
Oilers 000 000 050 —5
Pilots 000 001 110 —3
HR — Wainhouse (1). SF — Carrillo (1). SB — Oliver (1), Hamblin 2 (10), Moroney (5), Watson (7). CS — Seifert (2), Diaz (2), Moroney (1). E — Mata (1), Watson (10). LOB — Oilers 5, Pilots 9.
IP H R ER BB SO
Oilers
Mata 5.0 3 0 0 1 2
Ennis 1.0 0 1 1 2 0
Holden 1.0 1 1 1 1 1
Michel, W 2.0 3 1 1 1 2
º
Pilots
Jacobs 7.0 4 0 0 1 5
Stallings, L 0.1 5 4 3 0 0
Judish 1.2 1 1 0 1 2
T — 2:46.
