The Peninsula Oilers defeated the Anchorage Bucs 4-1 on Thursday in Alaska Baseball League action at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
The Oilers have now won six of eight on their 10-game homestand. Peninsula also has won two straight against the Bucs after dropping the series opener. The series concludes with 6 p.m. games Friday and Saturday.
The Bucs still lead the league at 10-4, while the Oilers are 7-5, the Mat-Su Miners are 6-8, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots are 7-10 and the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks are 5-8.
There was a cool wind blowing in from right field Thursday night. The Oilers grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning and made it hold up by pitching well and not committing any errors. Peninsula outhit Anchorage 10-3.
“It’s tough to pitch in this kind of weather, it’s tough to do anything,” Bucs head coach Bill Springman said. “But they did the job, and we didn’t.
“The first inning, they scored three runs and that gave them a nice cushion. Their guy pitched really, really well. Hats off to him.”
Jacob Tabor got the win by going seven innings and giving up a run on three hits while walking three and striking out two.
Tabor was a closer with the University of Toledo this season, but he continues to find ways to work deeper and deeper into games with the Oilers.
Oilers head coach Larry McCann said Tabor, who threw 84 pitches, was efficient in pitching to contact. McCann said Tabor generally avoided big mistakes, like leadoff walks.
Tabor only had one leadoff walk, and Cole Carlon scored on a Will Burns single for the Bucs’ only run.
“They hit a couple balls pretty hard, but they didn’t go anywhere,” McCann said. “I told him, ‘Hey, sometimes you see how far they can hit it. It doesn’t go very far.’”
In relief, Emerson Fleck faced the minimum in two innings, striking out three of six. Fleck’s third appearance as an Oiler was his most effective. He just finished high school and will be a freshman at Washington State next season.
“He did a great job throwing strikes,” McCann said. “If you throw strikes and they hit you, you’re gonna get hit. That happens.
“If you don’t throw strikes, there’s no defense for a walk.”
Peninsula’s defense also sparkled, turning an inning-ending double play in the seventh with runners on first and third. The double play started on a high chopper to third.
“We didn’t make an error last night, either,” McCann said. “We’ve been playing good defense.
“I’ve been working on this field. It’s playing well.”
The Oilers got their 3-0 lead in the first with aggressive baserunning.
Petey Soto led off with a walk, then would have been picked off if not for an errant throw from catcher Brody Briggs.
Cole Dawson then put down such a good bunt that he made it to first with a single.
Colin Robson doubled in Soto, Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis hit a sac fly to score Dawson and Robson stole home.
“They have a lot of team speed, and when they get those guys on base they make havoc,” Springman said. “They’re an aggressive, pesky team.”
Peninsula got an insurance run in the seventh to go up 4-1.
Vogelsong-Lewis, who bats lefty, showed how hard it was to leave Seymour Park on this night by absolutely crushing a ball that knocked off the right-field wall for a two-out double.
Ty Thomas finished a 3 for 4 night by singling home Vogelsong-Lewis.
Thomas switched from a 34-inch bat to a 33.5-inch bat before Wednesday’s game and went 2 for 4 in that contest.
Last year with the Oilers, Thomas said he used a 33-inch bat, but he got stronger in the offseason and used a 34-inch bat at Mt. San Antonio College. With the switch to wood, Thomas eventually decided he needed a shorter bat.
“I think it’s more in the head, more than switching bats,” Thomas said.
McCann said Thomas has been doing a good job going to the plate with a plan and sticking to that plan.
“He’s been on time the last couple of days,” McCann said. “He’s a big kid, so when he makes contact and squares it up, it’s pretty firm.”
Robson and Max Roffwarg had 2 for 4 performances for the Oilers.
“They’re grinding it out,” McCann said of his team. “We have some guys that love to play. They’ve kind of settled in a little bit.”
Springman said that except for the first inning, his pitchers did extremely well.
Starter Wyatt Halvorson gave up three runs on six hits in four innings, while reliever Andrew Rudd gave up a run on four hits in four innings.
Anchorage Bucs shortstop Will Burns tags out Max Roffwarg of the Peninsula Oilers on a steal attempt Thursday, June 27, 2024, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Peninsula Oilers starter Jacob Tabor delivers to the Anchorage Bucs on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
