The Peninsula Oilers defeated the Anchorage Glacier Pilots 11-7 on Wednesday at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage in Alaska Baseball League play.
The Oilers won for the fifth time in six games to vault into fourth place in the league standings.
The Mat-Su Miners lead the league at 15-11, while the suddenly slumping Anchorage Bucs are a half game back at 15-12 and the Pilots trail by a game at 14-12. The Oilers are four back at 10-14, while the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks are 4.5 back at 10-15.
The Oilers played the fifth game in an 11-game road trip that will happen in 10 days. Peninsula has won four of those games.
The Oilers are now 3-2 this season against the Pilots. Peninsula opens the last homestand of the season July 20 with a five-game set against the Pilots.
Peninsula put together 11 hits Wednesday, with eight of the nine players in the lineup collecting base knocks.
Leighton Helfrick was 3 for 5 with two runs, Theo Forshey was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, Michael Elko was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Josiah Chavez had two runs.
The Pilots got 10 hits of their own, but couldn’t keep pace with the Oilers, who led 5-3 after three innings and 11-3 after seven.
Evan Langer got the win for the Oilers, going 5 1-3 innings and giving up three runs on six hits while walking two and striking out six.
Connor Throneberry gave up a run and three hits in 2 2-3 innings, walking three and striking out four. Ty Thomas gave up three unearned runs in an inning on one hit and one walk.
The Oilers stay at Mulcahy to face the Bucs, who have lost four straight, at 6 p.m. Thursday. The game will complete a season series in which the Oilers trail 7-2.
