The Oilers concluded their regular season over the weekend with a 4-1 Saturday victory and a 7-1 Sunday loss to the Chinooks at Coral Seymour Park, with beautiful weather and a great turnout of fans.
An outstanding pitching performance by Homer native Mose Hayes highlighted the Saturday game, along with a Theo Forshay home run. Hayes threw 8 shutout innings and over 100 pitches in the depleted Oiler line-up, struck out 7 and walked only one. Oiler short-stop Owen McElfatrick gave up a run in a relief appearance in the 9th inning.
On Sunday, it was the Chinooks turn to put in an outstanding pitching performance, as Garrett McClue threw a complete game in a 7-1 victory for the Chinooks. He threw 121 pitches, walked only one, and struck out four Oilers, who managed only 4 hits.
However, Oiler centerfielder Nick Costello made history in a relief appearance, as he became the first pitcher in ABL history to make an ambidextrous performance. Using his normal left hand and yielding 3 runs in the 7th, Costello switched to his right hand, placing his catching glove backwards on his left hand, and then promptly ended the Chinooks rally, first with a double play, then a walk and then a ground-out to shortstop Michael Elko.
The Oilers will possibly face the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the ABL playoffs, who swept a DH against the Bucs, but must face the MatSu Miners today, who trail by half a game.
