The Peninsula Oilers have shown a penchant for rallies that begin with two out and nobody on base throughout the season. They did so once again in dramatic fashion in the 9th inning on Monday.
Two players, batting below the “Mendoza Line” of .200, delivered the RBIs necessary in a 3-1 victory over the Eagle River/Chugiak Chinooks. The tying run was knocked in on an infield out by Josiah Chavez in the 5th, and a 2-run, 2-out, bases-loaded single by Michael Rodda in the 9th gave the Oilers the needed margin for victory.
The runs would have been meaningless without strong pitching from starter Ryne Palmer, who worked 6 full innings, gave up one earned run (the only earned run yielded by the Oilers in this winning streak so far), struck out 8 and walked three.
However, the win went to Drew Dickson in relief, who held the Chinooks scoreless with 5 strike outs. He showed grit after giving up an opening double in the 9th to Tommy Rover, but struck out 2 more and the final out was an unassisted put-out by Rodda at first base with 2 men on.
As usual, the ABL race is tightening, with the league-leading Bucs having lost 3 in a row. The Oilers are a half-game behind the Chinooks and only 4 games behind the Bucs, with four games in hand.
The next Oiler game Tuesday against the Glacier Pilots at 6:00 pm. Former Oilers broadcaster Casey Rohl will be at the mic for both teams during Oiler away games against the Pilots. All games are heard on ESPN 1140, 96.9 FM and radiokenai.com. Bob Bird and Nick Sorrell provide the play by play for all home games.
