Summer baseball returned from a nearly two-year hiatus to a large, enthusiastic crowd that was treated to an extra-inning, walk-off Oilers victory at Coral Seymour Memorial Park on Saturday.
Peninsula Oilers 6 – Fairbanks 5 8th Inning
The Peninsula Oilers scored scored the game winning run in the scheduled seven-inning contest against the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks in the bottom of the eighth inning, plating a run capitalizing on the new, extra inning rules which start the inning with a baserunner at second base.
The Oilers scored two runs in the seventh inning to tie the contest at 5-5, after trailing throughout the game. Fairbanks lead 3-0 in the first inning; 4-1 after two innings and the Goldpanners lead 5-3 into the bottom of the seventh.
Cole Hage and Bryan Marsh scored on a triple by Andrew Sojka to tie the game at 5-5; then held the Panners in the top of the eight.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Oilers started with a runner on second base, Ben Grunberg, under the new extra-inning guidelines. Grant Roosma reached on an error, Taylor Johnson reached on an intentional base-on-balls to load the bases. Owen Christy, with the bases full, was hit by a pitch for the game-winning RBI. Final Score: Oilers 6 – Panner 5
The Oilers continue the first homestand with the Goldpanners with games on Sunday and Monday. The Alaska Goldpanners are not currently members of the Alaska Baseball League and games played against ABL teams are classified as exhibition games.
Oilers Homestand Schedule
Sunday, June 6: Oilers vs Fairbanks 2 p.m. (7-inning exhibition game)
Monday, June 7th Oilers vs Fairbanks 6 p.m. (7-inning exhibition game)
All Peninsula Oilers games are broadcast on ESPN 1140AM and streamed live at radiokenai.com with the pregame show starting 20 minutes before scheduled game time.