The Oilers bats came to life with their season in the balance. An 11-2 drubbing of the Anchorage Bucs (27-13) on Wednesday put the Oilers (14-27) back in sole possession of the fourth place in the Alaska Baseball League standings.
Oilers 11- Bucs 2
The Bucs opened the scoring with a Victor Cerny two-run triple in the top of the second inning against Oilers starter Eric Reardon.
Then, the Oilers took control. The bats picked-up Reardon on the mound, outscoring the Bucs 11-0 over the remaining seven innings.
In the fourth inning, the Oilers tied the game against Bucs starter Ian Mejia. A Jaden Fein RBI single and a Jonathan Villa sacrifice fly began the scoring for the Oilers. Villa drove in a season high three runners in the win. Fein recorded a season-best three hits in the victory.
The Oilers erupted for four runs in the fifth inning against Mejia to take a 6-2 lead. Two runs both scored on wild pitches, and a two-run home run by Skyler Messinger, his first of the summer, capped the inning. The Oilers chased Mejia after 4.1 innings.
Messinger finished 5-5 at the plate, (three singles, a double, HR). He finished a triple shy of what would’ve been the Oilers first cycle since 2000.
Reardon finished on the mound after six innings. The left-hander has thrown six or more innings in his last four starts (the only starter to do so in the ABL).
The Oilers added four more runs in the seventh inning against reliever Brody Jessee on a double by Villa drove in two runs, a Heath Olive RBI triple in his first at-bat of the summer and a Drew Thorpe RBI single.
The final Oilers run was scored on an RBI groundout by Fein, capping the Oilers 11-2 win.
ABL Playoff Update:
An Oilers win on Thursday and a Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks loss against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots catapulted the Oilers back into fourth place.
Oilers continue homestand on Friday:
Kendall Ford sponsors game three of the Oilers five-game series against the Bucs Friday, a free admission night at Coral Seymour Memorial Park at 6 p.m. Kendall Ford will also collect donations of jars of peanut butter for the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank.
Oilers homestand schedule:
Friday: Kendall Ford Night, 6 p.m.
Saturday: Dolifka & Associates Night, 6 p.m.
Sunday: Coca-Cola, 2 p.m.
Alaska Baseball League Standings:
Anchorage Bucs: 27-12
Mat-Su Miners: 22-16
Anchorage Glacier Pilots: 21-16
*Peninsula Oilers: 14-27 (13.5 GB)
*Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks: 13-26 (13.5 GB)
*Have not clinched playoff berth. Oilers have better win percentage (0.341) than the Chinooks (0.333).