Peninsula Oilers

Joe Winterburn cranked a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift the Anchorage Bucs to a 6-4 win over Peninsula Oilers in a key Alaska Baseball League game on Tuesday.  The victory enables the Bucs to climb within three games of the league-leading Oilers.  The Bucs had blown a 4-0 lead before Winterburn's heroics. Elsewhere in the ABL, Brady Hohl delivered the go-ahead two run single in the fifth inning to help the Glacier Pilots defeat the AIA Fire, 8-6.  Hohl finished the game 2 for 5 with three RBI's.  The Pilots, ( 13-16 in league )

A committee of Glacier Pilots pitchers shut out the first place Peninsula Oilers on Monday night, holding the Oilers to just three base hits in a 2-0 victory.  Matt Vinson and Dustin Torchio drove in the Pilots only runs, on back to back RBI hits in the third inning. The loss sends the Oilers to 19 and 10 in the Alaska Baseball League, still three and a half games ahead of the second place Anchorage Bucs.  The Bucs fell to the Mat-Su Miners on Monday, 8-4.  The Miners collected four runs in the first and padded their lead with three in the fourth inning.

The ABL-leading Peninsula Oilers missed a chance to put pressure on their pursuers with a 5-2 loss to the Athletes In Action Fire on Wednesday night.  The loss enables the idle Mat-Su Miners to climb within two and a half games of first place.  The Miners have three league games to play while the Oilers have five. Fading fast are the Anchorage Bucs, who lost for the fourth straight time, 3-1 to the Glacier Pilots.  Aaron Judge and Kavin Keyes each drove in a run in the Pilots two-run fourth inning, while seven Pilots pitchers combined to retire the final 16 batters of the evening.

The Alaska Baseball League champion Peninsula Oilers announced their presence in Wichita, Kansas with a 14-1 drubbing of the Northwest Honkers from Washington in round one of the double elimination National Baseball Congress World Series.  Stephen Branca, newly acquired from the Mat-Su Miners, cleared the bases with a three-run double in the first inning and Patrick Wisdom homered in the Oilers seven-run second inning as Kenai won...

Patrick Wisdom and Stephen Branca each drove in two runs in a seven run second inning as the Peninsula Oilers claimed a 9-1 mercy rule victory over the Seattle Studs in Sunday's winners bracket game at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas. Boomer Collins also had a big night for Kenai, going 3 for 4 with two runs batted in.  Chris Mallory added two hits for the Oilers. The victory marks the Oilers second by mercy rule in three tournament games.  They improve to 3 and 0 in the tournament, one of four undefeated teams left in the double elimination event.  The Oilers, who have won three NBC World Series titles, are off until Tuesday.

Troy Channing provided all the offense the Peninsula Oilers would need, smacking a three-run homer in the top of the first inning in Kenai's 3-1 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots on Wednesday night. The Oilers, who have led the Alaska Baseball League for most of July, won for the 10th time in their last 12 games and are now 17 and 8 in league play. Earlier in the day, the second-place Anchorage Bucs remained three games behind the Oilers with a 3-2 victory over the AIA Fire in 10 Innings.

Patrick Wisdom of the Peninsula Oilers and Adam Martin of the Mat-Su Miners continued their home run derby in regular season play on Monday.  One day after Martin defeated Wisdom in the finals of the ABL's first home run derby contest on All-Star Sunday, both players belted homers to help their teams to victory. Wisdom connected for his league-leading fourth homer of ABL action in the Oilers 8-4 victory over the Pilots.  The win gives Kenai a 16 and 7 ABL record, good for a four game lead over the Anchorage Bucs.

The Anchorage Glacier Pilots spoiled the opening game at Chugiak-Eagle River's Loretta French Ballpark with a 6-1 win over the Chinooks on Monday night.  The victory marks the first all summer for the Pilots after beginning the season with seven straight losses, while the Chinooks drop to 3 and 1 in Alaska Baseball League play. Nick Backlund ( Mercer ) went 3 for 4 for the Pilots, while Tyler Spoon ( Arkansas ) clubbed a 400 foot two-run homer.  Elsewhere in the ABL, the Peninsula Oilers improved to 6 and 1 in league play with a 9-1 rout of the Mat-Su Miners.  Kenai pounded out 15 hits in the victory, led by Jimmy Koch's three-run homer.

During league play, Jordan Mills of the Peninsula Oilers led the Alaska Baseball League with five wins.  On Friday, he showed why.  Mills tossed six scoreless innings as the Oilers blew past the San Diego Force, 7-3 in the winners bracket of the National Baseball Congress World Series. Mills and four relievers combined on the effort and blanked the Force until the ninth inning.  As for the offense, Kenai broke the game open with five runs in the seventh inning and five hits.  Mike Miller, Stephen Branca, Troy Channing, and Boomer Collins all collected two hits apiece for the Oilers.

The Anchorage Glacier Pilots won in their final at-bat for the second straight night, defeating the first place Peninsula Oilers 3-1.  Pinch hitter DC Legg singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, and four Pilots pitchers combined to allow just three Oilers hits.  The result trims Kenai's lead in the Alaska Baseball League standings to two games over the idle Anchorage Bucs.  The Oilers drop to 17 and 9 in league play....

Entering Monday's play, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and Peninsula Oilers were tied atop the Alaska Baseball League standings with only two head to head meetings left.  By the end of Tuesday, the Pilots had resolved the tie in resounding fashion. Following Monday's 10-1 victory, the Pilots battered the Oilers again, 12-0 to move two games ahead in the race for the ABL title.  The Pilots improve to 19 and 11 in league play, dropping the Oilers to 17 and 13 with 10 games remaining.

For the third time in four nights, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots have won a home game on their final swing of the bat.  Axel Johnson, out of TCU, delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat the Anchorage Bucs on Thursday night, 7-6.  The win also marked their third over the rival Bucs in the teams' four-game series. Late inning heroics have become a trend for the Pilots.  On Monday, Johnson's TCU teammate Kevin Cornelius clubbed a game-ending homer in the 13th inning to knock off the Peninsula Oilers, 1-0.  And in Tuesday's second game of a doubleheader, Jordan Luplow singled home the winning run in the bottom of the final inning.

The Anchorage Glacier Pilots spoiled the opening game at Chugiak-Eagle River's Loretta French Ballpark with a 6-1 win over the Chinooks on Monday night.  The victory marks the first all summer for the Pilots after beginning the season with seven straight losses, while the Chinooks drop to 3 and 1 in Alaska Baseball League play. Nick Backlund ( Mercer ) went 3 for 4 for the Pilots, while Tyler Spoon ( Arkansas ) clubbed a 400 foot two-run homer.  Elsewhere in the ABL, the Peninsula Oilers improved to 6 and 1 in league play with a 9-1 rout of the Mat-Su Miners.  Kenai pounded out 15 hits in the victory, led by Jimmy Koch's three-run homer.

The newest franchise in the Alaska Baseball League wasted little time getting comfortable on Wednesday night. The Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks, a relocated team formerly known as the Athletes In Action Fire, topped the Anchorage Bucs, 3-2 on opening night of league play to earn the first win in the new team's history.  The Chinooks took their only lead of the game in the eighth inning when the Bucs' Garrrett Mattlage overthrew first...

The 2011 Alaska Baseball League champion Peninsula Oilers made new hires in leadership positions on Monday, with the naming of James Clark as general manager and John Stevens as head coach for the 2012 season. Both men are promoted from within the organization.  Clark has served on the Oilers' board of directors for several years and has also served as president/chief executive officer for the Kenai Peninsula Boys & Girls Club.  Clark replaces Shawn Maltby, who left the franchise following the 2011 season to become the GM of the Anchorage Bucs.

Teams representing the Alaska Baseball League have won 16 titles in the 76 year history of the National Baseball Congress World Series.  However, it's been nine years since the ABL produced its most recent champion.  The Peninsula Oilers feel they're due. Tanner Rust went 3 for 3 at the plate and Boomer Collins brought home two runs on a double in a six-run fourth inning to lift the Oilers to the championship round of the NBC tournament...

ABL Player of the Year Mike Miller homered and drove in five runs as the Peninsula Oilers stayed alive in the National Baseball Congress World Series with a 9-2 win over the San Diego Waves in the elimination bracket Thursday in Wichita, Kansas. Kenai jumped out to a 5-0 lead through five innings on the strength of a three-run third inning.  Tanner Rust, who drove in a pair of runs, gave the Oilers a 3-0 cushion on a sacrifice fly.  Stephen Branca and Boomer Collins punctuated the rally with RBI singles.

Patrick Wisdom and Stephen Branca each drove in two runs in a seven run second inning as the Peninsula Oilers claimed a 9-1 mercy rule victory over the Seattle Studs in Sunday's winners bracket game at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas. Boomer Collins also had a big night for Kenai, going 3 for 4 with two runs batted in.  Chris Mallory added two hits for the Oilers. The victory marks the Oilers second by mercy rule in three tournament games.  They improve to 3 and 0 in the tournament, one of four undefeated teams left in the double elimination event.  The Oilers, who have won three NBC World Series titles, are off until Tuesday.

During league play, Jordan Mills of the Peninsula Oilers led the Alaska Baseball League with five wins.  On Friday, he showed why.  Mills tossed six scoreless innings as the Oilers blew past the San Diego Force, 7-3 in the winners bracket of the National Baseball Congress World Series. Mills and four relievers combined on the effort and blanked the Force until the ninth inning.  As for the offense, Kenai broke the game open with five runs in the seventh inning and five hits.  Mike Miller, Stephen Branca, Troy Channing, and Boomer Collins all collected two hits apiece for the Oilers.

The Alaska Baseball League champion Peninsula Oilers announced their presence in Wichita, Kansas with a 14-1 drubbing of the Northwest Honkers from Washington in round one of the double elimination National Baseball Congress World Series.  Stephen Branca, newly acquired from the Mat-Su Miners, cleared the bases with a three-run double in the first inning and Patrick Wisdom homered in the Oilers seven-run second inning as Kenai won...