On July 20 at the Alaska Baseball League Showcase at Mulcahy Park in Anchorage, Oilers pitcher John Straka struck out four Mat-Su Miners in just two innings of work, hitting 93 mph on the radar gun and drawing the attention of a few scouts.

Not bad for somebody who less than a year and a half ago was having trouble throwing the ball 60 feet, period.

When Kenai Golf Course captain Tom Carver faxed Gordon Griffin a copy of the Sunday singles matchups for the final day of the Walker Cup, Griffin immediately was on the line to Carver.

“Oh boy. I like this. I like this,” he said.

He had reason to.

Kenai turned one of the closest Walker Cups in history into a blowout with sterling singles play. Kenai came into the day leading Birch Ridge 6 1/2-5 1/2 in the annual competition between the two courses, but a 10 1/2-1 1/2 shakedown Sunday gave Kenai the 17-7 victory.

Whether it has been flipping for reds or hitting a baseball, Peninsula Oilers shortstop Alex Staehely has proven to be a quick study this summer.

Since it’s July on the Kenai Peninsula, we’ll start with the fish story.

Staehely is being hosted by Oilers radio announcer Bob Bird and his wife, Rosemary. Bird took Staehely trout fishing earlier this summer and the two didn’t catch anything.

Earlier this week, with the reds storming the Kenai River, Staehely asked Bird for some advice on flipping for sockeye.

True to form, the Peninsula Oilers and Anchorage Glacier Pilots played 14 innings Sunday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park, and nothing — or at least very little — was decided.

The two squads dodged the raindrops long enough to split a doubleheader and remain tied for first place in the Alaska Baseball League with 17-11 records. Both games were seven innings. The Pilots won the opener 4-0 while the Oilers took the nightcap 6-3.