Bucs keep Oilers winless in ABL action

The Peninsula Oilers remained winless in the Alaska Baseball League after dropping a 4-3 decision to the Anchorage Bucs Monday at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

The Oilers fell to 0-3 in the ABL and 6-8 overall with the loss, which was their third straight. The Bucs improved to 3-2 in the league and 6-3 overall with the win, which was their fourth straight.

The Oilers, who failed to score a run in a doubleheader Sunday against the Glacier Pilots, again had problems on offense Monday. The Oilers managed just four hits against the Bucs and struck out 13 times over the course of nine innings.

Winner Jordan Timms kept the Oilers in check for most of the game. Timms went six innings, allowing one run while walking two and striking out nine. Bryan Johnson pitched two innings in relief, while Pat Overholt pitched the ninth.

The Oilers pitching continued to be solid, but unsupported both at the plate and in the field. Chad Decker took the loss for the Oilers, throwing 4 2-3 innings and allowing four runs, just two of which were earned. Decker yielded six hits, walked two and struck out five.

Oilers reliever Tim Day did a good job keeping his club in the ballgame. Day pitched the final 3 1-3 innings, giving up no runs and no hits while walking one and striking out one.

The Bucs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, with one run scoring on an error and the other run scoring on a wild pitch.

Anchorage pushed the advantage to 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning when Nick Crowe doubled and eventually scored on a single by Travis Culick.

The Oilers cut the gap to 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning. David Uribes led off the inning with a double, then stole third and scored on a grounder by Dusty Bensko.

However, the Bucs came right back to get an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bucs loaded the bases on three singles, then Truen Mehl walked to bring home Crowe.

Day then held the Bucs in check as the Oilers tried to make a comeback. In the top of the seventh, Peninsula cut the gap to 4-2 when Kevin Mangels singled home Bensko.

Then, in the eighth inning, Uribes scored on an outfielder's error off a line drive by Josh Lex. However, the Oilers could never find the equalizing run.

Adding to the Oilers' offensive woes was news about catcher Schuyler Mann, one of the team's top hitters. In Sunday's doubleheader, Mann was playing catcher when a foul tip broke his collarbone. Monday, Mann left the team for Montana.

Monday

BUCS 4, OILERS 3

Oilers AB R H BI Bucs AB R H BI

Dahl rf 3 0 0 0 Clevelnd ss 4 0 1 0

Frazee cf 4 0 1 0 Crowe c 4 3 2 0

Uribes ss 2 2 1 0 Jamison c 0 0 0 0

Lex lf 4 0 1 0 Jacobitz lf 4 1 1 0

Bensko 2b 4 1 0 1 Thompson 1b 0 0 0 0

Zobeck dh 3 0 0 0 Lewis pr 3 0 1 0

Mangels 1b 4 0 1 1 Gulick cf 3 0 1 1

Schnbrgr c 3 0 0 0 Mehl rf 3 0 0 1

Fritz c 1 0 0 0 Lange 2b 4 0 0 0

Bacon 3b 2 0 0 0 Grooms dh 3 0 0 0

Holland 3b 1 0 0 0 Thompson 3b 2 0 0 0

Totals 31 3 4 2 Totals 30 4 6 2

Peninsula 000 100 110 3

Anchorage 201 010 000 4

E Mehl, Bacon, Decker. LOB Peninsula 5, Anchorage 7. 2B Crowe, Uribes. SB Gulick 2, Uribes. CS Frazee. S Thompson.

IP H R ER BB SO

Oilers

Decker, L 4 2-3 6 4 2 2 5

Day 3 1-3 0 0 0 1 1

Timms, W 6 3 1 1 2 9

Johnson 2 1 2 1 0 2

Overholt 1 0 0 0 0 2

HBP by Decker (Thompson), by Johnson (Zobeck, Uribes). WP Decker. PB Crowe.