Oilers drop 1st road game

Alex Rivers pitched seven scoreless innings and Joe Ercolano knocked in the eventual game-winner in a 3-0 Mat-Su Miners victory over the visiting Peninsula Oilers on Wednesday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

After opening the season by going an incredible 11-1 on a 12-game homestand, the Oilers finally hit the road for the first of a nine-game trip.

Rivers stymied them, though, allowing six hits and only one walk while wiggling his way out of multiple jams.

The Oilers’ Nick Buss led off the game with a single, but was thrown out stealing second. Michael Dabbs then doubled with two outs but was later picked off at second.

Toby Davis opened the second with a single and went to third on another base hit by Adam Younger, who subsequently stole second. However, Rivers then escaped the inning by inducing Jim Pollack to ground out to second.

The Oilers (11-2, 3-2) stranded two more runners in the fourth when Davis walked and Juan Martinez singled. But Younger struck out to end the threat.

After leaving four runners on themselves, the Miners finally struck in the fifth. Carl Uhl reached first base on a two-out error and scored on a double by Ercolano.

The run stood up as Rivers sat the Oilers down in order in the sixth and Chris Cullen added one scoreless innings of relief while Nate Garcia closed the game with a perfect ninth.

The Miners added two insurance runs in the eighth inning on three hits and an error.

Oilers starter Andre Lamontagne also pitched well, but suffered the loss after allowing five hits and two walks while fanning three in six innings.

Joey Haug added two innings of relief, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk.

MINERS 3, OILERS 0

Oilers AB R H BI Miners AB R H BI

Buss cf 4 0 2 0 Uhl cf 4 1 0 0

Mejia lf 4 0 1 0 Erclano rf 3 0 1 1

Dabbs rf 3 0 1 0 Ewing 1b 3 1 1 0

Davis 3b 3 0 1 0 Rmusen dh 4 0 1 0

Brown pr 0 1 0 0

Goins 1b 4 0 0 0 Hlnihi ss 4 0 1 0

Mrtnez ss 4 0 1 0 August lf 4 0 1 0

Yungr dh 4 0 1 0 McMrry c 3 0 1 1

Pollack c 3 0 0 0 Price 3b 3 0 1 0

Melton 2b 3 0 0 0 Terhune 2b 2 0 0 0

Totals 32 0 7 0 Totals 30 3 7 2

Peninsula 000 000 000 — 0 7 2

Mat-Su 000 010 02x — 3 7 0

E — Buss, Goins. DP — Oilers 0, Miners 0. LOB — Oilers 7, Miners 7. 2B — Dabbs, Ercolano. SB — August, Younger. CS — Buss.

IP H R ER BB SO

Oilers

Lamontagne 6 5 1 0 2 3

Haug 2 3 2 0 1 1

Miners

Rivers 7 6 0 0 1 3

Cullen 1 1 0 0 0 0

Garcia 1 0 0 0 0 0

HBP — Dabbs.

Wednesday’s game

Miners 3, Oilers 0

Thursday’s game

Peninsula Oilers at Mat-Su Miners (920 AM) 7 p.m.