David Hensley hit a walk-off single to send the Anchorage Bucs to a 6-5 win over the Peninsula Oilers Wednesday night at Mulcahy Stadium.
The Oilers led 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, but the Bucs rallied against Oilers’ reliever Caleb Hicks with three hits and a hit-by-pitch to score three times. Hensley walked up to bat after Mason Fishback was hit by Hicks, sending a single into the outfield to bring in pinch runner Landon Silver for the win.
The Bucs tied the game on the previous play on a pinch-hit single by Jace VanDeBrake.
The Oilers lost their second straight Alaska Baseball League contest after winning three of their previous four, putting them at 7-13 overall, 7 1/2 games behind the league-leading Mat-Su Miners (17-8).
The Oilers face the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in a doubleheader today starting at 5 p.m. at Mulcahy. The first game is a makeup contest for a June 26 rainout in Kenai.
Both teams notched 10 hits apiece, while the Bucs committed three errors.
Jeremy Conant had a big day from the plate for the Oilers, hitting 2 for 2 with two doubles and four RBIs. A single by John Thomas loaded the bases in the first inning, and Conant cleared them with a double to right field, giving the Oilers a 3-0 lead.
Also for the Oilers, Kellen Strahm went 2 for 3 and John Thomas was 2 for 4.
Mason Corneliussen pitched a clean five innings as the Oilers starter, giving up one run on five hits and four walks in 73 pitches. Devin Hayes worked two innings of scoreless relief, giving up a hit and one walk, and Isaac Deveaux pitched one scoreless and hitless inning.
After Conant’s three-run double early, the Oilers tacked on runs in the third and fifth innings, pushing the lead to 5-1. Conant reached on a walk, then scored on an error by the shortstop after Caleb Hicks singled.
Conant then smacked another run-scoring double in the fifth to push his RBI game total to four.
Before their walk-off rally, Anchorage had been held to seven consecutive scoreless innings. The Bucs scored in the bottom of the first on a passed ball.
