The Peninsula Oilers lost the first game of the Top of the World Series semifinals to the Mat-Su Miners 3-0 on Saturday at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.
Peninsula, the No. 3 seed, now must win at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, at Hermon Brothers to extend the best-of-three series against No. 2 Mat-Su. In order to extend the series, the Oilers will have to win at Hermon Brothers for the first time in seven tries. If necessary, the third game is Monday at 6 p.m. at Hermon Brothers.
The Oilers struggled on offense, getting only three hits.
“Their guys did a really good job,” Oilers head coach Larry McCann said. “We just didn’t swing the bats.
“We drove here three and a half hours right to the park. We go on the road and the kids are lethargic.”
Ashton Johnson got his first start of the year for the Miners and came through with six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out seven.
“He just competed in the zone,” Miners head coach Tyler LeBrun said of Johnson on the Miners YouTube channel. “You see good things happen when you do that. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
The top three in the Oilers order were only able to produce a double by Colin Robson.
The top three for the Miners had five hits, with leadoff batter Chase Wilcox going 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI.
Oilers starter Cody New started fast, but gave up two runs in the third and one in the fourth. He lasted five innings and gave up five hits.
“He’s a great pitcher, man,” LeBrun said of New. “He’s probably one of the better arms in the league.
“We had a really good game plan coming into it and I think our guys executed it really well.”
Nathan Hoffman was lights-out in relief for the Oilers, going three scoreless innings and only allowing a hit.
Peninsula’s best chance came in the seventh, when Ben DeTaeye came on in relief. The Oilers loaded the bases with two outs but Brock Wirthgen struck out.
DeTaeye went two innings, while Drew Koenen pitched a scoreless and hitless ninth for the save.
“Maybe we’ll do better now that we’re settled in and the kids are kind of relaxed,” McCann said.
Cameron Teper gets the ball for the Oilers on Sunday. He has a 2.10 ERA in 30 innings pitched for the Oilers.
In the other semifinal, the top-seeded Anchorage Bucs defeated the No. 4 Anchorage Glacier Pilots 1-0.
