The Peninsula Oilers defeated the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 14-4 in seven innings Friday in Alaska Baseball League play at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
The two squads have now split the first two games of a pivotal five-game series. The series concludes with 6 p.m. games today and Monday and a 2 p.m. Sunday contest.
The series is important because the Oilers and Chinooks are battling for the final ABL playoff spot. Peninsula improved to 7-16 with the victory. The Oilers are 2.5 games clear of the 5-19 Chinooks.
The Mat-Su Miners, at 19-8, are in first place by half a game over the 16-6 Anchorage Glacier Pilots. The Anchorage Bucs are 14-12.
The Oilers were coming off a frustrating 10-7 loss to the Chinooks on Thursday and trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning before erupting for eight runs in the sixth and five runs in the seventh to enact the run rule.
“It’s always good to win, especially when you win by 10 runs,” Oilers starter Conner Kershaw said in a postgame interview on 1140 AM. “I think it will be good going into the rest of the season.”
Shunsuke Sakaino had a huge day at the plate, going 3 for 5 with two runs and four RBIs. He also thinks snapping a four-game losing streak in definitive fashion should pay dividends.
“Everyone was energized,” Sakaino said on 1140 AM. “The team became one even more. I think everyone was pumped up and that’s how we got the rally going.”
In his last game in an Oilers uniform before returning home, Cole Jordan was 1 for 2 with two runs and two hit by pitchers.
“This group of guys is amazing,” Jordan said on 1140 AM. “We all came here from different programs and we built a bond that will never be broken. I mean, these are some guys I’ll stay in touch with for probably the rest of my life.”
Kershaw pitched 5 1-3 innings, giving up three runs — two earned — on three hits while walking two and striking out three.
But Hayden Keller, who took the loss, also was solid early for the Chinooks, giving the team the 3-1 lead headed to the bottom of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Keller, Kalen Haynes and Brenden Argomaniz combined to walk five, give up four hits and hit two batters as the Oilers went up 9-3.
The Chinooks were able to push a run across in the top of the seventh against reliever and winner Mason Kokodynski.
The Chinooks, who have been short on pitching all year, were forced to bring in position player Maddux Ryan in the bottom of the seventh and the Oilers quickly jumped on him for five runs to win the game.
Also for the Oilers, James Shimashita was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, Graiden West was 1 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs, Carson Seeman was 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs, and Casey Burnham had two runs.
Ryan Mathiesen of the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks slides past Oilers catcher Carson Seeman for a run Friday, July 8, 2022, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
