Chinooks eliminated from ABL postseason

CHUGIAK — The Alaska Baseball League postseason starts Wednesday, and it will not include the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks.

Chugiak was officially eliminated from the ABL playoff race Monday night with a 4-0 loss to the Anchorage Bucs at Lee Jordan Field in Chugiak. The Chinooks end their season in fifth place with a 17-27 mark.

Chugiak had been in a contested race with the Peninsula Oilers for the final spot in ABL’s four-team playoff format. The Oilers clinched the final berth with a 19-25 record, and finished two games ahead of Chugiak in the ABL standings. The Oilers were 5-5 in the last 10 games of the season. Chugiak was just 3-7.

The four-team ABL playoffs begin Wednesday. Top-seed Mat-Su hosts the Oilers in the semifinal best-of-3 set. Game 1 is slated for Wednesday at 6 p.m. Game 2 follows Thursday at 2 p.m., with a third game, if necessary, to begin 40 minutes following the conclusion of the second game.

A pair of Anchorage squads battle in the other semifinal. The second-seeded Bucs host the third-seeded Glacier Pilots in the best-of-3 series at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage. Game 1 is Wednesday at 6. Game 2 is Thursday at 4, with a third game, if necessary, to follow.

The winners of each set will meet in the ABL Top of the World Series, which starts Friday at the home field of the highest seed left in the tournament.

Outfielder Micah Pries ends the season as the top hitter on the Chinooks. Pries is tied for sixth in the ABL with a .308 batting average. He had 41 hits, scored 14 runs and drove in 22.

Justin Gomez finished second in the ABL with a team-high 26 RBI. He also had nine doubles and drew 25 walks, which is also among league-leaders.

Aaron Schackelford had 40 hits and drove in 19 runs.

Mike Batten led the Chugiak pitching staff with 36 strikeouts, fourth-best in the league. Batten was also 2-2 with a 2.74 ERA. JJ Julian had 32 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA, and was second in the league with 17 appearances.