Chinooks follow doubleheader sweep with loss to Pilots

CHUGIAK — The Mat-Su Miners and Anchorage Bucs have established themselves as the top squads in the Alaska Baseball League. But the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks have been jockeying for position with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and the Peninsula Oilers in the second tier of the five-team summer circuit.

Monday night, Chugiak stood sandwiched between the Pilots and Oilers in fourth place of the league following a 7-2 loss to the Pilots at Lee Jordan Field in Chugiak.

Chugiak (12-18 as of July 10) took an early lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, but Anchorage scored seven unanswered runs in the victory. Carter Bins drove in a pair for Anchorage. Sam Cohen tripled, and added three hits.

Brandon Michie smacked his third home run in the summer in the bottom of the first to give the Chinooks the early 2-0 lead.

The loss came a night after Chugiak swept a doubleheader against the Oilers at Lee Jordan Field. Chugiak earned one-run victories in both games. Chugiak used a three-run fourth to get past the Oilers 4-3 in the first game. Micah Pries and Aaron Schackleford both tripled in the win, and Hayden Mixon had a double. Four different Chinooks drove in a run, and Robert Winslow worked five innings and earned the win on the mound.

Chugiak capped the night with a 7-6 win. The Chinooks scored four in the fourth and survived a two-run Peninsula rally in the seventh.

Pries drove in three. Jeremy Johnson and Justin Gomez added two RBI each. Alex Schmitz, a two-way player for the Chinooks, earned the win in relief.