Midnight madness

PALMER — With their perfect seasons on the line, the Mat-Su Miners and the Peninsula Oilers squared off both looking to deal each other the first blow in a two-game set Thursday night at Hermon Brothers Field.

Yet the pitching duel that ensued on the mound prevented both teams from landing that blow until the next day.

One of the longest games in Alaska Baseball League history finally ended Friday evening when Miners first baseman Troy Scott lined a sharp single in into right field to score Kyle Jensen from second base and give the Miners a 2-1 win in the bottom of the 18th inning. The game was suspended in the top of the 17th inning at approximately 11:15 p.m. Thursday due to darkness.

"Somebody had to win it," Scott said after collecting his first base hit in seven at-bats.

Scott, who will begin his sophomore year at the University of Washington in the fall, received a giant bear hug from Miners General Manager Pete Christopher following the game. Scott is being housed with the Christopher family this summer, and joked that he didn't have a choice but to come through with the game-winning hit.

"He wouldn't have fed me," Scott joked.

Palmer native Michael Carlson picked up the win after pitching two perfect innings after play resumed at 5 p.m. Friday in advance of the second game of the teams' two-game set. Carlson was one of seven Mat-Su pitchers to pitch in the game, and all of them were impressive. Over 18 innings, the Oilers managed just seven hits (four of them by first baseman Anthony Aliotti) and struck out 18 times. No Miners pitcher allowed even a single walk.

Neither team managed a run until the seventh inning, when Oilers catcher Francis Larson hit a high sacrifice fly to center field in to finally end the game’s scoring drought, bringing Aliotti around to score.

Mat-Su tied the game up just an inning later. Third baseman Blake Newalu scored on a driven sacrifice fly ball from left fielder Jordin Hood to even the score at one.

The performances from both teams’ starting pitchers were particularly strong. Mat-Su’s Steven Fischback enjoyed a strong outing in his first start of the season, holding the Oilers scoreless on two hits with seven strikeouts through the five innings of work.

Mat-Su relievers Jeremy Adkins, Jason Erickson, Charles Ruiz, Will Musson, Michael Rocha and Carlson allowed just four hits in 13 innings of work. Rocha pitched the final six innings Thursday night and gave up just one hit. He and Carlson allowed just one batter over the game's final eight innings.

Starter Ross Humes was equally impressive for Peninsula, going 5 2/3 innings, allowing only four runs with four strikeouts. Five Oilers relievers combined to give up just seven hits. Justin Anderson took the loss.

The Miners had a chance to crack into the scoring column in the second inning. Catcher Wes Dorrell was sitting on third with one out following a wild pitch from the Oilers’ Ross Humes. But first baseman Troy Scott struck out and shortstop Kevin Rodland flied out to left field to end the threat.

In the fifth, the Miners were able to narrowly escape a jam. The Oilers’ Anthony Aliotti cracked his second hit of the game. Aliotti moved over to third after Dorrell’s arm struck Larson, forcing an errant throw. But on a fielder’s choice, Aliotti was tagged out at home plate.

The trouble didn’t end there for the Miners, though. One batter later, the Oilers’ Jeremy Gould put runners on second and third with a double into the left-center gap. But Bryan Horst went down swinging to end the frame and keep the game scoreless.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Miners again had a chance to score first. Hood singled and center fielder Kyle Jensen was hit by a pitch with two outs. Designated hitter Ty Rasmussen looped a lazy ball to second base, however, to cap the inning.

The Miners looked as if they would take the game in the 10th after an error to start off the inning. Rodland reached base on an error by Oilers third baseman Vince Belnome, and John Shaffer singled two batters later. With runners on second and third, Kyle Jensen roped the ball to deep left-center field, but Peninsula left fielder P.J. Segueira got his glove underneath it for the third out.

Mat-Su again threatened in the 11th. After a leadoff groundout, Wes Dorrell smoked a single up the middle, and center fielder Cortez Cole came in to pinch run. Peninsula was able to nail down the second out, though, when Cole was picked off first by Brandon Berl. Two batters later, right fielder Steve Domecus was thrown out stealing second.

"We had to try and make something happen," Scott said.

In the bottom of the 14th, the Miners once again looked primed to score. A Rasmussen single and a Cole walk put two runners on with no outs. But pinch runner Pat Minogue was tagged out at third on an attempted sacrifice bunt, Scott hit a fly ball to shallow left field and Rodland popped out to finish off the inning.