It ain't over yet
Though the regular season is over and the Fairbanks Goldpanners are Alaska Baseball League champions, there are still some baseball games to be played.
The ABL end-of-season tournament starts Monday at Mulcahy Stadium with games between the Mat-Su Miners and Anchorage Bucs at 6 p.m. and the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and Chugiak Chinooks at 9 p.m.
The tournament includes five of the six ABL teams -- the Peninsula Oilers will be absent -- and uses a round-robin format to determine which two teams will play a three-game series on the weekend for the tournament title.
For more tournament information, including a full schedule of the week's games, visit alaskabaseballleague.org.
No rain outs
There were no weather related rain outs or suspensions this season in the ABL, according to Dick Lobdell of the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.
"I don't think that's ever happened in the ABL," Lobdell said.
The only suspended game came early in the season as a result of turf coming loose on the pitchers mound at Mulcahy Stadium during a game between the Pilots and the Peninsula Oilers.
The mound was unable to be fixed until the following morning, and it held up for the rest of the season, Lobdell said.
Miners 4, Goldpanners 3
After losing three straight games and surrendering an ABL title to the Fairbanks Goldpanners, the Mat-Su Miners gained a small measure of revenge with a 4-3 win at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks on Saturday.
The Miners trailed 3-1 through eight innings, but mustered three runs in the top of the ninth.
Nick La Face tied the game at 3-3 with a two-out, two-run double, and Ben Wylly drove in the go-ahead run with a single. Miners reliever Dylan Stuart pitched the final three innings to pick up a win.
Pilots 5, Oilers 1
The Anchorage Glacier Pilots put up two runs in the first and capped a 5-1 win over the Peninsula Oilers with three runs in the ninth inning of the ABL season finale at Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
Pilots starter Michael RoBards was masterful on the mound, scattering four hits over eight innings and surrendering the Oilers' only run in the fourth.
Left fielder Kewby Meyer scored twice on two hits and Brendan McCurry drove in a pair for the Pilots.
Chinooks 8, Bucs 2
The Chugiak Chinooks matched their longest winning streak when they closed the ABL regular season with an 8-2 win over the visiting Anchorage Bucs at Loretta French Field in Chugiak.
The win was the second straight for the Chinooks, who won two in a row on four other occasions.
They steadily thumped the Bucs Saturday, scoring a run in each of the first five innings to lead 5-0. When the Bucs finally got on the board with an unearned run in the top of the seventh, the Chinooks came right back with three runs in the bottom of he inning to lead 8-1.
Zach Harbison stole home to start the Chinooks seventh-inning breakout and Griffin Gum rapped a two-run single. Chugiak starter Andrew Klausmeier went the distance for a win, striking out five and walking two.
ABL LEAGUE
STANDINGS
Team W L Pct GB
Goldpanners 22 13 .629 -
Anchorage Bucs 20 15 .571 2
Matsu Miners 20 15 .571 2
Peninsula Oilers 18 17 .514 4
Glacier Pilots 17 18 .486 5
Chugiak Chinooks 8 27 .229 14
Saturday's results
Miners 4, Goldpanners 3
Pilots 5, Oilers 1
Chinooks 8, Bucs 2
Anchorage Daily News