The Anchorage Bucs scored five runs in the final two innings and survived a ninth-inning rally by their rivals to open the Alaska Baseball League season with a win.
The Bucs beat the Anchorage Glacier Pilots 6-3 Friday at Mulcahy Stadium in the season opener for both teams. The teams played a doubleheader Saturday.
Aaron Soto pitched six scoreless innings and scattered five hits to get the win. The Bucs scored one run in support of Soto, taking a 1-0 lead in the fifth on Sam Brown's two-out RBI single.
Taylor Jones led the Bucs' 11-hit attack with four hits. He drove in two runs and scored once. Stephan Trusclair was good for two hits, including a two-run triple in his team's three-run ninth inning.
The Pilots didn't score until the bottom of the ninth. Eugene Vazquez delivered a one-run single and Jordan Aboites followed with an RBI double.
In other ABL action Friday night, the Peninsula Oilers took a 4-1 opening-night win over the Fairbanks Goldpanners and the Mat-Su Miners stopped the Chugiak Chinooks for the third time in the young season, 4-2.
All six teams are in action Sunday, with two games scheduled for Mulcahy Stadium.
The Bucs host the Miners at 2 p.m. and the Pilots take on Chugiak at 7 p.m. In Kenai, the Oilers and Goldpanners meet at 2 p.m.