Anchorage Daily News

It took 11 days for the Anchorage Bucs and Mat-Su Miners to resume their make-up game -- and eight minutes to end it.

Kyle Jensen led off the 14th inning with a solo home run to propel the Miners to a 5-4 victory Saturday at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

The Alaska Baseball League game was a completion of a July 15 contest that was suspended due to darkness with the score tied at 4-4 after 13 innings.

When the game resumed Saturday, the Bucs led off with a walk and sacrifice bunt before the next two batters grounded out.

Then in the bottom of the 14th, Jensen uncorked the third pitch he saw from Paul Gerrish over the wall.

With the win, the Miners stayed within striking distance of the first-place Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Mat-Su trails by three games heading into the final week of the regular season.

A second game scheduled for Saturday was rained out. The Bucs and Miners will play a split doubleheader on Tuesday -- noon at Hermon Brothers Field and 7 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium.

Fire 10, Oilers 9

The Athletes in Action Fire redeemed itself for an extra-inning victory over the Peninsula Oilers in Saturday's opening game of a doubleheader at Growden Park in Fairbanks.

Nick Crawford banged a one-out double into the gap in left center field and one out later came home on Brint Hardy's single to right field off Oilers reliever Kevin Matsumoto (2-1). Crawford bolted from second base, around third and slid safely behind Oilers catcher Francis Larson, who had received the throw from rightfielder Jeremy Gould.

Umpires Josh Gottlieb and Joe Brown, after meeting with both managers, decided to make the first game a nine-inning contest after the Fire tied the game 9-9 in the seventh to force extra innings.

The first game also ran late, as it had reached the 3-hour, 20-minute mark by the top of the ninth.

The opener was originally scheduled to go seven innings, followed by a nine-inning second game. Instead, the second game, which started around 9:15 p.m., went seven innings.

AIA saw its 6-1 lead wiped out by Peninsula's seven-run burst in the fifth, capped by Larson's grand slam over the left center field wall.

The Fire cut the lead to 8-7 in the fifth after Ryan Thompson scored on Oilers reliever Eric Draxton's wild pitch. Thompson had reached on a two-out hit, took second on Crawford's infield hit and advanced to third on an ensuing throwing error by Peninsula first baseman Anthony Aliotti.

The Oilers extend their lead to 9-7 in the sixth on Mihaylo's sacrifice fly and the Fire made it 9-8 with David Stewart's two-out infield hit in their half of the inning.

AIA tied it 9-9 in the bottom of the seventh with Ryan Enos' groundout, which scored Crawford, who slid under Aliotti's throw to catcher Larson.

Fire reliever Jason Garner gave up a hit and walk in the seventh and escaped a bases-loaded threat in the eighth, and eventual winning pitcher Cody Brown (2-0) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth.

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