OILERS WIN: Cordell Perkins wrings the most out of seven innings.
Cordell Perkins walked out of Mulcahy Stadium on Friday night with a simple thought running through his mind.
He figured one good turn -- in the Peninsula Oilers' starting rotation -- deserved another. He'll have to wait and see if his coaches agree with him.
Perkins, a junior right-hander from the University of California-Riverside, tripled his innings pitched in his first starting assignment with six-plus innings of quality work. He earned his first win of the Alaska Baseball League season in the Oilers' 9-4 win over the Anchorage Bucs.
In Peninsula's first 25 games, Perkins worked three one-inning stints out of the bullpen. He said the depth of the Oilers' starting staff kept him off the mound for two weeks, as well. So when manager Brian Green gave him a spot start Friday, Perkins made up for lost time.
Backed by a three-run first inning from his offense, Perkins pitched into the seventh inning, allowing three hits and an earned run.
"You just have to be patient because the opportunity will rise when the team plays everyday," Perkins said. "You have to take hold of the situation.
"I hope with (Friday's) start coach Green will allow me to fulfill a starting role. But if not, I'll be fine. I'll come out of the pen and do whatever is needed."
Peninsula improved to 3-1 against the Bucs, jumped over them in the ABL standings into fourth place and picked up half a game on the idle Anchorage Glacier Pilots, the league's first-place team. The Bucs, who outhit Peninsula 10-9, dropped their third straight game.
The Oilers put five of their first seven batters on base against Bucs starter Joe Diefenderfer, who, like Perkins, made his first start of the season. Diefenderfer threw 31 pitches in the opening inning. Peninsula third baseman Paul Janish knocked home Peninsula's first run with a bloop single to left-center field and scored from first base on Chris Kolkhorst's ringing, two-run double to center field on at-bat later.
Kolkhorst, whose double also scored Andy Schutzenhofer, doubled his RBI total to four on the season. The Bucs got Diefenderfer out of the inning when second baseman Jerin Harper tracked down Oilers catcher Garrett Schoenberger's grounder in the hole and made an on-target throw to the plate, cutting down Kolkhorst for the third out.
Perkins enjoyed a much better start. Perkins retired the first five Bucs he faced and nine of the first 10. Bucs center fielder Terry Trofholz's push bunt toward shortstop turned into his team's first hit in the bottom of the fourth inning. Trofholz was picked off first by Perkins before Bucs shortstop Craig Stansberry ripped a double to the wall in left field. Anchorage stranded three men in the first five innings.
Brian Wahlbrink, the Oilers' center fielder and leadoff batter, padded the Peninsula lead to 4-0 with a solo home run to start the top of the fifth inning. Wahlbrink's bomb was his first and the fourth Peninsula home run of the summer.
Peninsula relief pitchers Oscar Serrato and Adrian Schau made Perkins' effort hold up, though they did so erratically. Actually, neither teams' relievers enjoyed a great evening at the ballpark.
The Oilers scored five runs in their final two at-bats off three Bucs relievers. Wahlbrink finished with three hits. Schutzenhofer, who entered the game hitting .359, collected two hits and two RBIs. Peninsula scored twice in the eighth inning without a hit.
The Bucs scored three runs in the seventh inning. The big blow came from Casey McGehee, who singled in two runs with a single to right-center field. Harper, despite making two errors on defense, finished 3 for 5 with an RBI.
The Oilers are off today. The Bucs entertain Mat-Su tonight at Mulcahy before heading to Kenai for three games against Peninsula.
Reporter Matt Nevala can be reached at mnevala@adn.com.
AIA, Panners chill
For the second time in a week, rain postponed an ABL game between Athletes in Action and the Fairbanks Goldpanners and forced the addition of a doubleheader to the Panners' schedule.
Friday's game at Growden Park was scrubbed by rainshowers and will be made up at 4 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Monday the Goldpanners will take the field again to play a regularly scheduled game against the visiting Anchorage Glacier Pilots.
AIA and the Panners were rained out Tuesday, prompting the teams to play a Fourth-of-July doubleheader. That left all six ABL teams with doubleheaders on the holiday.
