Anchorage Daily News

Mulcahy Stadium turned into a launching pad Tuesday night, and the Fairbanks Goldpanners ignited most of the liftoffs.

The Panners exploded for four solo home runs off Anchorage Bucs right-hander Ryan McCally, who usually is stingy to a fault, to earn a 4-3 seven-inning victory and remain undefeated in the Bucs' Wood Bat Invitational.

"I don't know what happened," said Panners first baseman Mike Hofius, who followed Tyler Best's solo shot in the second inning with another solo shot. "We just came out swinging the bats.

"Usually, (McCally) keeps the ball down. Other than the homers, he pitched a pretty good game. I haven't seen five home runs in a game since college ball, with aluminum bats."

Even light-hitting Bucs utility infielder Enrique Cruz, who came to the plate with an exceedingly modest .114 average and just one extra-base hit in 44 at bats this summer, got into the long-ball act. He led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer off Panners right-hander Marc Kaiser (5-2).

In seven previous appearances covering 49 innings this summer, McCally (4-2) yielded just one long ball. He entered with a 1.84 earned run average and a reputation for keeping hitters so off balance that they seldom hit the ball hard off him.

But after Best and Hofius left the yard with back-to-back shots in the second, Panners center fielder Tim Montgomery blasted a bomb over the left field wall to lead off the third inning and third baseman Chad Corona led off the fifth with another no-doubter over the wall in left.

McCally was at a loss to explain the power display that came at his expense.

"I've never done that," he said. "There's a first time for everything. I'd be surprised if I've given up more than two in a game before. Maybe in high school, but I don't think in college."

The Goldpanners, who shared the Alaska Baseball League championship with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, improved to 4-0 in the tournament while the Bucs fell to 1-4 and, like the 0-5 Omaha Zone, have been eliminated from semifinal contention. After the end of today's round-

robin portion of the seven-team tournament, the top seed earns a bye into Thursday's scheduled 6 p.m. championship game, and the second and third seeds meet in Thursday's scheduled 3 p.m. semifinal. Still in contention for semifinal berths are Athletes in Action (4-1), the Pilots (3-2), the Mat-Su Miners (3-2) and the Peninsula Oilers (2-3).

McCally showed his resolve and competitiveness the next time he faced Best and Hofius after giving up the back-to-back homers. He struck out both Panners in the fourth inning on his way to striking out the side. He finished with eight strikeouts.

"Other than (the homers), I was throwing the ball well," he said. "I had some strikeout numbers and they didn't hit anything hard."

Last week, McCally held the Panners to seven hits and one run over eight innings, and he got a no-decision in a 14-inning game the Panners won 2-1.

Panners manager Ed Cheff said he admires McCally's emotional makeup and the way he bounced back after the back-to-back homers.

"The guy pitched great, he's a competitor," Cheff said. "It's the nature of baseball -- sometimes you pay a price for a mistake, and sometimes you get away with them."

Kaiser allowed eight hits over seven innings and struck out seven.

The Panners have picked up a pair of ABL players from other teams for their trip later this week to the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan. Joining the Panners will be infielder Blake Gill of the Mat-Su Miners and Peninsula Oilers left-hander Roger Lincoln.

Assistant sports editor Doyle Woody can be reached at dwoody@adn.com