The Pilots snapped a 1-for-10 skid Wednesday by scoring four runs in the first inning of a 10-2 win over the Fairbanks Goldpanners. They followed Thursday with four more first-inning runs in the series opener against the Miners and went on to a 5-4 win.

On Friday, it was more of the same, with the Pilots getting all the runs they would need in a five-hit, three-run first inning.

Haas Pratt delivered the big blow, a two-run single down the right-field line that produced the first scoring in the game.

The catalyst, though, was leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury, who is listed on the Pilots' roster as a center fielder but might well qualify as decathlete.

There was Ellsbury the sprinter, rapping out three straight singles, stealing three bases and circling the diamond for a pair of runs.

There was Ellsbury the javelin thrower, delivering a pair of darts for outfield assists that blunted a Miners rally in the fifth inning.

And there was Ellsbury the jumper, who alertly bounded home from third base when Mat-Su pitcher Koley Kolberg misplayed a routine throw-back from catcher Matthew Inouye after delivering an intentional ball to the Miners' Anthony Isabella in the bottom of the sixth inning.

"I actually wanted to do track in high school," said Ellsbury, a sprinter, long-jumper and high-jumper on his middle-school team. "There just wasn't any time when we were playing baseball."

Having won three straight after their brutal midseason swoon, Ellsbury and his teammates will be happy to stick with baseball, thank you very much.

Especially on a night like Friday, when most of the highlights went to the Pilots and the bloopers went to the Miners.

The Pilots and Goldpanners combined for nine errors Wednesday and the Pilots and Miners amassed seven more Thursday in what has become an almost bizzare trend in the traditionally pitching-and-defense-oriented ABL.

Pratt, the Pilots' third baseman, actually took an error on the first play of the game when he was unable to barehand Matt Young's slow-rolling leadoff bunt.

But Ellsbury showcased defense in the top of the fifth, an inning in which the Miners, trailing 3-1, got four hits but failed to score.

After Mat-Su's Josh Mader led off with an infield single, Ellsbury ran in to snare a short fly ball to center by Young. Mader lost sight of the ball and ended up near second base on the play, allowing Ellsbury plenty of time to throw to first and double him up.

Jeff Butts followed with another infield hit for the Miners and Jed Lowrie laced a clean single up the middle, putting Mat-Su back in business with runners on first and second.

Ryan Beglin followed with a third straight single, also up the middle, but Ellsbury rifled a throw to catcher Jonathan Higashi right at the plate to beat a sliding Butts for the final out.

"That's the first time I've ever had two assists in one game, let alone in the same inning," Ellsbury said with a shake of his head. "Once you start winning, things start falling your way."

Reporter J.R. Rardon can be reached at jrardon@adn.com.

MINERS ab r h bi PILOTS ab r h bi

Young lf 4 0 0 0 Ellsbury cf 4 2 3 0

Butts cf 4 0 2 0 Ortega ss 2 0 0 0

Lowerie 3b 4 0 1 0 Bowker lf 3 1 1 0

Beglin dh 5 0 1 0 Higashi c 3 1 0 0

Inouye c 3 0 1 0 Pratt 3b 4 0 1 2

Hooft 2b 4 1 1 0 Paulk 1b 4 0 2 1

Isabella rf 3 0 0 0 Ambriz dh 4 0 1 0

Turner 1b 2 1 1 0 Bird rf 4 0 1 0

Mader ss 3 0 1 1 McInnis 2b 4 0 0 0

Totals 32 2 8 1 Totals 32 4 9 3

Miners 001 001 000 -- 2

Pilots 300 001 00x -- 4

E -- Inouye, Kolberg, Pratt, Paulk. DP -- Pilots 1. LOB -- Miners 11, Pilots 9. 2B -- Turner. SB --Hooft, Inouye, Ellsbury 3, Bowker. S -- Butts, Mader, Ortega.

Miners ip h r er bb so

Kolberg L 5? 9 4 3 4 5

Heil 2√ 0 0 0 0 1

Pilots ip h r er bb so

Rivas W, 3-3 6 7 2 2 4 2

Simons S(1) 3 1 0 0 2 4

WP -- Rivas. Umpires -- Plate, Tim Davis; Bases, Chuck Winfree. T-- 2:21. A -- 1,375.

Panners throttle Bucs

The Fairbanks Goldpanners flexed their muscles in a big way Friday night in Fairbanks, blasting three home runs to bury the Anchorage Bucs 13-5 and increase their lead in the Alaska Baseball League.

BUCS ab r h bi PANNERS ab r h bi

Wilson 2b 5 1 2 1 Blasi lf/cf 5 2 3 7

Clevelnd ss 4 1 2 1 Rodrigz 3b 5 1 1 0

Jacobitz lf 5 1 1 0 Bruce ss 5 1 2 2

Grooms rf 4 1 2 2 Davis dh 4 1 0 0

Suzuki dh 3 1 0 0 Frostad 1b 4 1 1 0

Thompsn 3b 4 0 2 1 Best c 3 2 2 0

Weams 3b 0 0 0 0 Guerrero 2b 3 1 1 1

Murray 3b 0 0 0 0 Culppper rf 2 2 2 3

Jamieson c 2 0 0 1 Mathews rf 3 1 1 0

Mehl cf 3 0 0 0 Ortiz ph 0 0 0 0

Scobee cf 0 1 0 0 Mttcci pr/lf 0 1 0 0

Clapper 1b 4 0 0 0

Totals 34 6 9 6 Totals 34 13 13 13

Bucs 012 000 111 -- ?6

Goldpanners 061 000 06x -- 13

E -- Bruce. LOB -- Bucs 6, Goldpanners 4. 2B -- Cleveland, Grooms, Best, Culpepper. HR -- Wilson, Blasi 2, Bruce. SB -- Bruce. S -- Cleveland. SF -- Jamieson.

Bucs ip h r er bb so

Timm L, 1-2 6 8 7 7 2 6

Withers 1√ 2 3 3 1 1

Rogers ? 3 3 3 0 1

Goldpanners ip h r er bb so

Welch W, 3-1 7 6 4 4 2 6

Jenson 1 2 1 1 0 2

McCaslin 1 1 1 1 1 1

HBP -- by Timm (Davis), by Withers (Ortiz). PB -- Jamieson.

Hall silences AIA

Ladd Hall fired a three-hit complete game Friday to power the Peninsula Oilers to an 8-1 victory over Athletes in Action in Kenai.

AIA ab r h bi OILERS ab r h bi

Bogue cf 4 0 0 0 Holland 2b 4 1 3 0

Cline rf 3 0 0 0 Uribes ss 1 1 1 0

Abney c 4 0 0 0 Bacon ss 1 0 0 0

Strelmn 1b 3 0 0 0 Lewis 3b 4 0 1 1

Mntgmry 3b 3 0 1 0 Lex lf 1 2 0 1

Blanton dh 4 0 0 0 Fritz c 3 0 1 0

Victor lf 3 1 1 0 Zobeck 1l 4 1 0 0

Wydner ss 3 0 1 1 Dahl rf 3 2 1 2

Glfnhein 2b 2 0 0 0 Schnbrgr dh 4 1 3 3

Frazee cf 4 0 0 0

Totals 29 8 10 7 Totals 29 1 3 1

AIA 000 010 000 -- 1

Oilers 200 003 030 -- 8

E -- Bacon, Montgomery 3. DP -- AIA 1, Oilers 2. LOB -- AIA 4, Oilers 5 2B -- Fritz, Schoenberger, Holland, Montgomery. 3B -- Victor. HR --Dahl. SB -- Schoenberger. S -- Bacon, Fritz. SF -- Lex.

AIA ip h r er bb so

Broadway L 6 8 5 4 1 4

Hanson 2 2 3 1 1 0

Oilers ip h r er bb so

Hall W, 2-0 9 3 1 1 3 3

HBP -- by Broadway (Lex), by Hall (Glefenhein), by Hanson (Dahl). WP -- Broadway 3. PB -- Abney. T-- 3:00.

ABL STANDINGS

Alaska Baseball League

W L Pct. GB Overall

Goldpanners 17 11 .607 -- 25-14

AIA 13 10 .590 1 ½ 17-11

Peninsula Oilers 14 12 .565 2 20-17