Alaskans lose opening match 6-3 to the Sluggers
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| Garrett Wittels was successful at the plate, but the Oilers couldn’t top the Elite Sluggers on Wednesday. |
In an opening-round upset, the Wichita Elite Sluggers handed the Peninsula Oilers — the Alaska League’s sole representative at the NBC World Series tournament — a stunning upset defeat, plating six runs to the Oilers’ 3 and advancing to the next round. The Oilers find themselves in the loser’s bracket and facing elimination should they lose another game between now and the title game.
The Oilers’ bats picked up nine hits but were only able to push the three runs across. Garrett Wittels led the offense, going 2-for-4, knocking in two of the runs and touching the plate once himself. James Lilley, Patrick Wisdom, and Michael Miller each had two-hits a piece; Miner-turned-Oiler Pablo Bermudez went 1-for-2 and drew two walks on the day.
With as many hits as the team put together, it’s hard to imagine losing the game, but the pitching staff couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. After four solid innings by Kellen Moen (7H, 1ER, 6K) things started to unravel. The next four pitchers covered four innings pitched and surrendered five runs. Mike Wolford got the loss for his two-run inning, though it was somewhat of a tough-luck loss as neither run was earned.
Moving into the loser’s bracket, the Oilers will get a chance at redemption against the Rock City Red Sox of North Carolina tomorrow. The game begins at 10:30 AM CDT, which is 7:30 AM AKDT.
Jesse Jack is a life-long Alaskan (except for a stint in Montana) who studies Civil Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage from August through May, and lives at the ballpark during June and July. 
Listening to the Oilers all year, the main play-by-play guy couldn't seem to control himself when it came to the shortstop and constantly saying what a stud player he was … well, seems the ss comes up short in the big games though … 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and with runners in scoring position virtually everytime.
Three strikeouts to boot.