[Elendil]

2010 Alaskan Championship Series


Mat-Su's Hermon Brothers Field Viewed from the Bullpen

Game One


Gary Tufts (8-11, 3.28) (pre-Oilers pic)

vs.


Will Blain (9-4, 2.17)

September 3, 2010 - A still but cool evening in Palmer, Alaska tightened the muscles and made the bat hurt when it struck a fastball. The hitters on both sides looked overmatched through the first three innings as the game remained scoreless.

Then in the fourth inning, the Oilers managed to put something together. Lambert and Upton walked, then with two outs Nelson Cormack (.258 lifetime hitter) singled them both in.

The Miners didn't even get their first hit on Tufts until two out in the sixth. They didn't manage to get two runners in the same inning until the seventh, and with two outs they couldn't do anything with them.

Mike Watanabe shut out the Oilers in the final two innings, but the Miners' hitters just couldn't get the job done, and Tufts had himself a three-hit shutout.

Final score: Peninsula 2, Mat-Su 0.

Game Two


Bryan Kendall (10-7, 3.78)

vs.


John Dewitt (12-6, 3.76)

September 4, 2010 - Another chilly night, 42 degrees at game time, and windier, gusting from right to left. The Miners hoped their midseason acquisition from Sitka, John Dewitt, would shut down the Oilers and lead them to victory.

But the Miners started out in trouble, with some fielding miscues. Leadoff hitter Terence Ostrom successfully bunted for a hit. Lambert then walked with one out, and Sabin reached on an error by shortstop Henry Owens, who couldn't get a handle on a toss for the force out at second. With the bases loaded and two out, Nelson Cormack walked to score a run. He had all 3 of the team's RBI in the series so far.

The Miners started things off well with a leadoff single from Ferris, but they simply couldn't put two or three hits together. Going to the fifth, it was still 1-0.

In the top of the fifth, Cormack struck again, this time hitting a two-out line drive to right that bounced to the wall. It was a two-run double. 3-0 Oilers, and Cormack had all 5 of their series RBI.

The Miners finally got off the schneid in the 8th with two runs, but it was too little, too late. Cloutier drove in an insurance run for the Oilers in the 9th, and Kendall nailed down the complete game victory in the bottom half.

Final score: Peninsula 4, Mat-Su 2. This was starting to look eerily like the humiliation of 2008. The Miners now desperately needed a win on the road.

Game Three



Tundra or outfield? Coral Seymour Memorial Park, home of the Oilers


First-Inning Action: Miners at Oilers


Thierry Tremblay (11-4, 3.58)

vs.


Ron Quinton (10-5, 2.41) (pre-Oilers pic)

September 6, 2010 - Things looked dire for the Miners, as the Oilers were finally bringing their best starting pitcher to the mound. Nevertheless, the Miner offense finally opened up a bit in the second, as Corley hit a leadoff double and eventually scored. However, Fortier couldn't take advantage with two out and runners on second and third, and Quinton escaped with just one run in.

In the bottom half of the same inning, Tremblay opened with two walks, which is always trouble. A single, walk, and groundout later, and it was 2-1 Oilers.

The Miners immediately struck back, though, Trudel hitting a solo homer to tie things up.

Things stayed at 2-2 until the bottom of the 6th, when Nelson Cormack was the hero again, hitting a line-drive homer to left-center to make it 3-2 Oilers.

In the bottom of the 9th, John Adams came in to close out the Miners. He got Ferris to ground out then K'ed Fortier and Langlois to preserve the win.

Final score: Peninsula 3, Mat-Su 2. The Oilers have seemingly built an insurmountable lead now.

Game Four

Blain vs. Tufts

September 7, 2010 - The Miners were now playing simply to avoid the sweep. It was yet another cold night (39 degrees), which presaged yet another night of dominant pitching. (A fitting end to the most defense-friendly season in league history, I suppose.)

And so things went - scoreless through three with only two baserunners for each side.

The Miners again opened the scoring, as they broke through with a pair of singles by Langlois and Langille, a triple by Morse, and a double by Plummer to make it 3-0 in the 4th.

Blain continued to shut down Peninsula, and it was still 3-0 when Mike Watanabe came in to pitch in the bottom of the 7th.

Still 3-0 in the 8th, and in came setup man Oram. Kevin West then got the Oilers on the board with a solo home run. This is a guy who had not hit a home run since 2007, even though he had been a full-time player every season since! The scrubs are doing it for Peninsula, and the stars on Mat-Su simply cannot get it going.

Mat-Su failed to add insurance in the 9th, but it was enough anyway, as Oram stayed in to nail down the save.

Final score: Mat-Su 3, Peninsula 1. However, it was Peninsula who still led the series 3-1.

Game Five

Dewitt vs. Kendall

September 8 - It was the last game to be played in Kenai, and if the Miners could just win this one, then they might have a decent chance with the series going back to Mat-Su for the final two.

It was a rainy, blustery day, with the wind blowing out to center. Langlois and Langille got the scoring started with back-to-back doubles in the first. In the second, Mat-Su manufactured two, as Corley, having been hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a Morse single, then scored when Morse stole second and took third on a Ward throwing error. Morse then scored on a sac fly. 3-0 Mat-Su.

The Oilers immediately responded when Sabin walked and then Flannery tripled to right field. Flannery scored on a groundout to make it 3-2.

Both pitchers then settled into a rhythm, and it was still 3-2 going to the bottom of the 6th. Then with two out, the Oilers put together a rally. Lambert and Sabin singled, then Flannery jacked a three-run homer. Dewitt stayed in the game, though, and ended up pitching seven.

Kendall himself lasted eight innings. In the bottom of the 8th, Lambert hit a solo homer to make it 6-3. Those two guys - Lambert and Flannery - were certainly getting it done for the Oilers now.

In the 9th, John Adams came in for the save. A leadoff single by Langille came to naught, and pinch-hitter Calvin Curry hit a weak grounder to first to end the series.

Final score: Peninsula 6, Mat-Su 3. The underdogs had won it, and Mat-Su lost their second straight series after winning it all in 2007.

Peninsula starting pitcher Bryan Kendall won the ACS MVP award. He'd won both his starts and posted a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings (0 HR, 4 BB, 16 K).

This had been the first series televised throughout Alaska, and the good ratings for the series more or less guaranteed a decent TV contract for 2011. It was sorely needed cash for the league, and it also came at the right time for a team like Peninsula that had long languished in obscurity. The entire Kenai Peninsula revelled in their championship, while nearby, Anchoragites could only look on with envy.