newsminer.com

FAIRBANKS — A three-run ninth inning gave the Alaska Goldpanners a 9-7 win over the Anchorage Bucs — and sole possession of first place in the Alaska Baseball League — on Thursday night in Anchorage.

With a loss by the Mat-Su Miners on Thursday, Alaska moved into first with a 6-4 ABL record. The Panners have a 10-5 overall record.

The Bucs fell to 5-7 in league play and 11-10 overall.

Ryan Robowski got the win by facing only one batter, striking out Evan Wells to finish the eighth inning.

The Panners’ late rally was highlighted by catcher Trent Diedrich’s single down the right field line that drove in the tying and winning runs.

Diedrich led the Panners’ offense, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a walk.

It was a see-saw of a game in which the lead changed five times.

The Panners got on the scoreboard in the first inning. Third baseman Raoul Torrez tripled to left-center field and scored when Ryan Newman grounded out in the next at-bat.

Anchorage responded with a two-run second inning. The Bucs took advantage of an error by left fielder Ryan Scoma, and neither score was charged to Panners starter Tyler Duran.

Duran gave up with six runs — three of them earned — and three strikeouts in six innings.

Once again sparked by a triple, Alaska took the lead in the fourth, scoring three runs. Center fielder Jake Dunning’s triple to left-center got him 2 RBIs, and he was driven in by a Matt Ciolli single. The Bucs quickly turned the tables in the bottom of the inning with a three-run side of their own to lead 6-4. Alaska tied it up in the top of the eighth, but the Bucs pulled away again with a run in the bottom of the inning.

Contact the News-Miner sports department at 459-7581.