Bucs, Pilots to meet in ABL’s Top of the World Series

The Top of the World Series will be a showdown at Mulcahy Stadium between Anchorage’s two baseball teams.

The best-of-3 series for the Alaska Baseball League championship begins at 2 p.m. Sunday with a game between the Anchorage Bucs and Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

The Bucs defeated the Peninsula Oilers 4-0 Saturday in the third game of their semifinal series at Mulcahy.

The teams split the first two games, with the Bucs winning the first game 7-6 and the Oilers taking the second game 4-2.

The Pilots on Friday completed a two-game sweep of the Mat-Su Miners at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer, ending the Miners’ three-year reign as ABL champs.

The top-seeded Bucs on Saturday rode a solid start by Mason Wells and a two-run homer by Justin Cook to dispatch the fourth-seeded Oilers.

Wells went 7 1/3 shutout innings, scattering five hits and striking out four before giving way to closer Colton Rendon. Rendon fanned three batters to pick up the save.

The teams played five scoreless innings. Peninsula starter Bryan Woo threw five no-hit innings before giving way to Connor McCord, who took the loss.

The Bucs broke through in the sixth inning when Taishi Nakawake hit a leadoff single and scored on a Blake Paugh sacrifice fly. Cook’s home run made it 3-0 in the seventh inning.

The Bucs now turn their attention to the third-seeded Pilots, who beat the second-seeded Miners 5-1 on Thursday and 2-1 on Friday.

The Pilots beat Miners ace Randy Abshier on Thursday, touching him for eight hits and two walks in five innings. Pilots pitcher Matthew Sanchez countered with a six-inning effort that included three hits and six strikeouts.

On Friday, Troy Melton struck out eight in eight innings and Daylen Calicdan and George Mendazano both drove in a run to lead the Pilots to their 2-1 victory.