Sunday saw the Goldpanners (2-1) and San Diego Waves (1-2) play game three of six in the season-opening series for Alaska. Strong pitching performances paired with plenty of run support helped the ‘Panners ride out an 8-5 win.
“We pitched really well today, both Trey [Peters] and Paxton [Fenberg] threw the ball really well,” Goldpanners’ field manager Bret Lachemann said postgame. “We swung the bats well, defense was solid, so this was by far our best game that we’ve played all year.”
It was a tale of two starts for the pitchers early on. Alaska’s Treyson Peters made quick work of the Waves in the top of the first, before three walks in the bottom half from Michael Shanahan for San Diego helped the ‘Panners pull ahead for a 2-0 lead.
As Peters continued to deal, the Goldpanner offense continued to capitalize. In the third, Griffin Harrison picked up a triple, and eventually came around to score after a throw to second base on a Mikey Bell steal attempt saw him swipe home.
San Diego picked up some momentum in the fourth. An error followed by their first hit of the game put runners on first and second with no outs. Peters dealt with the situation, striking out two of the next three hitters to keep the Waves scoreless.
By the time Peters’ day was over, the ‘Panners were leading 6-0. His outing came to an end in the fifth, seeing him go five innings with nine strikeouts and only two hits allowed in his first start of the season.
He was followed by Paxton Fenberg, who pitched the next three innings. San Diego managed to crack the board in the sixth, but otherwise, Fenberg carried the game to the eighth with minimal threats. He finished with one earned run, no hits allowed, a strikeout and three walks.
“We needed some length out of those two guys [Peters and Fenberg], because with pitch counts, we have to be careful with arms,” Lachemann said. “So those were huge outings for us with the next few days upcoming too.”
Going into the ninth, the ‘Panners held an 8-1 lead. The Waves chipped away at the deficit with three runs in the inning thanks to three hits and two errors, but they still fell measurably short by a score of 8-4.
Bell (2-4), Hayden Iverson (1-4) and Matt Chavez (1-4) all finished with two RBIs, driving in six of their teams’ runs. As a lineup, the Goldpanners collected nine hits, two being of the extra-base variety with a double from Bell – his third in three games – and a triple from Harrison.
The Goldpanners and Waves meet again on Monday at 6:30 p.m. with the ‘Panners looking to make it three-straight wins.
