Anchorage Bucs rally late to top Glacier Pilots, win Mayor’s Cup

There can be a routine nature to summer league baseball, with practices in the morning and games nearly every day. So a series like the Mayor’s Cup can not only break up the monotony but also provide a little extra motivation.

That’s all the Anchorage Bucs needed Wednesday.

The Bucs rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to top the Glacier Pilots 4-1 and secure the Mayor’s Cup by winning the first two games of the best-of-three series.

Ryan Callahan provided the go-ahead run, slapping an opposite-field single to left field with one out in the bottom of the eighth, plating teammate Josh Hankins to put the Bucs up 2-1.

“When you go play summer ball, it gets long and day after day, you keep playing games,” Callahan said. “So when you get to play a series like this against a same-city opponent, it’s cool. There’s a little bit more to the game. So getting the win, that’s cool. And we’ll have that cup for another year.”

For most of the game, neither team was able to muster much at all on offense as both starting pitchers were effective and efficient.

Glacier Pilots starter Payton Allen was especially sharp, going six scoreless innings and giving up just a hit and a walk. His counterpart, Bucs starter Zan Rose, has been one of the league’s best pitchers this season with an ERA just over one and a 3-0 record in five starts. Rose had a clean sheet until the top of the seventh, when he gave up back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning, pushing the Pilots ahead 1-0.

Chase Knight led off the inning with a double and was driven in by teammate Jacob Kowes. But the quick start to the inning didn’t extend any further as Bucs reliever Chad Gurnea got the Pilots out of the inning without any further damage.

That 1-0 score was maintained until the bottom of the eighth, when the Bucs put together a rally using a variety of timely hits, walks and a hit batsman. Bucs head coach Bill Springman said the team did a good job of continuing to stick to its game plan despite getting nothing to show for it through seven innings.

“We just tried to stay positive and keep it upbeat because we weren’t getting anything going on and it seemed like the bases were 1,000 feet apart,” Springman said.

Brody Briggs doubled to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt sent him to third, Hankins walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Cole Carlon drove Briggs in with an infield single and Lamb was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Callahan. His single scored Hankins and gave the Bucs all the scoring they would need.

“It’s always tough when those games start out 0-0 deep into the game and obviously our pitching staff did a great job,” Callahan said. “So hats off to them, but at that point, it’s just taking it one step at a time and trusting your guy on deck and just trying to find ways to get on base, try to make good things happen.”

The Bucs tacked on two more runs with Tommy Eisenstat plating Carlon on a fielder’s choice and Max Ross forcing home Lamb later in the inning on a bases-loaded walk.

Andrew Rudd pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the win and the Mayor’s Cup for the Bucs, who won the first game of the series 9-1 on July 12. The next two scheduled Mayor’s Cup games were rained out, necessitating make-ups starting Wednesday.

“The Glacier Pilots have had a long tradition and the Bucs have been playing well, too,” he said. “We’re very proud to have the Mayor’s Cup.”

The Bucs improved to 21-10 with the win and are leading the ABL. The Mat-Su Miners are 20-13 and on an eight-game winning streak entering Wednesday night’s play.

“These guys got together the first three days and they’re very tight,” Springman said. “A very close-knit team. They love each other, and it’s hard to build chemistry but they came in with it. That’s been our biggest asset, our chemistry.”

[Strong bonds, total team effort have been key to the Anchorage Bucs’ success this season]

Don Sneddon had originally been hired to manage the Bucs this season but died unexpectedly in April from an aggressive form of leukemia.

Springman was a close friend and said he was asked by Sneddon to take over coaching the team.

“Those are hard shoes to fill,” he said. “Don Sneddon was a competitor, a battler and a great person.”