Alaska falls to the Seattle Studs

So when Goldpanners starter Corey Braun exchanged striking out the side for a grand slam in the top of the first of Friday night’s game against the Seattle Studs in the Grand Forks (British Columbia) International Invitational, he must have likewise been perplexed as to what kind of deal he had made east of the border.

It turned out OK for Braun — he settled down to go five innings with just one additional run on seven total hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. But the Goldpanners’ couldn’t crack starter Zander Clouse in his seven innings as they fell 7-5 to the Seattle Studs.

The game was played in front of a festive Canada Day audience that featured — based on the cheers, jeers and shouts from the Pannervision broadcast on YouTube — plenty of strange brews and even an eighth-inning streaker, who dashed across the infield and took off, eh, over the right-field wall.

The loss sends the Panners into Sunday morning’s semifinal at 9 o’clock Alaska Daylight Time against the team that works its way through three games tomorrow. The winner of that game will play the Seattle Studs in the championship at noon AKDT.

After Landon Riker’s grand slam, the Goldpanners tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single by Rudy Flores to score Caleb Millikan in the first inning and three runs in the second: an RBI single by Millikan to score Cayden Clark and a two-RBI single by Brock Rudy to score Millikan and Dominic Hughes.

But Chris Schuchart staked the Studs to a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth with a one-out single that enabled him to score from first on a double to Kyle Rodriguez.

Cayden Clark was just a few feet from putting Alaska ahead on a two-on, two-out drive to right field in the bottom of the inning that was caught against the wall by Riker.

Missing his active duty relievers — 1st Lt. Logan Smith and Staff Sgt. Ramon Padilla who were back home and on duty at Fort Wainwright — field manager Mark Lindsey’s first bullpen call went to Keegan Wentz to open the sixth. But Wentz walked the first two batters he faced on eight pitches and then hit the third batter he faced.

West Valley High School graduate Andrew Troppmann worked his way out of the bases-loaded, no-outs jam with just one run crossing the plate as right fielder Dominic Hughes gunned down a runner at home on a perfect throw to Rafael Flores and two ground outs sandwiching another walk. Troppmann also threw a 1-2-3 seventh and a scoreless eighth, but surrendered a solo homer to Braeden Terry on a deep drive to right in the ninth inning.

The Panners got the run from the sixth inning back when Harrison was hit by a pitch and scored from first on a double by Rudy, but still trailed 6-5.

Clouse’s night ended after seven innings, with five runs (three earned), 10 hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Jacob Bradley pitched 1-2-3 innings in both the eighth and ninth to seal the game.