Oilers show no mercy to Rock City

Peninsula team hand Red Sox an early exit via mercy rule

Ryan Gebhart was just one of many hot bats for
the Oilers in Wichita today.

Still licking their wounds from their stunning defeat from the Wichita Elite Sluggers the previous day, the Peninsula Oilers pulled no punches in their outing against the Rock City Red Sox. The Oilers made short work of the opposition in the 8-0 victory, bouncing Rock City from the NBC World Series tournament with a mercy-rule shortened loss.

In contrast to yesterday's loss, the Oilers' pitching in this game was rock solid with Jake Sabol (Central Michigan) pitching an even 6.0 two-hit innings, walking two and striking out four. Ryan Wooley (Alabama Birmingham) pitched the only necessary inning of relief, surrendering two hits but no runs and striking out a pair.

The bats were obviously hot this morning, with everyone reaching base at least once. Ryan Gebhart (Missouri) went 2-for-4 and scored two runs, and Garrett Wittels (Florida Int'l) knocked in a stellar 4 RBI. The team's offensive output was sufficient to put the Red Sox out of their misery and the Oilers were awarded the victory after six and a half frames.

The Oilers will advance to take on the loser of today's 5 p.m. (2 p.m. Alaska time) game between the Liberal Bee Jays and the San Diego Force. Time for the next-round game is TBA. Update: game starts at 1 p.m. central (10 a.m. Alaska).

2010 Draft Eligibles: AIA Fire

The sixth and final team of our ABL Draft Prospects watching is the AIA Fire. The Fire don't have as many draft prospects as some of the other teams in the league, most likely due to the nature of their team. Athletes in Action is a Christian ministry organization which sponsors teams in a couple other summer leagues around the country; I'm guessing that the net they cast isn't as wide and the talent is spread around a little bit more. But that's not to say that these guys aren't good, and in fact, they've netted some good prospects before and have at least one guy who will go early in the draft this year.

The guy I really love out of this bunch is left-handed batter Ryan Enos (2009), a senior outfielder for Dallas Baptist. He's not a big guy (5'10" 180lb) but he can drive the ball well and even hit one out of the park on occasion. He's hit for a high average everywhere he's played, including a league-leading .316 for the Fire in '09. He's got some speed, too. He'll swipe a few bases, and if he can get a little smarter on the base paths he will have serious pro leadoff potential. The College Baseball Blog ranked him #62 of their Top 100 for 2010, and as a senior I think he'll go in the top ten rounds; probably in the 7th or thereabouts.

Ryan Wooley (2009) is another guy to watch. He's got lots of raw talent but he's hit quite a few speed bumps along the way. First, the plug was pulled on his Cape Cod season a few years back after a vehicle accident involving another player. Then, he transferred to UAB and had to sit out the season due to NCAA rules. He was drafted by the Braves regardless, but came up to AK unsigned and the rust was apparent; his lackluster season with the Fire didn't help his cause any and the two parties couldn't come to terms. Will another team take a chance on him this year? We'll find out.