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The two charter members of the Alaska Baseball League — which now only consists of teams from Southcentral Alaska — and two oldest Alaska summer college baseball teams had never played each other in the Midnight Sun Game before Friday night.

“I heard about it last year through (Goldpanners general manager) John Lohrke,” Glacier Pilots general manager Derek Foote said of the opportunity for a first-ever Midnight Sun Game matchup between the ‘Panners and ‘Pilots. “And I saw an opportunity that Alaska teams need to play each other in this game.

“This is a big deal for us and a big deal for the league, and we’re trying to get Fairbanks to come back to the Alaska Baseball League, that’s another big move I’m trying to make. And I’m going to keep pushing for it, and I enjoyed this game. It was amazing, and we’d probably like to come try to do it again next year or at least have another Alaska team come up here and play.”

Friday’s Midnight Sun Game marked the second part of a three-game weekend series between the two rivals. Taking part in this particular game was a lifelong dream for Glacier Pilots shortstop Dylan Marx, who grew up in Sitka.

“It’s an honor,” Marx said postgame. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment my whole life, honestly. I really wanted to play in this league (the ABL) and this game too. It means a lot to me to be able to play out here.”

Marx recorded a single, was walked once and hit by a pitch, getting on base in three of five trips to the plate. He also keyed a double play in the bottom of the fifth inning that was a death knell to the Goldpanners’ fledgling offensive momentum with a man on third base and one out.

Being from Southeast Alaska, Marx said he’s had to adjust to the omnipresent daylight brought by the midnight sun just as much as the rest of the team has. A few of his teammates decided to circumvent any concerns about falling asleep the night before or staying awake and alert the day of the Midnight Sun Game.

“A few guys on the team, we played poker until about 5:30 a.m. last night and then slept from about 5:30 until lunch, so that kind of helped,” Glacier Pilots second baseman Weston Mazey said postgame. “It feels like eight o clock at night to me right now just because we played poker all night.”

Mazey called Friday Night’s game the “coolest, biggest environment” he’s played in. However, he was undaunted by the crowd size because he’d been part of a number of large baseball crowds at West Virginia University, the school he’ll be playing for in the Big 12 Conference next year.

That much was clear as Mazey recorded two hits (including a double), two RBIs and one run, batting a team-best .667 on Friday.

“It’s definitely an adjustment,” Mazey said of the midnight sun. “It feels like nine in the morning at all times during the day. I feel like you don’t ever get tired. It’s super cool that it’s like daylight all day, like you can go outside, do anything. It is an adjustment, but it’s a super cool experience. It’s going to be weird going back to West Virginia where I’m from.”

The pomp and circumstance of their most popular annual game — new pinstriped uniforms and more ceremonial lineup introductions, followed by a flyover and later a break in play for the Alaska Flag Song — did not serve to propel the Goldpanners, who defeated the Glacier Pilots 5-1 on Thursday but lost 7-2 in front of the larger crowd Friday.

The Glacier Pilots, from top down (general manager Foote to the players), expressed excitement to be playing in one of Alaska’s most famous sporting events.

“When all the people, like I think it was the mayor (David Pruhs), were talking and there were a bunch of people talking about like ‘oh yeah it’s a great rivalry,’ that kind of fired us up,” Mazey said.

While the novelty of playing under the midnight sun and the history and significance of the game stood out to Mazey, Marx said the fans and atmosphere will be what stick with him most from the experience of fulfilling his childhood dream.

“100% the biggest crowd (I’ve played in front of),” Marx said. “It was a little nerve-wracking going up in the first inning, but I settled down, and we settled down as a team, so we got the win. It means a lot.”

Fairbanks fans were likely hoping for a closer game and a continuation of the recent success the Goldpanners have had in the Midnight Sun Game and overall (they were 8-3 on the season entering Friday and 1-0 in the in-state series). They came away with a loss to an old rival but perhaps also a taste of matchups to come if they rejoin the ABL in the future.

Meanwhile, the Glacier Pilots and their roster of nearly two dozen NCAA Division I players rose to the occasion in their first-ever Midnight Sun Game.

“[Glacier Pilots head coach Ritch Price has] been talking about it all season, how he’s been looking forward to this game and we want to win big games,” Marx said. “And we won the big game tonight.”