Miners Drop Third Straight in Home Blowout

Since last year's ABL Top of the World Series Championship-clinching win, the Mat-Su Miners had defended Hermon Brothers Field from the visiting Anchorage Glacier Pilots four times in four tries, outscoring the defending ABL champs 27-7 in the process. On Wednesday, however, the Pilots broke through and tagged the Miners with an eight-run defeat.

Mat-Su starter Noah Kendrick (1-2) started off the game by allowing a leadoff double to Sitka native Dylan Marx, who came around to score on a Luke Heefner RBI single. Kendrick made it out of that inning without any more damage, but faltered a bit more in the second in issuing a leadoff walk to Junior Barajas and plunking Chase Knight. After that, the Miner defense would commit two of their four errors on the game, with Palmer native Owen Hayes driving Barajas home on an error by the third baseman Dom Patrizi and Dylan Marx coaxing a misplay by shortstop Nick Bisaccia two batters later that plated another Glacier Pilot.

The Miners would get on the board soon thereafter, as Patrizi notched an RBI single off Jace Russell (1-0) in the bottom half of the second to make it a 2-1 game. That, however, would be the closest Mat-Su would get. In the fourth, Nolan Murphy replaced the ailing Kendrick and loaded the bases with two outs. He nearly escaped on multiple occasions, first on a would-be inning-ending double play that was bobbled by Miners second baseman Ryan Richard, and then by getting Pilots slugger Luke Stulga to his final strike. Both times, however, it wasn't to be. Stulga blew the game wide open with a bases-clearing blast over the left field fence, scoring the first earned runs of the season allowed by Murphy.

From there, the teams essentially held serve. Kellen Strohmeyer likely came inches away from an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fourth, but settled for an RBI triple and a ride home on a subsequent Patrizi sac fly. Those would be the final runs scored in the game by Mat-Su, and aside from some insurance runs in the seventh and eighth, would more or less be the final action in what would end as an 11-3 beatdown at the hands of the last-place Glacier Pilots. Anchorage reliever Payton Allen pitched the final three-and-a-third innings for the visitors, and thus earned the ultra-rare blowout save.

With the defeat, Mat-Su falls to 12-12 on the season, half a game behind the Peninsula Oilers for the ABL's second seed. Anchorage moves ahead of the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks with the win, and into the league's final playoff spot for the moment.

The loss may sting, but the Miners won't have to wait long for a chance for revenge. Mat-Su heads down to Mulcahy Stadium on Thursday for a rematch in the second leg of their home-and-home with the Pilots.

To watch, join them in Anchorage or tune in to the Mat-Su Miners YouTube channel!

Charlie Fellows, 2024 Broadcaster
Mat-Su Miners