Doubleheader Means Double Wins for Miners

The 2024 Mat-Su Miners have been showing greatness all season long, but in a Friday Home Doubleheader, greatness was not just shown but created by the Miners. Mat-Su took on the Chugiak-ER Chinooks with a 4:00 PM start time at a packed Hermon Brothers Field and an atmosphere that was simply electric. It was clear from the first pitch that the Miners were not there to play around, but rather a team on a mission.

Greatness had been most prevalent for Mat-Su in their pitching staff, and for Game #1 the Miners turned to Noah Kendrick to control the Chinooks. He would quickly 1-2-3 the Chinooks in the Top of the 1st Inning to validate the decision early on. In the bottom of the 1st, the Miners would score a run from after a chaotic sequence of 3 errors from Chugiak with who else but the red hot Chase Wilcox scoring the first run of the game.

In the 2nd Inning, Chugiak would answer back by giving the Miners all they could handle off singles from Jacob Hayes and Jayden Hill, eventually leading to Hayes scoring on a Passed Ball off the Mat-Su Catcher Blake Balsz. Chugiak would capitalize again later in the inning off a Wild Pitch that would bring in Jayden Hill. In one frame, Chugiak went from being stuck in a hole to back into the light.

This would lead to a quiet 3rd and 4th Inning where the pitchers on both sides would dominate to hold the offenses at bay. In the 5th, it looked like that would only continue, but a certain man had other plans. Nick Bisaccia has been a great piece for the Miners all season, but his greatest moment would arrive here with a Solo Home Run shot that would clang off the top of the wall to give the Miners a tie game at 2 Runs apiece. With the game now tied, Mat-Su had all they needed to grab this contest by the horns. Thanks to Noah Kendrick lasting the entire game and holding the Chinooks at bay for 2 more innings, it would set up Mat-Su for a walkoff shot in the bottom of the 7th.

Chugiak's error-filled 1st would end up coming back in the form of a rocky 7th Inning that Mat-Su would use to their advantage. After a Walk forced by Christian Perez, Dom Patrizi would reach 1st Base on an Error to put himself and Pinch Runner Ryan Cochran on the door of victory. Mat-Su would knock down that door on a passed ball that would bring in Cochran to give the Miners their 2nd Walkoff Win in 3 days' time. By a final score of 3-2 Mat-Su had won their 4th straight.

Of course Game #1 was just one piece of the puzzle as Game #2 started just 30 minutes later, and gave Mat-Su a chance to add to their victory collection. Hayden Hattenbach would get the start from the mound for Mat-Su in this game and would get off to a sensational start. Despite some rocky sections in the early portions, Hattenbach would record all of the first 6 outs on Strikeouts. This would allow the Miners to take the early lead once again on a Kyle McCausland SAC Fly to score Chase Wilcox and give the Miners a 1-0 lead. However, in the top of the 2nd, the Chinooks would answer right back as one of the Miners rocky sections defensively would result in a Dustin Isongale scoring on an error to tie the game at 1. Even then, the Miners would snatch the lead right back on a Passed Ball to come home and give the Miners a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the 2nd Inning. This game was already a back-and-forth affair while just getting started.

The 3rd Inning saw the Chinooks stymied offensively and Mat-Su get right back into their groove. In the bottom of the frame Chase Wilcox would lead off with a sensational double setting up Kyle McCausland to drive in a run on an RBI Single to give Mat-Su a 3-1 command of the game. It seemed as though Mat-Su was cruising to a potential victory, however things would quickly change.

Nico Tomasello came in for Hattenbach in the 4th, but would struggle quickly against the opportunistic Chinooks. After 3 straight players reached base Shane Stephan would drive in a run to score Brady Groves and bring the game to a 1 run difference. Another walk from Tomasello would see the Miners make a pitching change and bring in Luke Smith. However, the train would once again stay off the tracks as Chugiak would put up 4 runs thanks to a Louis Zulacia RBI, a Jordan Jaffe 2 Run Single, and a Jacob Hayes RBI Single, giving them a 6-3 advantage in the blink of an eye. For the first time in a long time, the Miners were in trouble.

In the bottom of the 4th, Mat-Su came up empty and left the score the same. However, the bottom of the 5th was a different story after a scoreless top frame from Chugiak. Chase Wilcox was on the case once again with an RBI Single to bring the lead down to 2. Then Dom Patrizi would bring in a run on a bases loaded walk to make the score 6-5, and put the Chinooks on the backfoot. All of a sudden, Mat-Su was back and looking to finish the job.

The Miners would enter the bottom of the 6th with the opportunity to completely turn things. After Ashton Johnson took over on the bump in the 5th, he had shut down the Chinooks offense and put the Miners in position to even be in the game. In the bottom of the 6th, the Miners would cash in on their chance as who else but Chase Wilcox would deliver an RBI Triple to tie the game up. He would be followed by Drake Kerr who would deliver an RBI Single to score Wilcox from the Hot Corner and find a way to give the Miners the lead. Kerr was not done though as he would find a way to go from 2nd to Home Plate on one of the wildest double steals that you will ever see. That shocking play would give Mat-Su an 8-6 lead and have them just 3 outs away from victory.

In the top of the 7th, Drew Koenen, the Closer, would come in to finish the job for Mat-Su. He would deliver as he always does with 2 K's including one to end the game and give the Miners one of the more dramatic wins of the season by a score of 8-6. On this day, the Miners were simply the more determined team down stretch and team that executed when the lights were the brightest under the midnight sun.

Now with a 17-13 record and a 5-game winning streak, the Miners find themselves back in 2nd in the ABL Standings and have reached double-digit wins at Home. Mat-Su is finding a championship standard at the most important time of the season and are playing at a level not seen throughout the rest of the season. The journey is approaching the summit of the season, but even still, Mat-Su has a chance to climb even higher than they are right now.

Dylan Simmons, 2024 Broadcaster
Mat-Su Miners