Miners Finish Off Undefeated Gauntlet in Style

As fun as winning close game after close game has been to watch, Miners fans around the valley and beyond were probably in need of a break after seven straight tight, down-to-the-wire wins. With a playoff berth sown up and a date with the lowly Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks standing as the last obligation for many on the team before a two-day break, Mat-Su could have been forgiven for letting up on the gas a little. Instead, for the second time this season, the Miners strolled into Lee Jordan Field in Chugiak and run-ruled the Chinooks in their home ballpark.

The Miners started their onslaught early. Chinooks starter John Green (0-2), who had made his only other start this season in Mat-Su's other run-rule win in Chugiak, saw a pair of unearned runs cross home plate in the opening frame after a leadoff Chase Wilcox double and a pair of throwing errors on a subsequent Drake Kerr single. Wilcox scored with ease on the hit, with Kerr making it all the way to third and then the rest of the way after Kyle McCausland flied out.

Chugiak-Eagle River wasn't the only team starting a pitcher for just the second time all season. Aidan Dolinsky (1-0), who had started the home opener for Mat-Su and allowed three runs in two innings, got another chance to crack the rotation and saw much more success. A second-inning leadoff double by Jordan Jaffe was the only hit the Chinooks could manage off Dolinsky, and Jaffe would end up stranded at third in what would turn out to be the only real scoring opportunity the Chinooks would see.

The Miners loaded the bases in the second against Green, but were unable to score. That would be the final time Chugiak-Eagle River's starter would catch a break, however. In the third, a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with nobody out before Kellen Strohmeyer hit a sacrifice fly to double Mat-Su's lead. It would double again before the end of the inning, first thanks to a Ryan Richard RBI single which set the stage for Miners catcher Logan Vaughan. Entering the plate appearance with just two hits all season, Vaughan cranked a double into the right-center gap to score Mat-Su's fourth run and elicit a raucous cheer from his bench. Nick Bisaccia added a sac fly of his own to knock Green out of the game before the inning finally came to a close.

From there, Mat-Su steadily kept pushing. While Dolinsky continued to silence Chugiak-Eagle River's bats, the Miners scored in the next three frames: Strohmeyer doubled in run number six in the fourth, Kerr did the same in the fifth to accompany a Christian Perez sacrifice fly, and Ryker Schow, in as a pinch-hitter, crushed a two-run home run off reliever Jacob Hurst to push Mat-Su over the run-rule threshold in the sixth.

After Dolinsky had thrown four solid innings and it had become clear that the game was almost certainly not running the full nine, Mat-Su pitching coach Steve Hecker opted to send out Nolan Murphy to close the game out. Murphy allowed a pair of hits but kept the shutout intact, in so doing recording the ultra-rare blowout save by completing the final three innings of his team's dominant win.

The Miners are the first team in the ABL to reach 20 wins but still sit a game back of the Anchorage Bucs for first place. Mat-Su will rest on Tuesday and Wednesday before playing the last two road games of the regular season in Anchorage against the Glacier Pilots on Thursday.

To follow the Miners as they try to end the double-header with a double-digit win streak, head down to Mulcahy Stadium at 4:00 PM AKDT or tune into the Mat-Su Miners' YouTube channel!

Charlie Fellows, 2024 Broadcaster
Mat-Su Miners