Miners Outlast Oilers in Playoff Opener

A certain feeling hung in the air over Herman Brothers Field before the Mat-Su Miners began their quest for the 2024 Top of the World Series championship. I wouldn't call it excitement, although there certainly was a bit of it. Not quite terror or dread either. It was tense anticipation, so thick you could almost cut it. Game one of a three-game set like this, especially with all three games being played in the same stadium, can have enormous ramifications. A one-game deficit can feel insurmountable when just a single loss puts you up against elimination.

For the moment, at least, it's a feeling the Miners have yet to sample.

A dominant pitching performance and some timely hitting early on propelled the Miners to a 3-0 win over the visiting Peninsula Oilers. Mat-Su grabbed its first playoff win since game three of last season's first-round series against Peninsula, once again in the comforts of home.

Ashton Johnson (3-1) was the surprise starter for the Miners. The BYU commit became the first left-handed pitcher to start a game for Mat-Su, and took advantage of a gap in the trees off to the right side of the batter's eye that can make pitches from left-handed hurlers harder to read. Whether it was that, being fresh after a week off the mound, or a particularly balanced breakfast, Johnson took advantage and dominated the Oilers through six scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out seven, silencing the visitors for two-thirds of the game.

Johnson's performance gave the Miners' bats a chance to attack Oilers starter Cody New (2-2), and they did. Despite coming into the day as one of the ABL's better pitchers, the final continued the trend of the Oilers being winless in games against Mat-Su where New made an appearance. Unlike the last two, which featured lots of unearned runs, this loss was on New. The Cal Baptist lefty surrendered a leadoff walk in the third to Blake Balsz, who made it to second on a Chase Wilcox single and completed his journey home when Ryker Schow did the same. Wilcox then scored on a Kyle McCausland sacrifice fly, and later drove in Mat-Su's third and final run an inning later with a two-out RBI double.

With the news that center fielder and bunter extraordinaire Drake Kerr was lost for the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, Schow got the start in his place, and along with the rest of the Miners' defense, delivered a flawless performance. The Oilers had one inconsequential error, but were also unable to close the gap after the early Mat-Su scores.

Ben DeTaeye and Drew Koenen, co-recipients of the Miners Reliever of the Year award at this week's banquet, were the primary reason why. The two stellar relievers combined for three more scoreless frames and five more strikeouts after Johnson's day was done. DeTaeye's eighth inning was rocky, as the Iowa Hawkeye walked the bases loaded with two outs, but the lefty was able to escape and strand the Oilers' tying run.

The Miners need just one more win to secure their fourth straight trip to the ABL's championship series, and can get one Sunday at 2:00 PM AKDT.

Head down to the ballpark to cheer them on, or tune in on the Mat-Su Miners' YouTube channel

Charlie Fellows, 2024 Broadcaster
Mat-Su Miners