Miner’s First Rally in the Valley of the Season was not Enough to Overcome 8-0 Start vs Chinooks

The Mat-Su Miners suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 12-9 on Sunday night after falling behind 8-0 early. The Miners slide back to 4-4 in the Alaska Baseball League standings while the Chinooks found their first win of league action. 

Nebraska RHP Blake Encarnacion got the start for the Miners and looked good in the first inning, but things quickly changed in the second. Encarnacion would end up surrendering seven runs in the second inning before being pulled less than two innings into his outing to put Mat-Su in a deep hole. Barry College pitcher Jack Ensell did a nice job of coming in and slowing down the Chinooks' bats, giving up just two runs in the next four innings to give the offense a chance, and Mat-Su didn't let it go to waste. 

The Miners showed a serious fight for the second time this season, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third, before Bryant University's Eliot Medlock made the game 8-5 in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run home run. 

Mat-Su wasn't done after the fourth. The offense came back to the plate and stunned the Chugiak Eagle-River Chinooks with a five-run fifth inning thanks to a RBI single by Pomona-Pitzer's Greg Pierantoni and another two RBI on a single by Eliot Medlock, giving him five RBIs on the day, taking the lead 9-8.

After the Chinooks plated one in the top of the sixth, the game remained tied at 9-9  until the top of the ninth. Bowling Green's Kade Arn pitched a scoreless three innings for the Miners before Central Missouri's Greyson Chappell came in for the ninth. 

The Chinnoks would come through against Chapell, scoring the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly into left field by Carson Clark. The Chinooks would score three total runs before shutting down the Miners in the bottom half and securing their first win of the season. 

The Miners have now put themselves in a must-win spot tomorrow night against the Anchorage Bucs to avoid falling to four games behind for first place in the ABL standings. 

The Miners will be home after Monday night in Anchorage for a four-game homestand.

Dylan VanderVeen
2025 Mat-Su Miners Broadcaster