Miners Shut Out the Glacier Pilots for the Third Time This Season

The Mat-Su Miners defeated the Anchorage Glacier Pilots 5-0 to grab their ninth win in a row and maintain a substantial lead in the Alaska Baseball League. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots move to 7-11 in the standings and fall farther out of second place. 

The Miners' offense scored 14 runs Saturday night, and the pitching staff threw a shutout on Sunday night. The story again was the lack of hitting for the Glacier Pilots against the Miners' pitching, as in the seven-game series, the Pilots have scored fewer than four runs in six of them. University of Nebraska sophomore Gavin Balchowicz got the start on the mound for Mat-Su and completely shut down the Glacier Pilots' engines, giving up just two hits over five innings of work on his way to his first win of the summer. The bullpen would surrender only three baserunners over the last four innings, limiting the Glacier Pilots to two hits the entire game. 

"The hard work these pitchers put in is paying off, and our offense gives the pitchers runs to work with. It's special to watch," said head coach Ty Lebrun after the win. 

The offense did just enough, scoring all five runs in the first five innings to give the bullpen plenty of run support. Lincoln Stephenson finished with 2 RBI, and Greg Pierantoni had a double that scored the fifth and final run. 

Everything seems to be going right for the Miners over the last two weeks. With 10 games left to play, Mat-Su is in a prime position to win its third regular-season ABL title in five years.

Dylan VanderVeen
2025 Mat-Su Miners Broadcaster