A bump in the road, but still on course

WICHITA -- There was a bump in the road, but the Mat-Su Miners rebounded to move further through the National Baseball Congress World Series bracket.

After suffering a 6-3 loss to the Prairie (Ill.) Gravel on Saturday, the Miners came back to score an 11-5 win over the Crestwood (Ill.) Panthers on Sunday and are now one of the last 16 teams remaining from the original field of 46.

Mat-Su improved to 3-1 in the season-ending tournament with the win over the Panthers, but the loss to the Gravel gave the Miners little room for error in the double-elimination event.

"We are playing like there is no tomorrow," Mat-Su manager Mike Buchmiller said.

Facing elimination, the Miners quickly pumped out eight runs in the first two innings, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the second. Josh Satin and Mike Paulk combined for five RBI in the first two innings. Satin drew a walk with the bases loaded in the first inning and notched a two-run double to centerfield in the second. Paulk scored a sacrifice fly in the first inning and a run-scoring single in the second.

In his first outing in a week, Chris Mason pitched six innings and earned the win.

"He was a little sluggish," Buchmiller said. "He had a seven-day layover, but we wanted to give him a little extra rest since he had been pitching so much for us.

"But he gutted it out. He pitched well enough for us to win."

Mason struck out seven, walked two and allowed just one earned run for the Miners.

Brett Bigler, on a tear at the plate in Wichita, notched his second-straight three-hit night to lead the Miners. Clayton Carson also had three hits, scored two runs and drove a runner in for Mat-Su. Cameron Blair and Scott Simon each registered a pair of hits against the Panthers.

Saturday, the Miners were sent to the losers bracket after a 6-3 loss to the Prairie Gravel, a Chicago-based ballclub. Prairie, a team that features nine players with minor league baseball experience, took advantage of a few key Miner miscues and a controversial home run call to defeat the Miners.

Still adjusting to the fast turf infield of Lawrence Dumont Stadium in Wichita, the Mat-Su infield committed a pair of errors that set up scoring opportunities for Prairie.

In the third inning, Prairie left fielder Joe Mazzuca smacked a ball down the right field line that was called a home run. According to Buchmiller the call was controversial.

Chris Malone allowed six hits and three earned runs in just more than four innings and was tagged with the loss.

"Chris didn't have his 'A' stuff, but that happens to the best," Buchmiller said.

Kevin Tomasiewicz, Haley Winter and Cody Campbell combined for four innings of scoreless relief.

The Miners smacked a pair of homers in a late comeback attempt. Blair hit a two-run home run to left field in the eighth inning, and Satin hit a solo dinger to left in the ninth.

The Miners will now have to fight through the losers bracket to advance to the final bracket. Mat-Su faced the Maxim Yankees on Monday. Results were unavailable before press time. See the Friday edition for complete results of the Miners' action in Wichita.