ABL players take the field for annual all-star game

ANCHORAGE — In 2011, the Alaska Baseball League added an annual all-star game to its summer schedule, giving the 49^th state its own midsummer classic. Sunday, the league’s seventh-annual all-star game ended in a 2-2 tie. But that didn’t seem to damper the spirits of anyone on the field.

“It’s a lot of fun out here,” Mat-Su Miners catcher Andy Thomas said after the game as players from all five of the league’s teams posed for pictures. “It’s a great break, fun for us to kind of relax, understanding that we played well enough to even make this game with all the great players (in the league). To have it end up in a tie is a lot of fun.”

Mat-Su Miners skipper Ben Taylor, who coached the National team, said it’s a nice pause during the highly-competitive ABL season.

“It’s a nice break for everybody to have a little more fun with certain things,” Taylor said. “It’s a special weekend for these players to be named Alaska Baseball League All-Stars.”

The ABL All-Star Game, and the home run derby earlier in the day, capped the league’s ABL/MLB Showcase Weekend. Each season in mid-July all of the ABL teams hit Mulcahy Stadium for three days of baseball in front of a crowd of Major League scouts. Teams played in nonleague games Friday and Saturday. Nearly every MLB organization was represented by a scout over the weekend.

“It’s great to showcase what we have in front of them,” said Thomas, who drove in a run for the National team during the tie.

The league all-stars were split into the National and American teams. The National team featured players from the Miners, Anchorage Glacier Pilots and Peninsula Oilers. The American squad had players from the Anchorage Bucs, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks, Oilers and Miners.

Fourteen Miners suited up for Sunday’s game.

“I’m really proud of the guys. They all showed really well,” Taylor said.

Thomas led Mat-Su with an RBI for the National team. Austin Dennis added a single for the National team. Mat-Su’s Blake Benefield singled for the American team.

Dennis pitched and played second base for the Miners. In the sixth, Dennis was involved in all three outs in the field. He also helped keep the game tied at 2. With runners at second and third, and the score tied at 2, Dennis took a ground ball on the right side of the infield. With Jace VanDerBrake of the Anchorage Bucs charging home, Dennis made the throw home. VanDerBrake was caught between third and home and eventually tagged out.

“It was a fun way to show of his skills,” Taylor said of Dennis. “He’s a really good ballplayer.”

The National team took a 1-0 lead early. In the bottom of the second, Ian Evans of Pilots drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a Thomas groundout. The American team tied the score in the fifth when Chugiak’s Justin Gomez walked and scored on an error.

The National team grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the inning. Cameron Thomas of the Pilots singled and scored on single by Kellen Strahm of the Oilers.

The American team tied the score once again in the sixth. David Hensley of the Bucs led off the inning with a walk. VanDerBrake doubled to drive in Hensley and tie the score at 2.

Both teams combined for only six hits in the game. Taylor said that’s indicative of the level of pitching in ABL.

“The pitching in this league, especially this year, is fantastic,” Taylor said. “The all-star game is a great showcase for the pitchers.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.