Alaska grown: Valley products help Miners on the mound

PALMER — Each summer, the Mat-Su Miners bring about two-dozen players from across the country to the Valley to compete in the Alaska Baseball League. The 2014 edition of the Miners also includes a pair of local products: pitchers Jonathon Boyer and Josh Grissom.

Wednesday, the Valley players combined efforts to help Mat-Su score a 6-5 nonleague win over the San Francisco Seals at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer. Boyer, a Colony High School graduate, started the game, and pitched four innings. Grissom, a Wasilla High alum, worked the eighth inning to earn the victory on the mound, and help Mat-Su improve to 6-3-1 this summer.

“It’s awesome that two guys who grew up going to Hermon Brothers Field can be such a big part of what’s going on for us,” Mat-Su head coach Ben Taylor said after the win.

Grissom, who recently capped his sophomore season at Blue Mountain Community College in Oregon, is spending his second summer with the Miners. Last year, Grissom started as the bullpen catcher. He also saw some action on the field. Grissom appeared in one ABL game, pitching an inning against the Alaska Goldpanners. He was also 1-0 with two appearances in nonleague play. At the plate, Grissom was 1 for 2, with a double and an RBI.

Grissom has already exceeded his total playing time in 2013 during the first 10 days of the 2014 season. Wednesday marked Grissom’s fourth appearance of the season and third in as many nights. Grissom also pitched one inning during a win over Chugiak on Monday and two innings during another win over Chugiak on Tuesday.

“He’s not seen as a local guy. He’s seen as a guy who can help us win some games,” Taylor said of Grissom, a 6-foot right-hander.

And the same goes for Boyer.

Boyer, who made only one appearance as a freshman at Kansas City Community College during the spring, has pitched in three games for the Miners, logging a 2.79 earned run average. Wednesday marked his first career start with the Miners. Boyer, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, made his first career appearance on June 11, pitching 2 2/3 innings against Chugiak. He allowed only two hits a struck out a batter.

June 14, Boyer had a key outing against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. He pitched three innings, allowing four hits and one earned run. Boyer hit the mound with the Miners trailing 6-1. He allowed only the single run, and the Mat-Su offense erupted for nine runs in the final three innings of the game.

“Boyer was huge for us,” Taylor said of that outing. “He kept us in the ball game against the Pilots, pretty much won it for us.”

Combined with the work of Boyer and Grissom on the mound Wednesday, Mat-Su used four late runs to beat the San Francisco Seals 6-5.

Dayne Wunderlich singled in the bottom of the eighth to drive in pinch-runner Paul Panaccione to provide the go-ahead run for the Miners. Panaccione came into the game for designated hitter Josh Meyer, who led off the inning with a double.

“Good players know how to turn it one when they need to turn it on,” Taylor said. “Tonight wasn’t the easiest, but we found a way to do the job.”

Boyer and Grissom combined for five innings of work.

Boyer made the start, allowing six hits and two runs in four innings. Boyer left the game with the contest tied at 2. Grissom pitched the eighth. He allowed two hits and one run, and notched a strikeout. He earned his first win of the summer.

Vince Arobio pitched the ninth to get the save.

Mat-Su finished with 10 hits in the win, the Miners’ third straight. Wunderlich finished 3 for 4 with two runs and an RBI. Cameron Newell was 2 for 3. Terrence Connelly also had two hits.

Cameron Frost walked three times and scored two runs.

Mat-Su returned to league play hosting the Glacier Pilots on Thursday. Results were unavailable prior to press time. See frontiersman.com/sports for more.

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