Another no-no

ANCHORAGE — When Scott Sitz arrived at the ball park Saturday morning, it was just another day. The Jacksonville Beach, Fla., native was simply preparing for another start on the mound for the Mat-Su Miners.

Litlte did Sitz know, he was about to accomplish something he’d never done before.

Sitz, who recently completed his freshman season at Florida State, threw a no-hitter and led the Miners to an 8-0 win over the Athletes in Action Fire Saturday during the second day of the Alaska Baseball League Showcase at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

“It felt like a normal start. I wasn’t expecting anything special,” Sitz said. “Warming up in the bullpen, I felt decent, but I didn’t think it would turn out anything like this.”

Sitz allowed only three baserunners — he hit two batters and walked another — en route to the first no-hitter of his career.

“My whole life, I’ve never done it,” Sitz said. “I’ve come close, two or three hitters in seven-inning games in high school.”

Sitz plunked AIA’s Will Watson with a pitch early in the second, but Watson was forced out at second when Hank Price hit into a double play. It was one of three double plays turned by the Miners in the win. Each time AIA would put a man on, the Miners would turn two.

Aaron Parnell drew a lead-off walk in the seventh, but the Miners retired the side when Marc Schoch grounded into another double play.

Kellen Bozeman was hit by a Sitz pitch in the eighth, but Price quickly grounded into a double play for the second time in the game.

Thanks to the double plays, Sitz faced the minimum 27 batters in the game.

Tyler Ruch also made a touch snag in left, one of the key outs of the game.

“I’d like to personally thank him for that,” Sitz said.

With solid defense behind him, Sitz cruised through the game that lasted well under two hours.

“I normally work fast just to try to get the team back into the dugout,” Sitz said. “I try to get out of the inning as fast as possible, to get back up to the plate so we can score.”

Mat-Su head coach Russell Raley said he thought Sitz had great rhythm throughout and used his strengths well.

“I thought his command of his fastball was really good,” Raley said. “He had a slider when he needed it, and he was down in the zone.

“The thing the coaches and I talked about, he really only had a couple of balls hit hard all day. That speaks to how good of stuff he had.”

In about the fifth inning, Raley said he started to think Sitz had the potential for something special.

“I knew his pitch count was good, and he got better as it went,” Raley said.

Sitz said he really started to think about the potential no-hitter in the seventh, and the nerves really started to kick in during the ninth.

In the ninth, Sitz forced Keith DePew to ground out and then struck out David Mitroff looking. With two outs, Tyler Windall hit a soft grounder to Mat-Su second baseman Matt Wessinger.

“It wasn’t hit hard hit,” Sitz said. “I was nervous, it was the last out of the game. But I knew Wessinger would make the play.”

The no-hitter was actually Mat-Su’s second of the season. Blake Dietrich combined with relievers James Allen and Andy Mee to throw a 13-inning no-hitter during a 3-0 win over the Peninsula Oilers in Kenai in late June.

That no-hitter was Mat-Su’s first since Chris Malone achieved it during a win over the Alaska Goldpanners in 2004. Jim Long also had a no-hitter for the Miners in 1984.

The Mat-Su offense supplied the bulk of the run support late, scoring three times in both the seventh and eighth innings.

Leadoff hitter Bret Schwartz led the Miners at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Schwartz raised his average to a team-high .404 with the four hits.

Wessinger was 3-for-3 and Reagan Moczygemba finished 3-for-4 in the win. Andy Mee, Nick DeBiasse and Wesley Thigpen collected a pair of hits. Mee and DeBiasse drove in two runs each.

Mat-Su improved to 23-7 with the win.

Miners 8, Panners 3

First-place Mat-Su moved two games ahead of the Alaska Goldpanners in the standings with an 8-3 win over the Panners during the first day of the ABL MLB Showcase Friday at Mulcahy Stadium.

Nick DeBiasse and David Lyon each finished with two RBI for the Miners. Matt Applegate pitched seven strong innings to earn the win on the mound.

Mat-Su caps Showcase play today against the Peninsula Oilers at noon.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.