Bring on the Bucs: Mat-Su Miners host Anchorage in best-of-3 league title series

PALMER — After finishing as the league runner-up in each of the last two seasons, the Mat-Su Miners are two victories away from their first Alaska Baseball League title since 2010.

The Miners host the Anchorage Bucs in the ABL League Top of the World Series, a best-of-3 championship set that starts Monday at 6 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer. The series continues Tuesday, with Game 2 at 3 p.m., and Game 3 at 6 p.m., if necessary.

A pair of Mat-Su wins would give the Miners their fourth league title since 2004, best in the league during the span. Anchorage, meanwhile, hopes to erase the league’s longest title drought. The Bucs have not had a piece of a league championship since they finished tied for first with the Peninsula Oilers in 1998. Anchorage has not won it all since 1996.

Heading into regular season play Saturday (Mat-Su caps its regular season with a two-game set, Saturday and Sunday at Kenai), the Miners were 32-11 overall and 29-10 in ABL play. The Miners have known for nearly two weeks they’d be playing for the crown. Mat-Su clinched the ABL National League title July 21 with a victory over the Alaska Goldpanners. Three nights later, the Miners used a win over Chugiak to clinch home field advantage in the series.

The Bucs, who close their regular season today against the Panners, are 27-20 overall and 23-15 in league play. Anchorage is 8-2 in its last 10. Mat-Su is 7-3.

Here’s a closer look t the teams playing for the title. All statistics are through conclusion of play Friday evening.

Mat-Su is the top hitting club in the six-team ABL, leading the league with a .266 batting average. The Miners also lead the league in total runs (181), hits (366) and RBI (155). The Miners average 4.2 runs per game.

The Miners have three players who have consistently been in the race for the league’s batting crown. Outfielder Alex Caruso leads the ABL with a .355 batting average. Outfielder Brick Paskiewicz is second at .331, and designated hitter Matt Diorio is fourth a .322.

The Miners also have utility player Tanner Nishioka, who leads the team with a .366 batting average, but does not have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league statistic leaders. League rules state, players must average 2.7 plate appearances per game on the team’s schedule in order to qualify. As of Friday, Miners players needed 116 plate appearances to be among league leaders. Nishioka had 111.

The Bucs are fourth in the league with a .228 batting average. The Bucs are second in the league in runs (173) and RBI (147), and lead the ABL with eight home runs. Anchorage averages 3.6 runs per game.

Utility player Taylor Jones leads the Bucs with a .322 average, good enough for fifth in the ABL. Another utility man, Stephen Trosclair, is batting .282 with a league-best 25 RBI.

The Miners also have the best pitching staff in the ABL, sporting a league-best 1.75 earned run average. Mat-Su has seven shutouts this season, and teams are hitting .185 against the Miners staff. The Miners have fanned a league-high 328 hitters, averaging 7.63 strikeouts per game.

The Miners have four different pitchers — Eli Morgan (5-0), Kyle Simonds (5-0), Zach Warren (5-1) and James Harrington (5-3) — with five wins, which leaves them all in a tie for second in the league. The Miners also have four of the top six league leaders in strikeouts Warren is second with 52 and Morgan third with 47, while Calvin LeBrun is fifth at 44 and Brigham Hill is sixth at 38.

Mat-Su closer Brick Paskiewicz leads the league with 13 saves. Paskiewicz has more saves than any other team in the ABL. Paskiewicz is also 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA. Reliever Corbin Martin has not allowed an earned run in 16 appearances this season. He has 26 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched.

The Bucs are third in the league with a 2.33 team ERA. Anchorage leads the league with 13 shuouts, and Bucs starters have thrown 11 complete games.

Anchorage’s Aaron Soto leads the ABL with six wins, and has a 0.89 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. Soto has thrown three complete games this summer. Jim Voyles is 5-0 for the Bucs, with a 0.63 ERA.

The ABL Top of the World Series will have players from three different universities facing their college teammates.

Mat-Su’s Eli Morgan, Calvin LeBrun and Caleb Wood, and Anchorage’s Taylor Jones, Sam Brown and Justin Jacobs are all Gonzaga products. Mat-Su’s Chris Hall and Zach Warren, and Anchorage’s Brodie Leftridge, Aaron Soto and Peter Lenstrohm are from the University of Tennessee. Mat-Su’s Jack Schleppenbach and Byron Hood will see a fellow Nebraska product, Anchorage’s Jake Placzek, in the series.

The 2015 Top of the World Series will also feature a rematch among the coaches. Bucs head coach Mike Grahovac and assistants Ken Hokuf and Anthony Hutting led the Alaska Goldpanners to victory over the Miners last year in the 2014 Top of the World Series.

Mat-Su skipper Ben Taylor is in the third season at the help of the Miners. Assistant Sean Winston is in his second summer with Mat-Su. Pitching coach Matt Greely is in his first season with the Miners.

Taylor is already third in team history with 83 total career wins as a field manager.