BUC-ED!

PALMER — It’s been a long week for the Mat-Su Miners.

After playing back-to-back doubleheaders during the final two days of a road trip to the Kenai Peninsula, the Miners have suffered back-to-back losses to the Anchorage Bucs.

Anchorage scored four runs in the top of the sixth en route to a 6-3 win and second straight victory over the Miners Thursday at Hermon Brothers Field.

Thursday’s game gave the Miners 54 innings worth of baseball during a four-day stretch.

“I think that may have something to do with it, but they’re still battling,” Mat-Su head coach Russell Raley said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

Despite the loss, Raley said he was pleased with the way his team fought until the final out.

“I’m really impressed with the way they battled. I’m not surprised. That’s the kind of kids we wanted,” Raley said. “I know the game didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to yesterday or today, but they’re battling. If we stay with that kind of mentality, playing hard all nine innings, we’re going to like where we’re at, at the end of the summer.”

Mat-Su carried a 2-1 lead into the sixth, but Anchorage took control with four runs. The first six hitters of the inning reached, and four of the first five Bucs who stepped to the plate in the sixth scored.

Mat-Su starter Jon Hughes pitched well during the first five, allowing only four hits and no walks through the fifth. But in the sixth, Anchorage led off the inning with back-to-back singles by Su Wei-Ta and Eddie Rohan. Coley Crank reached on an error, and Tony Piazza followed with a line drive off Hughes’ glove.

“They just hit the middle of the baseball that inning,” Raley said. “I thought (Hughes) did fine. If you ask him, he left the ball up more than he wanted it to be. But that’s part of baseball. That’s why were here, to get better.”

Hughes walked only one hitter in the game, Chris Sarritella, but that came in the sixth with the bases loaded. The Sarritella walk forced Rohan across the plate and the run tied the score at 2.

Anchorage took the 4-2 lead when Zach Vincej doubled off reliever Jason Trivett later in the inning. Serritella scored on Dominic Piazza’s sacrifice fly and the Bucs took a 5-2 lead.

Casey Hauptman allowed seven hits and two earned runs in seven innings on the mound to earn the win.

A bright spot for the Miners, who finished with nine hits in the contest, was their No. 9 hitter, Matt Wessinger. The infielder, who entered the contest with 10 hits in his first 18 games, was 4-for-4 for the Miners and scored a run.

“He bought into the approach and is being rewarded for it,” Raley said of Wessinger, who boosted his average to .250.

Wessinger gave the Miners the 2-1 lead in the fifth when he singled and scored on Bret Schwartz’s bloop single to left field. Wessinger played solid defense at second base throughout the game, and also showed his speed.

He stole a base and scored from second in the fifth. In the seventh, after Wessinger’s single to center, Anchorage tried to get the force out at second base on Matt Ozanne’s fielders choice.

But Wessinger beat Vincej’s toss from shortstop to second. Wessinger’s speed kept the inning alive and helped the Miners load the bases.

With the bases loaded, Andy Mee sent a ball into deep left field, but Crank — Anchorage’s left fielder — was able to chase down the ball near the foul line and retire the side.

Mat-Su took the 1-0 lead in the first when Schwartz scored on a Mee single.

The Miners dropped to 12-7 in the ABL standings with the loss and the Bucs improved to 5-7.

Mat-Su, which is 5-2 against the Bucs this season, will make the trip to Anchorage to play the Bucs at Mulcahy Stadium tonight at 7 p.m. The Miners return home Saturday to host the Anchorage Adult All-Stars in a nonleague game. The contest is also the Miners’ Military Appreciation Night, which is sponsored by the Frontiersman.

Anchorage 2,

Mat-Su 1

ANCHORAGE — The Anchorage Bucs scored a 2-1 win over the Mat-Su Miners Wednesday at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

Ryan Pineda and Sean Sullivan each drove in runs for the Bucs. Zach White pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win on the mound.

The Miners were held to just five hits in the game. Pablo Bermudez led the Miners with two hits. Kevin Whitehead scored the team’s lone run. Kirk Jewasko allowed three hits and one earned run over five innings and was tagged with the loss.

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