Bucs edge Miners to force a third game in ABL championship series; Rivals will play for the title Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Palmer

The Anchorage Bucs will live to see another day in the 2025 Alaska Baseball League season.

Anchorage spoiled Mat-Su’s shot at the sweep with a 4-3 win over the Miners during the second game of the ABL Top of the World Series Tuesday evening at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

Now a third game will decide it all. The Miners will host the Bucs Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Hermon Brothers.

The Miners smashed Anchorage 9-2 in the opening game of the series Monday, but Joey Nerat scored the go-ahead run for Anchorage in the eighth to extend the ABL season, and tie the best-of-3 series at one win each.

Nerat scored two of Anchorage’s four runs in the win, and gave the Bucs both their first and last leads of the night. The Bucs took a 1-0 lead when Nerat scored on a Logan Yule single in the first inning. Grant Haas also had a run-scoring single in the opening frame for Anchorage.

Mat-Su trailed 2-0 early in the game, and tied the score twice during the final 2 ½ innings.

Ridge Erickson scored on a Carter Eberhard single in the seventh to tie the score at 2. After Anchorage took a 3-2 lead, Lincoln Stephenson doubled and scored on an Anchorage error to knot the score at 3.

Eberland led Mat-Su with three of its six hits.

The Miners are in search of their first league championship since 2018.