Former Miner comes up big against his old team

PALMER — For Jonny Locher, there’s just something special about Hermon Brothers Field.

Last season, as a member of the Mat-Su Miners, Locher blasted a walk-off grand slam in his debut at Hermon Brothers, a 10-7 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. This year, Locher is spending his second straight summer in the Alaska Baseball League as part of the Glacier Pilots. Tuesday, Locher made his first trip to Hermon Brothers of the season and the Stanford University product struck again.

Locher hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the fifth to lead the Pilots to a 4-3 win over the Miners at Hermon Brothers.

“I feel comfortable here being the second time around,” said Locher, who lauded his time in the Valley last summer. “I loved it here. The fan atmosphere is great. (Mat-Su Miners general manager) Pete and Densie (Christopher) put out a great product. I really liked playing here. There are a lot of familiar faces. The first couple at-bats, I’ll admit a little nervs going.”

Last season, Locher hit .358 for the Miners, with 29 hits, 20 runs and three home runs. He said he’s happy to spend another summer playing in Alaska.

“I really loved playing here. I have family from Alaska. My dad grew up in Juneau. Every time I come to Alaska is a big treat,” Locher said. “I’m greatful for sure.”

Locher is off to a solid start again this year, hitting .375 in his first three games of the season. Tuesday, Locher helped Anchorage come from behind to beat Mat-Su, and hand the Miners their first loss of the season. Trailing 3-2 with two outs and a man on third, Locher sent a James Harrington pitch over Hermon Brother’s left field wall.

“Two strikes. You’ve always got to be ready to hit the fastball,” Locher said. “He threw me a fastball down. Luckily, I put a good swing on it.”

Locher’s blast was one of Anchorage’s six hits in the game, and three allowed by Harrington. Locher’s home run also helped the Pilots overshadow quality work by the Mat-Su arms.

“I thought we pitched absolutely fantastic,” Mat-Su head coach Ben Taylor said. “I couldn’t ask any more of the pitching staff. It was just one of those games.”

Harrington and relievers Byron Hood and Trent Thompson combined for 13 strikeouts. Hood and Thompson combined for four scoreless innings.

Anchorage took an early lead in the game. Luke Hamblin singled and scored on a Mat-Su error to give the Pilots the 1-0 lead in the top of the first. But the Miners tied the score in the bottom of the inning. Mat-Su’s Alex Caruso drew a lead-off walk, and scored to tie the game at 1.

In the fourth, Mat-Su took a 3-1 lead with Hunter Simmons and Nyles Nygaard runs.

Tyler Wolfe led the Miners with two of his team’s eight total hits. Caruso and Vance Vizcaino drove in runs for the Miners.

“It was a close game, a good ABL game,” Taylor said. “We had a couple of shots to tie and win that game, but tonight it didn’t go our way.”

The ABL rivals will see a lot of each other in the near future. Tuesday’s contest marked the first of seven games in seven days against the Pilots. Mat-Su hosts Anchorage Wednesday at 7 p.m. and again Monday. The Miners are in Anchorage to play the Pilots in a doubleheader starting Friday at 6 p.m., in the annual summer solstice game Saturday at 10 p.m. and again Sunday at 6.

“It was a hard-fought game. We’re going to play a lot more of those battles for sure,” Locher said.