‘Grand' opening: Rasmussen's two blasts lead Mat-Su to monster win

June 17, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/Frontiersman

PALMER - With help from a couple Huskies, the Mat-Su Miners got their 2007 season off to a doggone good start Saturday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

University of Washington freshman Ty Rasmussen hit two home runs and drove in nine runs for the Miners, while Rasmussen's college teammate, sophomore pitcher Jason Erickson, struck out eight Three Rivers batters in just three innings of relief work.

Rasmussen homered in the fifth inning and added a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth. He finished 4-for-5 with four runs scored.

Mat-Su center fielder Carl Uhl got things started early, legging out an infield single off Three Rivers starter Matt Alexander t start the game. The speedy Uhl then motored around the basepaths, stealing second and third before scoring on an RBI double by Rasmussen, the Miners' big designated hitter.

First baseman Michael Ewing then stepped to the plate and brought the crowd to its feet by crushing Alexander's offering high over the right field wall for a two-run homer to put the Miners up 3-0.

Three Rivers cut the lead to 3-1 in the third when third baseman Drew Rainwater reached on an error and later scored on Travis Anderson's fielder's choice ground ball.

Rasmussen added more fireworks in the fifth. After right fielder Donald Brown reached on an error, Rasmussen blasted Alexander's pitch over the left field wall for the team's second two-run shot of the game.

That was more enough for the Mat-Su pitching staff. Starter Max Peterson was stellar before giving way to Erickson, allowing just one run while striking out three and walking four. Erickson then took over, striking out eight batters in three innings of dominant relief work. Michael Carlson and Bryce Morrow each pitched one inning of hitless relief for the Miners.

Mat-Su really broke things open in the bottom of the seventh. Following a stirring rendition of &#8220Take me Out to the Ballgame,” by the announced crowd of 771 enthusiastic fans, the Miners erupted for nine runs to put the game out of reach. The inning was highlighted by Uhl's double off Three Rivers center fielder David Deutschman's face, as well as Rasmussen's second double of the evening, this time a two-run job.

The Miners put up nine runs in the frame, then followed that with six in the eighth, capped by Rasmussen's grand finale.

Rasmussen wasn't the only Miner to have a big day at the plate. Uhl and shortstop Derek Helenihi each had three hits, while Michael Ewing had 3 RBI.

The Miners finished the game with 18 hits, while the Mat-Su pitching staff allowed just one.

The two teams will play a rematch today at 2 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

MAT-SU

name ab r h bi

Uhl cf 5 4 3 2

Price 3b 4 1 1 0

Briceman 3b 1 0 0 1

Brown rf 5 3 2 1

Rasmussen dh 5 4 4 9

M. Ewing 1b 3 2 2 3

McConnell c 5 1 1 1

Hanlon lf 4 0 0 1

August ph 2 1 1 0

Helenihi ss 6 2 3 0

Breck 2b 4 2 1 0

Totals 44 20 18 18

THREE RIVERS

Name ab r h bi

Flaskerud ss 3 1 0 0

Deutschman cf 4 0 0 0

Anderson lf 4 0 0 1

Jacobson 1b 4 0 1 0

Crowe rf 3 0 0 0

Bond 2b 3 0 0 0

Buche dh 2 0 0 0

Reed c 2 0 0 0

Davidson c 0 0 0 0

Rainwater 3b 3 0 0 0

Totals 28 1 1 1

MAT-SU 302 000 96x - 20

3 RIVERS 001 000 000 - 1

E - M. Ewing, Jacobson (2), Flaskerud, Nyleen. LOB - Three Rivers 5, Mat-Su 9. 2B - Rasmussen (2), Uhl, Jacobson. HR - Rasmussen (2), M. Ewing. SB - Uhl 2, Brown

THREE RIVERS IP H R ER BB SO

Alexander 5 6 5 3 1 1

McClaughry 1.2 4 6 5 3 0

Nyleen .2 8 9 6 5 0

Mais .2 0 0 0 0 2

MAT-SU

Peterson 4 0 1 1 4 3

Erickson 3 1 0 0 1 8

Carlson 1 0 0 0 0 2

Morrow 1 0 0 0 0 1