Home run sparks Miners

PALMER — The Mat-Su Miners used seven pitchers to combine for a three-hitter, but needed only one bat to supply the bulk of the offense.

Infielder Erik Harbutz cracked a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to lead the Miners to a 3-1 nonleague win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer on Wednesday.

“He’s been having great at-bats,” Mat-Su head coach Chris Gordon said of Harbutz, a Wichita State sophomore and Miners shortstop. “He’s been battling, putting good swings on the ball.”

The left-handed hitting Harbutz used one of those good swings to smack a high line drive over the fence near the right field corner. First baseman Branden Berry, who finished 2 for 3 in the win, led off the inning with a single and also scored on the Harbutz homer.

Berry, a University of Washington freshman, scored twice in the win, combing with outfielder Ian Miller to give the Miners a more comfortable advantage in the seventh.

With the Miners holding a slim 2-1 lead, Berry — much like he did in the second, led off the seventh inning with a single. Harbutz followed with another single, and after consecutive outs, Miller sent a double to deep left center field. Berry scored easily on the play.

“Miller’s been having good swings, and he finally got that hit,” Gordon said.

Berry, Harbutz and centerfielder Bill Cullen each finished with two hits in the game.

Clint Freeman pitched a pair of perfect innings to earn the win. The East Tennessee State product fanned a pair of Glacier Pilot hitters.

“Freeman went out and did a great job,” Gordon said. “We planned again to use a lot of pitchers. It’s the last nonleague game before we start playing league games. He pitched great and the guys behind him did as well.”

The Miners also used four pitchers during a 6-3 win over Anchorage on Monday.

Freeman and Harvard’s Tanner Anderson each worked two innings in the game. Aaron Gilbreath, Jake Watts, Andrew McGee, Steve Casey and Tyler Davis pitched an inning each.

The Mat-Su staff was perfect for nearly five full innings. The Miners retired 14 straight Pilots and didn’t allow a base-runner until Anchorage’s Matt Daugherty drew a walk with two outs in the fifth inning.

The Pilots didn’t get a hit until Tyler Spoon singled in the sixth inning.

“There were a lot of strikes,” Gordon said. “We did a much better job of getting ahead today. We’re keeping the leadoff guy off. When that happens, guys can work out a lot faster.”

Anchorage scored its lone run on the Spoon single. Micah Green, who walked earlier in the inning, scored on the play.

Gordon said he was pleased to see a number of pitchers have success in the win.

“We’re trying to define their roles right now. When we see guys go out and pitching that well out of the pen, that’s pretty exciting,” Gordon said.

The Miners were slated to play the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks on Thursday night, but the game was canceled because of poor field conditions due to recent rain. The game will be rescheduled for a later date.

The Miners are scheduled to host the Anchorage Bucs tonight at Hermon Brothers Field at 7 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.