Late effort sends Pilots past Mat-Su

PALMER — A night after the Mat-Su Miners used their seventh inning heroics to steal a win from the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, the Pilots returned the favor.

Anchorage scored three runs in the seventh, and posted a 6-2 win over the Miners at Hermon Brothers Field on Friday.

“They did a good job. They played a cleaner game than we did,” Mat-Su head coach Conor Bird said after the loss. “We didn’t pitch as well as we’ve been pitching, and didn’t play as good of defense as we’ve been playing.”

Granted the Pilots’ work in the seventh was far less dramatic than Mat-Su’s seventh-inning effort on Thursday, it was enough to get the job done.

“We didn’t really play that clean of a game yesterday, but we hit the baseball really well,” Bird said.

On Thursday, Mat-Su’s Ty Rasmussen slugged a pair of home runs in the seventh, including a back-breaking grand slam late in the inning. Rasmussen and teammate Jordin Hood combined for back-to-back jacks in the seventh, and the Miners scored 10 seventh-inning runs to run away with the 13-8 win.

Anchorage right fielder Luke Yoder spoiled Rasmussen’s hopes of becoming the hero once again on Friday, when he robbed the University of Washington product of extra bases with a leaping catch in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With two outs and two Miners on, Rasmussen smacked a hard line drive toward the right field wall. Even though Yoder didn’t get a great job on the ball, he was able to backtrack to the wall, jump and snag the catch.

“Yoder made a hell of a play,” Bird said. “I think that changes the game. If that ball falls in, we score two runs there, and I think we can go to our bullpen and shut it down.”

Rather than Rasmussen potentially clearing the bases, the score remained tied at 1-1 going into the seventh, and inning in which Anchorage scored three to take control of the contest.

Juneau-Douglas graduate Nano Jacobson was hit by a pitch and scored in the inning. Jonathon Jones singled and scored. And Joseph Terdoslavich doubled and crossed home plate on a Mat-Su error in the seventh.

Mat-Su starter Jeremy Erben was tagged with the loss, despite pitching a strong 6 2/3 innings. He fanned three and walked just one.

Erben was pulled in favor of reliever Charles Ruiz with two outs and two Pilots on, in the top of the seventh.

“Maybe we made a mistake of leaving our starter in so long, but he gave us a good outing and a chance to win,” Bird said.

Erben has shown the ability to be dominant. He pitched a one-hit shutout in a nonleague win over the San Francisco Seals earlier this season.

“He throws strikes, works fast paced and gives out defense and chance to get on and off the field,” Bird said of the Oklahoma product.

Mat-Su outfielder Kyle Jensen gave the Miners the initial lead when he sent a blast over the right field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning. The solo shot, his first home run as a member of the Miners, gave Mat-Su the 1-0 advantage.

Dustin Emmons doubled then scored on a Jacobson double in the ensuing inning to tie the score.

Jensen, John Shaffer, James Ewing, D.J. Gentile and Pat Minogue each recorded a hit for Mat-Su. Ewing, in his first action of the season, also scored for the Miners.

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