Local product earns win on mound for Miners

ANCHORAGE — Josh Grissom has spent his summer learning, and Grissom’s classroom has been the Mat-Su Miners bullpen. But as top prospects from across the Alaska Baseball League worked to impress Major League Baseball scouts during the league’s annual ABL/MLB Showcase over the weekend, Grissom — the Mat-Su Miners bullpen catcher — was one of a pair of Valley products who had a chance to work in front of the scouts as well.

Grissom, a former Wasilla and Houston High standout, pitched a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win during the Mat-Su Miners’ 3-2 victory over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots during the second day of the Showcase Saturday afternoon at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

“Josh is a huge part of our team. Not all of what Josh brings to the team shows on the box score or the stat sheet,” Miners field manager Ben Taylor said. “I was proud to see Josh do so well.”

Grissom, making his third appearance of the season for the Miners, allowed one hit and retired three batters during his inning of work. Grissom has pitched in one league game and is now 1-0 with a perfect 0.00 earned run average in a pair of nonleague appearances. Grissom is also 1 for 2 with a double and two RBI in a pair of nonleague at-bats.

“It can be a thankless job, what Josh is doing,” Taylor said. “I know he’s taking his lumps physically, catching as many bullpen (sessions) as he has. Josh has been fantastic.”

Pilots pitcher Kyle Bovy, a Palmer High product, was tagged with the loss after allowing three hits and two earned runs during an inning of relief.

Infielder Patrick McGrath and catcher Michael Thomas each finished 2 for 3 in the win. McGrath scored a run and had an RBI. Thomas added a run. Nash Knight also finished with a hit and run scored.

Beau Hilton earned the save on the mound for the Miners.

The Miners finished 2-0 during the two-day round-robin event. Mat-Su blasted Chugiak 9-1 on Friday.

Knight sparked the Miners against the Chinooks, finishing 3 for 4 at the plate, with two runs and a pair of RBI. Spencer Mahoney, John Williams and Gio Brusa had two hits each.

Mahoney also drove in a pair of runs.

The two games are combined with today’s league all-star game and home run derby in the three-day Showcase event. Fourteen Miners were named to the all-star game (see related story on Page B1) and three Miners will compete in the home run derby.

Taylor said he wanted everyone on the roster to see time in front of the scouts this weekend.

“Our goal was to get everybody in. We hoped we were going to have a good contingent in the all-star game. Our goal was to give the all-star hopefuls and the guys who tend to see a ton of playing time one day off in the nonleague games,” Taylor said. “We wanted to play some guys who maybe have not had as many at-bats as of late.”

The ABL created the annual Showcase to present the league’s talent in one place over one long weekend. Dozens of MLB scouts attend the event every year.

Showcase games were counted as nonleague games in the standings. Mat-Su came into the event in first place of the six-team ABL with a 19-11 mark, a game ahead of the Alaska Goldpanners (17-11). The Miners continue league play Wednesday against the fifth-place Anchorage Glacier Pilots (14-17) in Anchorage, before capping the regular season with a three-day, four-game road trip against the Goldpanners in Fairbanks.