Mat-Su grabs first place in 13-5 blasting of Anchorage

PALMER -- Back-to-back nights with giant innings for the Mat-Su Miners carried them back into first place in the Alaska Baseball League with a 13-5 home win over the Anchorage Bucs on Wednesday night.

After toppling the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks on Tuesday night with an eight-run first inning, the M’s followed up with a nine-run second inning against the Bucs.

Catcher Steven Lancia led off the frame with an opposite field double, and he scored the game’s first run from second base on one wild pitch. The ball skipped away from his Anchorage counterpart behind the dish in Dylan Maltby who could not find the ball in time to hold Lancia in check.

Soon after, shortstop Alex Thurston singled with the bases loaded to elevate the Mat-Su lead to 2-0 with still no outs. His Valparaiso teammate in Kaleb Hannahs added on the next at-bat with a two-run knock to boost the score to 4-0 Miners.

Mat-Su first baseman Cooper Vest came up with the bases loaded and singled home another run, causing Anchorage head coach Ken Hokuf to pull his starting pitcher Stephen Hernandez.

The next arm was David Ladjevic, and he received a rude welcome. Mat-Su center fielder Alex Vergara crushed a grand slam to boost the lead to 9-0 Miners.

In the midst of all this, Miners starting pitcher Grant Richardson had not allowed a hit. The left-hander pitched four hitless innings, before losing allowing a hit in the fifth. He struck out 10 batters in the big win.

That victory pushed Mat-Su into first place in the A.B.L., a spot occupied by Anchorage for the last two and a half weeks

The M’s head on the road to Chugiak for a 6 p.m. first pitch against the last place Chinooks on Thursday night.