Mat-Su Miners blank Anchorage Bucs

ANCHORAGE — Over the past week, the Mat-Su Miners have had their fair share of frustrations facing lefthanders.

On Thursday, AIA southpaw Taylor Aikenhead kept the Miners fairly quiet during his seven innings of work in a 3-1 win over Mat-Su. Last Sunday, Lake Erie lefty Logan McAnnallen shut down the Miners during his team’s 2-0 victory.

But on Friday, it was the Miners who wear dealing an opponent trouble from the left side of the mound.

Mat-Su starter Mark Anderson allowed only two hits over five strong innings to help lead the Miners to a 6-0 Alaska Baseball League victory over the Anchorage Bucs at Mulchay Stadium in Anchorage.

“He was doing what lefties have been doing well against us all year,” Mat-Su head coach Brian Yocke said of Anderson.

The Brigham Young southpaw allowed only four hitters to reach safely. He gave up two hits and a walk, and hit one Buc with a pitch.

“He was changing speeds, staying away from guys,” Yocke said.

Anderson and three relievers combined for the three-hit shutout. Lefty Ben Graff allowed one hit during the sixth. Jacob Brewer pitched a pair of scoreless innings, and AJ Holland finished it in the ninth.

“The bullpen came in throwing strikes,” Yocke said. “They went right after guys.”

While the Miners held the Bucs to only four hits, Mat-Su tagged the Anchorage staff for 13 hits and six runs. Shortstop Kevin Lum finished 4 for 5 and third baseman Stephen Branca was 3 for 5 in the victory.

Branca sparked the Miners in the fourth. The Tennessee-Wesleyan product doubled to lead off the inning, and after a Jaycob Brugman single, scored on a Cam Kneeland sacrifice fly to give the Miners the 1-0 lead.

Branca helped add to that lead in the fifth, using a single to drive in Dominick Francia and give the Miners the 2-0 lead.

Mat-Su added a pair of runs in the sixth.

Michael Suiter was hit by a pitch, Lum singled and pinch hitter Nick Rosso drew a walk to load with bases.

It was the first of three straight walks for the Miners. With the bases loaded, Francia coaxed another walk to drive in a run and give the Miners the 3-0 lead. Tim Zier walked again to push across another run and give the Miners the 4-0 advantage.

Mat-Su scored twice more in the eighth. Nick Rosso led off the inning with his second triple of the year and quickly scored on a Zier single.

Later in the inning, Branca doubled to left center to score Zier and give the Miners the 6-0 lead.

Drafted Miner signs with MLB team

AJ Holland’s stay with the Mat-Su Miners was short, but for good reasons. The St. Joseph’s product has signed with the Atlanta Braves and is leaving Alaska tonight, Mat-Su head coach Brian Yocke said.

Atlanta selected Holland in the 16th round of the MLB draft earlier this month.

As a junior, Holland became one of St. Joseph’s top starters. He finished the season second on the squad with 60.2 innings pitched and 50 strikeouts.

Holland made three appearances with the Miners during the first two weeks of the season, finishing 0-0 with a 3.00 earned run average.

Ryan Kemp, another St. Joseph’s junior right-hander, was also drafted and is expected to be signed by the Cincinnati Reds within the next month. Kemp was selected in the 14th round by the Reds.

Yocke said the Miners are sad to lose the St. Joseph’s pitchers, but is happy the right-handers have an opportunity to take the next step in their baseball careers.

“The sky’s the limit for them,” Yocke said. “They’ve got great stuff. They’re great pitchers.”

Yocke said the character of each also sticks out.

“Me and the other coaches were talking about how we wouldn’t have even cared if they came up here and sucked. That’s the type of kids they are,” Yocke said. “They always work hard and if you need a volunteer to do something, they’re always the first ones raising their hands.”

Miners add pitcher

To help fill the void left by Holland, the Miners have added Union College right-hander Brandon Hedrick to the roster, Miners head coach Brian Yocke said.

The 6-foo-2, 210-pound righty and native of Corbin, Ky., led his squad with an 11-3 mark and 2.78 earned run average.

“He throws real hard,” Yocke said. “He’s a good competitor.”

Hedrick also led his squad with 16 starts, four complete games and two shutouts. He also fanned 103 hitters in 87 innings.

Miners play in solstice game

The Mat-Su Miners competed in the Summer Solstice Showdown against the Anchorage Bucs at Mulcahy Stadium late Saturday night.

The first pitch was at 10 p.m. For more see the Tuesday edition of the Frontiersman.