Mat-Su Miners crush AIA

FAIRBANKS - It has not been the easiest season for Mat-Su at the plate. The Miners have struggled to score runs - until recently.

After scoring a season-high six runs in a 6-5 win over the AIA Fire on Thursday, the Miners unloaded for 18 runs in an 18-10 rout of the Interior squad in Fairbanks on Friday.

The Miners (11-5 overall, 6-5 in Alaska Baseball League play) scored more runs in the win Friday than they had in their previous six games.

&#8220It was one of those days,” Mat-Su centerfielder Joe Ercolano said.

Ercolano raised his batting average to a team-high .455, going 3-for-3 in the win.

The Lehigh product had two hits, two RBI and scored a run - in just the first inning. Ercolano led off the game with a single, and posted a two-out, two-run single late in the inning, as the Miners brought 12 men to the plate in the first frame.

Mat-Su scored seven runs in the first, seven more in the second and added three in the third. The Miners had 25 plate appearances in the first two innings.

Ercolano is one of a couple of Mat-Su players who have been absolutely clubbing the ball. But as a team, the Miners have struggled at the plate - hitting just more than .200 as a club before the road trip began.

Third baseman John Hee broke out of a 2-for-22 slump, with three hits in six tries in the game.

Ercolano said a game like this is key as the Miners try to get players throughout the lineup to find success at the plate.

&#8220It's very important - start hitting the ball, find the swing, get confidence,” Ercolano said. &#8220Guys fall in a slump and start pressing.”

Hee also drove in five runs in the game.

Second baseman Travis Coulter raised his average to .263, going 4-of-6 with four RBI.

Mat-Su head coach Matt Dorey has preached to his players to give it time, and the hits will come.

&#8220This is long awaited,” Dorey said. &#8220It's a combination of a bunch of things. It's being patient and trusting yourselves.”

The Miners put 18 runs on the board in the first three innings, but a stubborn AIA club cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning.

With four runs in the fifth, the Fire cut the lead to 18-9.

&#8220For me, as a coach it was not what you want to watch,” Dorey said. &#8220The hits are nice and the runs are great. But the game wasn't as clean as you'd like.”

The bizarre game not only included an obscene amount of scoring. The teams combined for eight errors. Mat-Su committed five.

&#8220With the game out of control that early, it was tough for the guys to focus mentally,” Dorey said. &#8220Score 14 runs in the first two innings, especially in a wood bat league, and it's tough to play every pitch.”

Starter Tim Smith earned his first win as a Miner despite allowing eight hits and four runs. Five of AIA's runs were unearned.

Miners 6, Fire 5

Brent Milleville's two-run blast helped Mat-Su earn a 6-5 win over AIA at Growden Park in Fairbanks on Thursday.

Milleville hit his first home run of the summer in the fourth inning, sending an Andrew Wilson pitch over the wall. The Stanford catcher drove in three runs in the game. He also posted a run-scoring single in the first inning.

Ercolano and Brandon Bowser also had multi-hit games for the Miners.

Bowser was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Wayne Daman earned the win on the mound, and improved to 2-2 on the season. In seven innings Daman fanned six and walked one hitter.

AIA lost its starting catcher, Brian Hendrickson, after he was struck in the face with a Daman pitch in the third inning. Hendrickson is out indefinitely with a broken cheekbone.

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