Mat-Su rally falls short Friday; Bucs edge Miners Saturday

PALMER — Mat-Su rallied, but in a seven-inning game, the Miners simply ran out of time.

The Miners scored four times in the final two innings, but the Anchorage Glacier Pilots held on for a 5-4 win over Mat-Su in seven innings during the ABL MLB Showcase at Mulcahy Stadium on Friday.

“We came up a little short, but it was a good battle by the team,” Mat-Su head coach Brian Yocke said.

Four different Miners scored and three drove in runs to help Mat-Su pull within reach, but Anchorage’s five runs during the first three were enough.

The Miners put their first runs on the board in the sixth. Infielder Kevin Lum sparked the rally, leading off with a single to centerfield. Lum quickly scored on Adam Martin’s double down the right field line. After consecutive Mat-Su outs, Martin scored when Ryan Ford reached on an error.

Dominick Francia opened the seventh inning with a walk, and after stealing second base, Francia scored on a Wesley Jones double to deep center field. Jones later scored to pull the Miners within a run.

The Miners had 17 baserunners in the game — 10 hits and seven walks — but left 11 on.

“We left a lot of guys on bases. We couldn’t get the big hit,” Yocke said.

Mat-Su starter Matt Applegate was tagged with his first loss of the summer after allowing five hits and five earned runs through 2 2/3 innings.

Ben Graff, Neal Dennison and Jacob Brewer combined to pitch 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Bucs win with

walk-off

ANCHORAGE — The Anchorage Bucs rallied to notch a 2-1 extra-innings win over the Mat-Su Miners Saturday night at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

Mat-Su led 1-0 until the final inning, but Anchorage tied the score at 1 in the bottom of the seventh in the seven-inning game.

In the eighth, Matthew Harjung singled to left field to drive in Jake Valdez and give the Bucs the victory.

Mat-Su will host the Bucs Monday at 6 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.