Mat-Su rebounds against Pilots

ANCHORAGE — On Wednesday, the Alaska Goldpanners handed the Mat-Su Miners their first Alaska Baseball League loss of the season. But on Thursday, the Miners were back in the win column.

Despite being held to just four hits, the Miners posted a 4-1 over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium.

Jon Hughes pitched seven scoreless innings to help the Miners improve to an ABL best 5-1. Hughes, a Santa Clara redshirt freshman, scattered five hits over those seven innings. He fanned five and walked only two.

Andy Mee allowed three hits and an earned run en route to grabbing the save.

Mat-Su infielder Nick DeBiasse led the Miners at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 in the win. Even though DeBiasse collected three of the Miners’ four hits, the first baseman didn’t factor into Mat-Su’s scoring.

Tyler Ruch and Wesley Thigpen each scored and drove in a run for the Miners. Bret Schwartz also crossed the plate, and Mee drove in a run.

Three of Mat-Su’s runs came courtesy of the sacrifice.

The Miners took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Ruch walked and later scored on a Thigpen sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Schwartz reached on an error and scored on a Mee sacrifice fly. In the eighth, Ruch laid down a sacrifice bunt and Thigpen scored.

Mat-Su continued its early season success against the Pilots. The Miners have already faced the Anchorage club six times, and sport a 5-1 record. The ABL rivals played in three exhibition games before the start of league play. Mat-Su is 3-0 against the Pilots in official league action.

The Miners will also see the Pilots twice in the next two days. Mat-Su hosts Anchorage tonight at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field, and makes the trip back into Anchorage Saturday to play the Pilots in a special solstice game at 10 p.m.

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