Mat-Su's streakin' - Miners win sixth straight

July 3, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE - It's hard to say who played a bigger role in Mat-Su's 6-1 win over Anchorage - Miners pitching or the Bucs infield.

Thanks to another strong pitching performance and a series of brutal Bucs blunders, Mat-Su pushed its winning streak to six straight.

Four Mat-Su pitchers allowed a mere five hits and one run, and the Anchorage infield committed four costly errors during the matinee at Mulchahy Stadium on Sunday.

Despite scoring six runs, Mat-Su collected only seven hits in the game, but managed to find other was to get on base. The Miners recorded eight or fewer hits in five games during the six-game streak. But Mat-Su head coach Jeff Pritchard said the lower numbers certainly do not have him eager to hit the panic button.

&#8220If we can keep getting runners on base, we're pretty confident we can come through,” Pritchard said.

Mat-Su hitters also reached via the walk, error and fielders choice in the win. All put pressure on the Anchorage defense, Pritchard said.

The Miners did all of their damage in the third and the seventh, scoring three runs in each inning.

Anchorage also committed two errors in each of those innings.

With the bases loaded in the third, Joey August slipped a ground ball under the glove of Anchorage shortstop Gabe Jacobo, and Gunner Terhune and Carl Uhl each scored to give the Miners a 2-0 advantage.

Turhune bunted his way to first base early in the inning, and Uhl reached on Erik Wetzel's error at second base.

Mat-Su's Joe Ercolano singled to load the bases, and later scored on a Michael Ewing sacrifice.

Turhune also scored in the seventh.

Donald Brown drew a walk to lead off the seventh inning, and Ben Price and Derek Helenihi followed with the rare back-to-back bunts.

Turhune reached on another Jacabo error to load the bases.

Anchorage's fourth error of the contest allowed Brown to score. August and Ercolano each drove in runs late in the inning.

Joe Matteo allowed four hits and fanned three in his third start of the summer. Anchorage's lone run against Matteo, and the Mat-Su staff, came by way of a Logan Schafer solo home run in the fourth.

Max Peterson pitched strong in relief, helping the Miners escape potential jams in both the fifth and the sixth.

In the fifth, with runners on second and third, Peterson forced Schafer to pop out.

In the sixth, with runners on first and second, Peterson got Jacobo to chase a pitch and strike out

swinging.

Peterson has been stellar for the Miners, allowing only two hits and one earned run, while striking out 16 in 12.67 innings. Pritchard said it was good to see the young southpaw come in and have to pitch himself out of a jam.

&#8220He's definitely a talented young player,” Pritchard said. &#8220Pretty soon, there's going to be some schools drooling over him.”

Bryce Morrow and Matt Montgomery each pitched a perfect inning of relief.

Montgomery still has a perfect 0.00 ERA.

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