Miner madness

PALMER — While the Mat-Su Miners may have been stunned by a game-deciding controversial call at home plate during the eighth inning of a 5-4 win over the Alaska Goldpanners at Hermon Brothers Field on Wednesday, the Goldpanners were furious.

Mat-Su pinch-runner Jordin Hood scored the game-winner in the eighth, sliding under the tag of Alaska catcher Jeremy Gillan. The close play at the plate prompted Alaska skipper Tim Gloyd to erupt in a profanity-laden fury.

The nearly indescribably goofy game which featured a few questionable calls and a handful of confrontations between coaches and field umpires climaxed with Gloyd’s Lou Pinella-like tirade that lasted several minutes and included Gloyd kicking dirt, throwing a water cooler and using a thesaurus-worth of colorful language that would have made George Carlin proud.

“The game was a mess,” a perplexed Conor Bird, Mat-Su’s head coach, said after the win.

Interaction between umpires and coaches, and Gloyd’s eighth-inning rant that led to his ejection, overshadowed the Miners’ efforts to fight back and win a game that featured three Mat-Su errors.

“We didn’t exactly defend really well,” Bird said. “We made three errors and we walked a bunch of guys.

“But we showed fight.”

Mat-Su right fielder Ty Rasmussen, who was 4-for-4 at the plate in the game, doubled to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning for the Miners.

Hood came into the contest as a pinch-runner for Rasmussen and was moved over to third base on a ground out by Mat-Su catcher Tyson Jaquez.

With Hood at third, Mat-Su third baseman Will Musson smacked a ground ball to Alaska second baseman Casey Stevenson, who promptly threw home to try to gun out Hood, who was storming toward the plate.

Hood slid in below the tag of Gillan, was ruled safe and Gloyd immediately darted toward the umpire.

Mat-Su took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning with designated hitter D.J. Gentile’s solo home run, but saw that advantage disappear when Alaska scored twice on a Mat-Su error in the sixth.

After watching the Panners take the 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth, the Miners re-took the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Rasmussen, who was nursing a sore hamstring, singled and scored from first on a Jaquez double to tie the score at 3-3.

“I kind of tweaked it early in the game,” Rasmussen said of the hamstring. “It was hard to run all the way from first, but I needed to score.”

Jaquez scored on a wild pitch to give the Miners a 4-3 lead.

Adam Gaylord’s run-scoring single in the top of the eighth tied the score for the Panners, but once again, the Miners were able to answer in the bottom of the inning.

Rasmussen, a University of Washington sophomore, collected four of Mat-Su’s eight hits in the game.

“It’s nice. I’m finally getting some balls to fall,” Rasmussen said. “I feel like I haven’t changed anything with my swing. I’ve hit a lot of balls hard and got out. But I’ve stayed with it.”

Kyle Jensen and Troy Scott also recorded hits in the game.

Jensen tripled and scored on a Scott sacrifice in the fourth.

Mat-Su starter David Rowse pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Miners. Even though the University of Pacific sophomore walked six, he used a few solid defensive plays to keep the Miners in the game.

The big lefty picked off Alaska runners at first base in the first and the fifth innings.

“He’s got a good pick move and he’s pretty athletic for a big guy,” Bird said.

Palmer native Michael Carlson pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Charles Ruiz pitched the final two innings to earn the win.

Mat-Su improved to 11-11 in ABL play with the victory. The Miners are in Anchorage for three days this weekend, competing in the annual ABL Showcase at Mulcahy Stadium. Mat-Su meets Peninsula today at 4 p.m., the Goldpanners Saturday at 4 p.m. and the Anchorage Bucs Sunday at 7 p.m.

Alaska 3, Mat-Su 0

PALMER — Alaska starter Matt Newman pitched a three-hit shutout to lead the Panners to a 3-0 win over the Miners during the first leg of a doubleheader at Hermon Brothers Field on Wednesday.

Scott, Gentile and Kevin Rodland each had hits for Mat-Su.

Jeremy Atkins pitched six strong innings in the loss, allowing five hits and one earned run. He fanned six hitters.

Pilots 3, Miners 1

ANCHORAGE — Carl Uhl and Joseph Scott each drove in runs in the seventh inning to help the Anchorage Glacier Pilots grab a 3-1 win over the Mat-Su Miners at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage on Monday.

Mat-Su took the early lead on Gentile’s RBI-single in the fourth, but the Pilots used three unanswered runs to get the ABL win.

Gentile led the Miners with two of Mat-Su’s seven hits in the loss.

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