Miners blank Chinooks

PALMER — With two on and two out in the bottom of the third Mat-Su Miners infielder Caleb Van Blake knocked pitch after pitch foul.

The University of California-Davis product stretched the count until he tucked a hard ground ball just inside first base and down the right field line. Van Blake drove in a pair of runs to give Mat-Su its first lead, and the Miners rolled to a 6-0 win over the Chugiak Chinooks Monday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“That was huge. We didn’t really have anything going. It looked a little dire,” Mat-Su head coach Ben Taylor said after the win. “He’s a senior who has had a lot of success. He’s a big part of our lineup.”

Working the count is part of Van Blake’s game, Taylor said.

“That’s what he does,” Taylor said. “You’re not going to see him get outside of the zone very much. He’s going to give you a really good at-bat. He’s a big part of what’s going on around here.”

Mat-Su starting pitcher Asa Lacey said Van Blake’s two-run single certainly sparked the Miners.

“That just opened it up,” Lacey said after the win. “That completely shifted the momentum our way and it continued throughout the whole game.”

Lacey was stellar once again for the Miners. The Texas A&M lefty allowed only two hits over seven shutout innings. He fanned 10 and walked only two.

“It felt great,” Lacey said.

Lacey was quick to complement his catcher, Aaron Walters, a fellow Aggie.

“He was on it all night,” Lacey said.

Taylor agreed.

“Aaron Walters caught a great game,” Taylor said. “That’s a big focal point for us.”

Taylor was once again pleased with his bullpen. Nathan Bock and Kyle King combined for two shutout innings. King fanned a pair in the ninth.

“One of the biggest things was how well Kyle King threw the ninth for us,” Taylor said. “He’s had his struggles, and for a guy to rebound like that, especially at home, was really big.”

Van Blake led Mat-Su with three RBI. Spencer Henson also drove in a run. Drew Swift and Kona Quiggle scored two runs each. Swift doubled twice, and collected two of Mat-Su’s eight hits.

“It feels good to play this well at home,” Taylor said.

The Miners played in front of a near standing room only crowd of 1,200 fans on a night in which temperatures hovered in the high 70s. Mat-Su improved to a league-leading 15-9 with the win, which also marked Taylor’s 300th career victory as a summer amateur collegiate baseball head coach. For more on Taylor’s milestone, see an upcoming edition of the Frontiersman.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.