Miners bounce back, beat Pilots

PALMER — After finding themselves on the losing end of consecutive shutouts, and finishing with only one hit during a loss to the Peninsula Oilers in Kenai Sunday night, it was time for the Mat-Su Miners to have a chat.

The Miners met as a team Monday morning. Considering Mat-Su’s work that evening, it must have been a fairly productive talk.

Infielder Jake Scudder used a bases-clearing double to spark Mat-Su’s four-run first, and the Miners grabbed a 7-4 victory over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots Monday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“This morning, we had a nice little reality check meeting,” Scudder said after the win. “I think the guys bounced back well. I think it’s the best energy we’ve had all year. I think the guys knew it was time.”

Miners head coach Ben Taylor said, following a pair of rough road losses, it was time to talk as a team.

“We had to address some things, and there were some things we had to tighten up as a coaching staff, as a team,” Taylor said. “I’m proud of the guys. They came out, handled themselves and some adjustments they made. They did a good job.”

Scudder finished with a pair of hits and a season-high five RBI in the win, and helped the Alaska Baseball League-leading Miners improve to 15-12 overall.

“It was big for him,” Taylor said of Scudder. “Couple big knocks to get himself going. We rely on Jake. He did a good job.”

Scudder drove in all of the runs in bases-loaded situations. Scudder cleared the bases with a three-run double in the first, and added a two-run single in the seventh.

“I’ve been line-out here, line-out there. It was good to see one fall. I had a lot of opportunities to help the club today,” Scudder said.

Scudder’s single in the seventh was a blooper that fell right in front of Anchorage centerfielder Dashawn Keirsey, who dove to try to make the play. After Keirsey hit the grass, there was a pause, and wonder whether Keirsay made the catch, before the umpire ruled a hit on the play. Scudder said, initially, he wasn’t sure whether Kerisey made the catch in center.

“But those are the best ones,” Scudder said of the hit that dropped in.

Scudder also used his three-run double in the first to help Mat-Su rebound after Anchorage took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. All of Mat-Su’s success in the inning came with two outs. Levi Jordan singled, Michael Donadio walked and Garrison Schwartz reached on an error to load the bases for the Miners. Scudder followed with the double to give Mat-Su the 3-2 advantage, and Scudder scored on an Angelo Armenta single to add to the advantage.

After Anchorage tied the score at 4, Mat-Su took the lead once again with a three-run seventh.

In the seventh. Mat-Su started its half of the inning with consecutive singles by Josh Bissonette and Brooks Stotler. Donadio drew a walk to load the bases. Bissonette and Stotler both scored on the Scudder single, and Mat-Su took the 6-4 lead. Donadio also scored in the inning.

Tyler Wyatt earned the win on the mound for Mat-Su, pitching 2 1/3 innings of relief.

“He’s thrown some good innings for us, some big innings,” Taylor said of Wyatt. “Our pen was a little light after playing a bunch of games in a row. For him to give us that lift was huge.”

Closer Jordan Floyd worked the ninth to notch his league-leading seventh save of the summer.

As of Monday night, Mat-Su (15-12) held a one-game lead over the Anchorge Bucs (13-12) at the top of the ABL standings. The Oilers (12-12) moved a half-game ahead of the Glacier Pilots (14-15), who dropped to two games behind Mat-Su after Monday’s loss.

Scudder said the team too a big step Monday.

“We grew as a team. We came together, played with a lot of energy and had a lot of fun,” Scudder said.

Despite some ups and downs as of late, Scudder said the Miners remain optimistic about their place in the ABL.

“We’re staying the course,” Scudder said. “We know what we have in our clubhouse. We know we have a lot of talent on the team. If we can come out and play with the same energy we had tonight every day, we can come out on top,” Scudder said.

Mat-Su continues play Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Chugiak at Lee Jordan Field in Chugiak, and returns home to host Chugiak Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers.

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