Miners drop to Bucs 8-3 with lackluster offense

PALMER -- Runners left on-base cost the Miners big time with 12 men left on during their 8-3 loss to the Bucs on Tuesday night.

The same old issues kept Mat-Su at arms length against Anchorage with an inability to bring runners in scoring position home. The M’s left eight men on second or third, which makes 82 runners left in scoring position this season, 5.125 per game.

Additionally, the Miners possess the lowest batting average in the Alaska Baseball League at a .223 clip, but the Bucs have struck the second-best batting line in the league at .263.

The game started off in the Valley’s favor with a run in the first inning. Third baseman Kaleb Hannahs singled his way aboard before stealing second base and advancing to third on a throwing error. The Valparaiso-product then swiped home on a wild pitch to put his side on top 1-0.

The hometown bats promptly fell silent after that.

Anchorage piled in a pair of runs in the second inning. Right fielder Joey Nerat smacked a leadoff double, and designated hitter Dante Turgeon drove him in with a double of his own to tie the game. Catcher Dylan Maltby moved Turgeon to third, and left fielder Cade Lacy helped him score with a sacrifice fly to right field to make the score 2-1 Bucs.

Mat-Su starter Ace Whitehead recovered nicely with seven-straight outs after that, but the fifth inning proved costly. The left-hander allowed each of the first three batters in the Anchorage order to reach base, and that was the final line for head coach Ty LeBrun.

Righty Larry Westall hopped onto the bump in relief with the bases loaded and nobody out, only to allow Anchorage second baseman Alex Pendegrast to single to left field. That knock scored Lacy from third, but center fielder Myles Smith also scored from second base after Mat-Su left fielder Maddox Haley overran the ball.

That finished Whitehead’s line in his second start of the season at 4.0+ innings pitched, seven hits, four runs, three earned runs, two walks, and six strikeouts.

By the top of the ninth, the Bucs led 4-2, but Mat-Su right-hander Price Siemering struggled to the tune of four runs on four hits in one inning of work. Anchorage started the frame four-for-four including a triple and a pair of doubles plus a single and a walk.

Mat-Su strung up one run in the bottom of the inning thanks to Haley’s third hit of the night, but that (plus LeBrun arguing his way into an ejection) could not spark a large-enough rally.

Next, the Miners return home on Thursday to tango with the Glacier Pilots for the second time this week with a 6 p.m. first pitch.