Miners grab another win over the Oilers

PALMER — There may be nobody in the Alaska Baseball League swinging in the bat better than Mat-Su Miners outfielder Erik Webb. The Central Missouri product continued his tear Wednesday night.

The Mat-Su leadoff man drove in three runs to lead the Miners to a 6-3 win over the Peninsula Oilers at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“He’s phenomenal,” Mat-Su head coach Tyler LeBrun said after Mat-Su’s 8-4 win over the Oilers on Tuesday. “He’s a baller. He brings so much energy to the team.”

In the win Tuesday, Webb singled, tripled, drove in two runs and scored three times. The effort came a night after the Central Missouri junior hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Miners an 8-4 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Webb pushed his team-high batting average to .400 during the win Wednesday, finishing 3 for 4 at the plate. Webb gave Mat-Su a 4-0 lead with a two-run single late in the fifth. In his last four games, Webb has played a part in 16 of his team’s 27 runs, scoring six and driving in 10.

Anthony Notaro added two hits and two runs. He also hit his first home run of the summer.

Early in the fifth, Mat-Su scored twice on an Oilers error to break a scoreless tie.

Randy Abshier earned the win on the mound four the Miners. He allowed only one hit and no earned runs over six innings, while striking out six. Wednesday’s win extended Mat-Su’s winning streak to four games.

The Miners started their four-game home series against the Oilers with an 8-4 win.

“Winning’s contagious. Hitting’s contagious,” LeBrun said after the win.

Webb continued his tear and Justin Kirby smacked a two-run homer for the Miners.

“We’re getting good starts from Webby and Kirby at the top of the lineup, and we’re getting clutch hits from the six, seven, eight guys,” LeBrun said.

Five different Miners finished with at least a hit.

“It’s been good,” LeBrun said of the offense. “One through nine. It’s difficult to write the lineup card with the talent we have here.”

George Arias earned the win on the mound for the Miners. The Arizona right-hander scattered six hits over six innings, and didn’t allow a run until the sixth. He also fanned six, while walking only two.

“He threw well tonight. He’s been working on stuff with my pitching (coach) Jeff Urlaub, and he’s buying into it,” LeBrun said.

The Oilers trailed 8-1, but were able to cut into Mat-Su’s lead late. Peninsula plated three runs in the eighth. Damon Keith had a two-run triple in the eighth. He also drove in three of his team’s four runs.

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