Miners hold on for victory, move back into first place

PALMER — One was a blowout, the other a nail-biter. But most important to the Mat-Su Miners, both were victories.

Two nights after blasting the Peninsula Oilers 17-1, the Miners held on for an 8-7 victory over the Oilers Thursday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

Just as they did on Tuesday, Mat-Su jumped the Oilers to the top of the Alaska Baseball League standings with the win Thursday. Mat-Su improved to 12-8 and currently sits a half-game ahead of the Oilers (12-9).

Mat-Su needed Bryce Tassin to retire three of the four batters he faced in the ninth inning to escape with the win. Before Tassin collected his fourth save of the summer, the Oilers tagged the Mat-Su bullpen for six runs, four earned. The Oilers scored three times in both the seventh and the ninth.

Prior to that, the Miners were doing the same thing they were doing Tuesday, drilling the Oilers. Mat-Su led 8-1 through six.

After Peninsula took an early 1-0 lead, Spencer Henson put the Miners ahead with a three-run shot in the bottom of the third. Henson, who helped Mat-Su earn its second straight ABL crown last summer, added a run-scoring single later in the game. The Oral Roberts product finished with three hits, four RBI and a run scored. Austin Pinorini and Drew Swift added RBI in the win. Kona Quiggle and Tyler Bosetti scored two runs each.

Brady Corrigan earned the win on the mound, after allowing five hits and an earned run over 5 1/3.

Mat-Su, winners of five of its last six, hits the road Friday, and will face the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at 7:10 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium. The Miners are in Chugiak Saturday for a doubleheader, which starts at 5 p.m.

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