Miners’ hot bats thaw Glacier Pilots

ANCHORAGE — Maybe Mother Nature can cool the hot bats of the Mat-Su Miners.

That may be what other teams in the Alaska Baseball League are hoping for after Saturday’s game between the Miners and Anchorage Bucs was rained out.

With seven games left in the regular season, the Miners are focused on finishing every game strong, head coach Russell Raley said. That includes Friday’s 8-4 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, and effort that combined 11 hits offensively and Miners’ pitchers platooning to allow just two hits.

“Obviously, our pitchers have stepped up quite a bit,” Raley said. “They’ve given us a chance to win every game. You really can’t ask for any more.”

Following an up-and-down stretch in the middle of July, the Miners have found their dominance again to take a firm foothold atop the league.

“We’ve kind-of put it together a little bit the past few days,” Raley said. “You don’t want to look at it as hanging onto (the league lead). You want to play hard every day. It really has been fun to watch them all summer. A majority of them have bought into it all summer.”

Although there is potential for Saturday’s rain-out to disrupt the Miners rhythm, Raley isn’t concerned. In fact, he said the day off will help give some players a little extra rest.

On Friday, the Miners jumped on the Glacier Pilots early, then never let up, taking a 5-1 lead after the first two innings, then building as the game wore on.

As of press time Saturday, a decision hadn’t been made about making up the game against the Bucs. Mat-Su will play another game in Anchorage against the Glacier Pilots today at 2 p.m. The Mat-Su Miners Web site, www.matsuminers.org, urges fans to check today for details on a doubleheader.

Doubleheader or no, Justin Craft is slated to start against the Glacier Pilots, Raley said. Should a make-up game happen with the Bucs, University of Arkansas product Sam Murphy will start.

Since joining the Miners after Arkansas played in the College World Series, Murphy has been a stabilizing presence in the rotation, Raley said.

“He’s been predominantly a bullpen guy in Arkansas, but we’ve asked him to start,” he said. “There’s a role for everyone on the team and teams that are successful have people to fill all those roles, and we’ve had that for the most part this season.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.