Miners make debut Wednesday

MAT-SU — The Alaska Baseball League isn’t tossing the Mat-Su Miners a softball this season.

Rather than easing into the summer with a non-league opponent or two, the Miners leap right into ABL play against the Anchorage Bucs Wednesday at 7 p.m at Hermon Brothers Field.

“We’re excited,” Mat-Su first-year head coach Russell Raley said between team practices Monday afternoon. “You might as well get it going.”

With Raley, an Oklahoma assistant coach who once roamed the infield of Hermon Brothers as a former player with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Mat-Su has a brand new coaching staff that also includes Western Oklahoma State Junior College pitching coach Matt Kruse and Kansas State assistant Craig Ringe.

Raley said he and Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher tried to put together a squad that would not only produce on the field, but mesh with the coaches.

“We kind of went across the country and called different people we knew to put together a group of guys who wanted to come up and get better, and who matched the personality the coaching staff has,” Raley said.

The squad includes five veterans to the Mat-Su club — infielder Blake Newalu, outfielder DJ Gentile and pitchers Jeremy Atkins, Mike Carlson and Will Musson.

The 20 newcomers, Raley said, is a good combination of college veterans and young talent. There are seven juniors, two of which hit .340 or better for their college teams during the spring, and a heralded group of underclassmen.

“On paper, the team’s got a chance to be in it all summer,” Raley said. “(And) they’ll come to the yard every day and lay it all out.”

Mat-Su will play its first nine games at the friendly confines of Hermon Brothers, before taking the short trip south for a pair of games in Anchorage on June 24 and 25.

After opening the season against the Bucs on Wednesday, the Miners continue ABL play against the Fairbanks Goldpanners on Thursday and take a break from league competition to host the Michigan Monarchs Friday at 7 p.m.

The Monarchs are one of only two non-league opponents Mat-Su will see this summer.

Mat-Su caps the season with the ABL Showcase Aug. 1-3 at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

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