Miners open 2022 season with a win

Fans were treated to about five innings of sunny weather for opening day baseball at Hermon Brothers Field Monday night. But about midway through, there were booms of thunder in the background, the dark clouds rolled in and the rain started to fall.

Fortunately there was just enough baseball to make the game count.

The Mat-Su Miners opened their 2022 Alaska Baseball League season with a 3-2 rain-shortened win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Alex Vergara sparked the Miners with a run-scoring double in Mat-Su’s three-run third of a game that was suspended due to rain in the sixth inning. Anchorage led 2-0 entering the bottom half of the third. Casey Sunseri scored on the Vergara double to put the Miners on the scoreboard. Carter Young scored on a wild pitch to tie the score at 2. Vergara scored the go-ahead run on a Nathan Rose sacrifice fly.

Sunseri, batting leadoff, finished 3 for 3 with a run to lead the Miners. Young, Vergara, Steven Lancia and Josh Paino finished with one hit each.

Mason Brandenberger earned the win on the mound in relief for Mat-Su. Brandenberger allowed three hits and an earned run in 2 ⅔ innings, while striking out two.

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