Miners open home schedule with victory

PALMER — As Mat-Su Miners head coach Ben Taylor worked to build the 2016 roster, he wanted a team with an ability to change a game with one swing of the bat.

That’s exactly what Jake Scudder did Sunday night.

The Mat-Su first baseman lifted a ball over the right center field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning. The three-run shot helped Mat-Su claim a 7-1 victory over the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“That’s what we expect out of him, and he really delivered for us,” Taylor said of Scudder.

The Scudder home run sparked a six-run fourth for the Miners, and helped Mat-Su (2-2 in Alaska Baseball League play) jump ahead after falling behind 1-0 in the first.

“Up and down the order we have some guys with a lot of juice. We’ve got some guys who put up some good numbers in college,” Scudder said after the win. “We put up six runs in an inning. That can happen just about any time with this team.”

Scudder, who now leads the Miners with four runs driven in, stepped up to the plate with a pair on and the Miners trailing 1-0. Chugiak-Eagle River pitcher Nick Campe used a pair of inside sliders for strikes to get ahead in the count. But with the count even, Campe went back to the slider, and Scudder made him pay.

“I knew he was going to try to come back to it. He left one for me middle, in, a good pitch to hit. I knew I got it pretty well. I wasn’t 100 percent sure, but I went hard out of the box and it kind of caught its second wind late,” Scudder said of the home run, the first of his ABL career.

Scudder, a Kansas State product, also doubled in the win, and led the Miners with two hits, two runs and three RBI. Garrison Schwartz added two RBI in the win, and Levi Jordan and Madison Nickens also drove in a run. Scudder was among six different Miners to score a run in the victory.

With Scudder leading the charge at the plate, Mat-Su starter Jacob Hughey handled things on the mound for the Miners, scattered five hits and a run over five innings en route to earning the win. Hughey also fanned 11 in the game, striking out half of the 22 batters he faced.

“He was phenomenal,” Scudder said of Hughey. “He settled in and was dominant.”

Hughey also managed the stellar start despite an unexpected delay after warming up for the game. Both teams were prepared for the first pitch, originally scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday. But after warm-ups, as players were ready to hit the field, there were no umpires. According to Miners officials, the umpire crew was expecting a 7 p.m. game time.

The game was delayed about 90 minutes.

“He had to warm up twice, reset himself and get back into his routine,” Taylor said of his starter during the delay.

Otherwise, Scudder said the players took the delay in stride.

“It happens,” Scudder said. “We got out, had a little fun with the guys. We had a little bit of fun, then another stretch, another catch, it was good.”

The victory was the second in as many days for the Miners, who started the season last week with consecutive losses in Kenai. It was also the second straight game with seven runs scored, after finishing scoreless in the first two games of the season. Mat-Su continued its homestand Monday night against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Results were unavailable prior to press time.

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