Miners prepare for opening day

PALMER -- Opening day at Hermon Brothers Field is just around the corner.

Though the Mat-Su Miners' first official home game is not until Thursday, a few fans got a sneak peek at the 2003 Miners' ballclub.

The Miners hosted an open house on Saturday to show off the new squad at the newly renovated Hermon Brothers Field.

Dozens of fans gathered to watch the Miners practice.

"It's fun to see them here again," Miner fan Peter Allen said. "It sounds like we could have a good team this year. The field also looks great."

The Miner organization has been hard at work for months giving Hermon Brothers a facelift.

"It's beautiful," Mat-Su pitcher Steve Kline said of the field. "From the before and after pictures, it has come a long way."

On Saturday the Miners showed off the new dugouts, new clubhouse and improvements made to the field.

Sixteen of the 23 Miners on the 2003 roster are in town and have been practicing with the team. Four Mat-Su players will be playing in the College World Series and two others are still in school.

Joey Hooft, who will contend for Mat-Su's starting job at second place, helped lead the Miami Hurricanes to a berth in the World Series. Hooft went 2 for 5 in Miami's 11-5 win over North Carolina State on Sunday.

Mat-Su pitchers Jeff Gilmore and Billy Paganetti and infielder Jed Lowrie will compete for Stanford in the College World Series.

Stanford clinched with a 4-2 victory over Long Beach State.

Mat-Su will open its home schedule hosting the California Dons on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. The Miners will host California again on Friday and Portland on Saturday.

Mat-Su is currently competing in the Kenai Tournament. The Miners play today and tomorrow before returning home.

The Miners have a busy summer ahead of them with 50 games in the 54 days.