Miners’ recent success starts and ends with work on pitching mound

PALMER — Since 2004, no Alaska Baseball League team has more victories than the Mat-Su Miners.

The Miners have two ABL titles, were first in the ABL in wins three times and have never finished lower than third during that six-year span. The Miners have also consistantly had one of the top pitching staffs in the league.

One probably has a lot to do with the other.

In the last six seasons, the Miners have not finished with a team earned run average higher than 2.62. Mat-Su’s ABL title-winning squad last year posted a league-low team ERA of 2.52. The Miners’ ERA stood at an eye-catching 2.17 in 2007.

Second-year head coach Russell Raley hopes for much of the same this season. Raley said, without a doubt, pitching was a primary reason why the Miners captured the ABL crown last summer.

“Last year we had some pretty outstanding pitching performances down the stretch,” Raley said recently. “Pitching and defense. Those are two things you bring to the ballpark every day. There’s no telling where we’d be without them.”

Opponents batted just .237 against the Miners last season, while fanning 308 times. As a staff, Mat-Su had better than a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in about 400 innings. Two pitchers, Tyler Johnson and Sam Murphy, held their ERAs below 1.00 with at least 20 innings of work. Five pitchers finished below 2.00, and five others finished the year between 2.00 and 2.67.

This year, Raley, pitching coach Michael Hunt and the Miners will be armed with 15 pitchers. Nine of those hurlers are right-handers and the Mat-Su coaching staff with have a half-dozen southpaws to chose from.

“I really like to have some balance,” Raley said.

Raley said three or four of those lefties could start for the Miners.

Among the leaders could be Florida International sophomore RL Fondon, Raley said. Fondon finished 5-3 in 18 appearances and fanned 76 hitters in 90 innings. Another to watch is a Division II standout, Incarnate Word sophomore Kirk Jewasko.

During the 2010 season, the southpaw finished 12-3 with a 3.38 earned run average and 105 strikeouts in 106 innings.

“I’m excited about (Jewasko) being up here,” Raley said. “He’s never pitched in summer ball. He has a chance to be really good.”

The Miners have three pitchers from a Florida State team that won 45 games and advanved to the NCAA Super Regional. Right-hander Gage Smith, a redshirt freshman, has already arrived in Alaska. Right-handers Scott Sitz and Robert Benincasa will make the trip once Florida State is done with its playoff run.

Sitz is 5-0 as a freshman.

Kansas State’s James Allen could be the team’s closer, Raley said.

“Knowing what kind of a competitor he is, he’s probably your front-runner,” said Raley, an Oklahoma assistant who coached against Allen and Kansas State during the Big 12 season.

Allen was 5-0 with eight saves and a 2.03 ERA as a sophomore.

Arkansas’ Geoffrey Davenport, Santa Clara’s Jon Hughes and Bradley’s Joe Bircher all come to the Miners after recording at least 45 strikeouts during the college season.

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