Miners score another win in Kenai

PALMER — The Mat-Su Miners dropped the first game of a five-night stay in Kenai Wednesday night. But the Miners bounced back in a big way. A night after drilling the Peninsula Oilers 12-3, Mat-Su pushed its league lead to three wins with a 5-1 victory over the Oilers at Coral Seymour Park.

Ian Churchill threw seven solid innings to help the Miners improve to 18-10 overall. Churchill allowed only four hits and an earned run. He fanned five and didn’t walk a hitter. Churchill is now 4-0 with a 2.20 earned run average.

Aaron Walters finished with three of Mat-Su’s 10 hits, and two of his team’s six extra-base hits. Walters doubled twice, scored a run and drove in another. Drew Swift, Austin Pinorini and Josh Hatcher also finished with an RBI.

Kona Quiggle used a pair of triples to help the Miners beat the Oilers 12-3 on Thursday.

Eight of Mat-Su’s nine starters finished with at least an RBI in the win. All nine starters scored at least one run. Walters drove in three runs. Pinorini added two RBI. Quiggle and Danny Wright had three hits each.

Quiggle led Mat-Su with three runs scored.

Jonathon Guardado earned the victory on the mound. He fanned five in six innings.

Mat-Su (18-10) stretched its Alaska Baseball League lead to three games over the second-place Oilers (15-13).

The five-game series continues Saturday at 7 p.m. in Kenai.

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