Miners stay unblemished by Chinooks

PALMER— The Mat-Su Miners continue to find ways to win. For the second straight night, it was at the expense of the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks.

Another gem on the mound from the Miners pitching staff led them to victory Friday night as they shutout the Chinooks 1-0 in front of 1,211 fans at Hermon Brothers Field. This win moved the Miners to 12-3 overall and 10-3 in Alaska Baseball League play. They are now a perfect 6-0 (4-0 in ABL play) on the season against the Chinooks.

The Miners’ string of solid starting-pitching performances continued with another dandy tossed by Gonzaga University player Eli Morgan. Morgan pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up just three hits, walking three, and striking out six Chinooks. His pitch count climbed to more than 100 for his second straight start, reaching 101. While this may seem like a lot of pitches to some, he was unfazed by that number.

“I felt good. I felt loose. I stick with my throwing routine and make sure I get a couple of days of long toss before my game starts,” Morgan said. “As long as I stick with my routine I think I will be fine.”

For the second time in six days, Morgan led the Miners to victory while only getting one run of support from his offense. He last pitched in the Summer Solstice Showdown on June 20, getting the 1-0 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. The final score was the same in Palmer on Friday night.

The lone run of Friday’s win came in the fourth inning. After Chinooks starter Grant Page got Jack Zoellner to ground out to start the inning, Tyler Wolfe got the first of three straight singles by the Miners as he grounded one through between short and third. Zach Plunkett followed the Wolfe single with a single to left of his own, registering his first hit of the season. Jake Schleppenbach stepped up to the plate next and grounded one up the middle that hit off the second base bag and into center field, scoring Wolfe all the way from second and giving him his fourth RBI of the season. For the Miners second baseman, this RBI single was his second clutch hit of the week as he drove in the go-ahead run in last Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Pilots.

While Grant Page’s outing was spectacular in its own right, it wasn’t enough for the Chinooks. Page got his first loss of the season, though he pitched six solid innings — giving up just the one earned run — with five hits, walking five, and striking out two.

With the Miners only posting one run, the bullpen had to step up in relief of another fantastic outing from a starting pitcher, and the unit responded. Corbin Martin pitched the eighth, giving up a hit to David Morton, then proceeding to retire the next three batters he faced. Brick Paskiewicz came on in the ninth and got the Chinooks in order to close down the game and earn his sixth save of the season.

Miners skipper Ben Taylor sees his team’s hard work.

“I really respect what these guys are doing,” Taylor said. “These guys are grinding pretty hard. It’s nice they’re getting some fruits for their labor.”

The Miners will look for another division win against the Chinooks on Sunday afternoon in Chugiak. First pitch from Lee Jordan Field is set for 4 p.m. You can hear all the play-by-play coverage brought to you on the Mat-Su Miner’ YouTube Channel. Kevin Piel and Kyle Howard will have the call with the pre-game show beginning at 3:45.

Kevin Piel is a member of the Mat-Su Miners broadcast team. He is pursuing a major in telecommunications at Bowling Green State University.