Miners sweep doubleheader against the Bucs

PALMER — First in the field, and then at the plate, Quin Cotton found different ways Wednesday to come up big for the Mat-Su Miners.

The Parker, Colorado, native and Grand Canyon University product gunned down a baserunner at home plate to preserve a tie score in the fourth and added insurance runs with a two-run blast in the seventh during Mat-Su’s 5-1 victory over Anchorage Bucs at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“He’s as special of a hitter as I’ve had up here in five years,” Mat-Su head coach Ben Taylor said after the win. “And he’s as great of a human being as he is a hitter.”

The Bucs, playing as the home team in the first leg of the doubleheader, had the bases loaded with only one out in the bottom of the fourth. Anchorage’s David Hensley hit a fly ball to right field. Cotton made the catch in right for the second out, took a step a fired a throw home. Ryan Williams tagged up at third, and raced home. But thanks to the throw, Miners catcher Ryan Haug had plenty of time to make the play at the plate. With Cotton’s throw, the Miners got the inning-ending double play and the score remained tied at 1.

“We needed it. We needed him to come up big,” Taylor said of Cotton. “He’s playing really good defense for us. He’s just a damn good baseball player.”

In the seventh, Cotton hit his second home run of the summer to give the Miners the 5-1 lead. Cotton leads the league with an overall batting average of .343, 15 points better than anyone else in the league. He’s hitting .362 in league games. Cotton also leads the Alaska Baseball League with 47 hits and 10 doubles.

“That kid’s got a huge future in front of him,” Taylor said. “If you would ever wish success for young man it’d be for Quin Cotton.”

The Miners offense also got a lift from catcher Ryan Haug and their bench. Haug singled, doubled and scored twice. Mat-Su pinch-hitters drove in both the game-tying and go-ahead runs.

“Some times you’ve got to pull some strings,” Taylor said.

In the top of the fourth, after consecutive singles by Haug and Elijah MacNamee, Nick Brooks drove in Haug with a single to center, and the Miners tied the game at 1. In the sixth, after a Haug double, Andy Thomas came in to pinch hit and singled to drive in Haug.

“I bet the house in the fourth inning and it played out for us,” Taylor said. “I bet it again in the sixth and it played out. It’s a real compliment to the guys staying ready on the bench.”

Haug scored from second on both plays.

“He might not be the fastest kid, but he’s got unbelievable instincts and he’s going to find the way to get his job done every time,” Taylor said.

Mike Antico also pinch hit in the seventh, and drew a walk before scoring on a Justin Ammons double.

Juan Castro pitched 5 2/3 and earned the win on the mound. Castro fanned six and didn’t allow an earned run. Thaddeus Ward worked the final 1 1/3 and earned the save.

The victory was part of a doubleheader sweep for the Miners that pushed Mat-Su’s lead to four games at the top of the ABL standings. Mat-Su improved to 25-14 in league play. Anchorage dropped to 22-19.

In the second game, Mat-Su starter Calvin LeBrun dominated, pitching a three-hit shutout to lead the Miners to a 5-0 win over the Bucs. LeBrun, a Gonzaga junior in his second season with the Miners, fanned six and did not walk a hitter. He lowered his earned run average to 2.03, and now has 36 strikeouts and only five walks this season.

LeBrun threw 86 pitches, 59 for strikes.

The Mat-Su offense gave LeBrun a quick lead in the first. Cotton and Thomas each had run-scoring singles to give the Miners a 2-0 lead.

MacNamee added to the lead with a three-run homer in the fifth. Brooks and Thomas both singled ahead of MacNamee, and the Mississippi State product hit his second home run of the summer.

Wednesday’s wins marked the second time this season Mat-Su swept the Bucs in a doubleheader. Mat-Su also took two from Anchorage on July 13. The Bucs had started the season 5-0 against Mat-Su.

Mat-Su has five games left in the regular season, all at home. The Miners host another doubleheader, this time against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots Thursday at 3 p.m. Mat-Su hosts the Bucs Saturday at 6 p.m., and will have another doubleheader against the Pilots Tuesday at 3. The ABL postseason starts Aug. 2.

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