Missed opportunities hurt Mat-Su in a 5-3 loss in Chugiak

CHUGIAK - The season series against the Chinooks didn’t end on a high note.

To be fair, the Miners won the season series 7-3 behind a five-game win streak against Chugiak. But Monday night didn’t go the way of the green and gold.

Ty LeBrun’s team stranded 10 runners, including a pair in four different frames.

In the top of the 1st leadoff man Cooper Vest grounded a single up the middle. Three batters later right fielder Kaden Carpenter walked for the 28th time this season, continuing his lead in the ABL in that category. But with two outs, catcher Braydon Rogers flied out.

In the 6th inning, Carpenter led off by being hit by a pitch. Chugiak starter Garrett DeClue, by the way, worked into the 7th inning. Two batters later second baseman and new commit to Southern Miss, Nolan Tucker, worked a walk. So with two on and one away, designated hitter Landon Rogers dug in on the right side. Unfortunately for Mat-Su, he stung a groundball that one-hopped right at the shortstop. Easy 6-4-3 double play for the home team.

Mat-Su scored a quick run in the 7th but ultimately left a pair of runners in scoring position on a groundout to first base that kept the score how the final would read, 5-3.

Similarly in the top of the 8th, with the first two hitters retired, pinch hitter Maddox Haley reached on a single, and then center fielder Sebastian Tomerlin laced a single. But third baseman Kaleb Hannahs popped out to first base to end the inning.

Despite the loss, Tomerlin was awesome once again. In the last three games, all against Chugiak, the Central Arizona Community College product is 6-for-11 with five extra-base hits. He is on a five-game hitting streak and has the best batting average in the ABL over the last week at .421 (8-for-19) among guys with at least 10 at-bats during that stretch. He is seeing the ball really, really well.

Miners starter Drew Christo reached the 5th inning. He walked six batters while striking out five. Incarnate Word sidearmer Larry Westall relieved him but allowed a 2-run double to shortstop Tommy Rover right away, with both runs being charged to Christo. Westall settled down after that and tossed a scoreless 3.2 innings to give the Miners continued hope in the game.

The loss and the Glacier Pilots' win bump Anchorage into first place by half a game. The Pilots lead the Miners and the Bucs by half a game actually. Mat-Su plays its last five regular season games against those two teams, starting with the Pilots on Wednesday after Tuesday’s league-wide off day given the annual meeting in Anchorage.