Nebraska pitchers Christo and Rizzo bookend a 2-0 triumph in Chugiak

CHUGIAK – Mat-Su pitched its best game of the season on Friday night at Lee Jordan Field.

Starter Drew Christo went six scoreless innings. It was impressive.

“It was a good mix of three pitches throwing in the strike-zone,” Christo said.

After he issued a walk and a single to designated hitter John Whitney and left fielder Ryan Callahan in the opening frame, the big righty retired the next 13 Chugiak batters.

He caught right fielder Kevin Duran looking to end the 2nd inning. Christo fanned both Whitney and Callahan to start the 4th before getting third baseman Ryan Mathisen to fly out.

Christo might have been running out of gas in the 6th inning after allowing a lead off single to the 9th batter Michael Kelly. But he reached back and mustered three consecutive outs to end the inning.

Drew Christo allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six.

“It was impressive, he came out throwing strikes,” pitching coach Steve Hecker said.

Mario Bejarano took the bump in the 7th. He worked past a Mathiesen double with a groundout and popup, each to shortstop Emilio Barreras.

Vinny Bianchi pitched the 8th inning. He allowed two baserunners on with two outs, but collected himself and forced a groundout to first baseman Cooper Vest to end the frame.

Christo’s college teammate Will Rizzo got the nod to close in the 9th. Rizzo, known for his mid-90s heat on his fastball, threw nothing but fastballs until the final pitch. His outing began rocky after Callahan fouled off multiple two-strike pitches before lacing a single up the middle. But instantly the Miners turned a double play, from Barrares to Nolan Tucker to Cooper Vest.

Rizzo walked the ensuing two batters, much to the liking of the Chinooks dugout. But the Cornhusker re-focused and tossed an off-speed pitch to Duran that he dribbled onto third baseman Alex Thurston to end the ballgame.

“He was great tonight,” Christo said of Rizzo.

On offense, the Miners made good contact but left runners on base for the first half of the game. Kaden Carpenter and Cooper Vest each made solid contact in the first two innings, but right at Chugiak fielders.

The good karma paid off for Mat-Su in the 6th inning. Madox Haley, who lined a single up the middle to lead off the 2nd inning, hit another single to kickstart the 6th. Austin Machado, back at catching duties on Friday, worked a walk. Then left fielder Braydon Rogers hit a soft ground ball to the third baseman Ryan Mathiesen, but his throw got past Ty Beck at first base. The error allowed Haley to score and moved Machado to third as well.

The next batter was Nolan Tucker. In his second game with the squad, the 2nd baseman made good contact on a fly ball to left field, deep enough to score Machado from third. That was all the scoring that was needed.