No Bull: Miners blank team from Taiwan

June 17, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman sports editor

PALMER - Mat-Su first baseman John Hester did not know what to expect from the Miners' opponent, the Fubon Bulls, on Wednesday.

Never having played a team from outside the United States, Hester said he and his teammates assumed the Bulls, a squad made up of small and swift Taiwanese players, would play a brand of small ball. And they did.

But it was a Hester long ball that allowed the Miners to play small ball, and cruise past the Bulls 7-0 at Hermon Brothers Field.

Hester broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run shot - the Miners' first home run of the season.

"With a runner on third base, I was trying to get the ball in the air," Hester said.

Hester got the ball in the air, and it carried. With Nick Haley on third, Hester caught a hanging curve ball, and delivered a drive over the Napa Auto Parts sign and left field wall. Haley led off the inning, borrowing a page from the Bulls' playbook, with a bunt single, and a pair of stolen bases to put himself in scoring position.

"That broke the game wide open, and allowed us to do the things we did later on," said Jimmy Smith, who improved to 4-1 in his first season as the Miners manager.

For most of the contest, Fubon displayed a disciplined and technically sound brand of baseball, vacuuming every ground ball and fly ball like a Hoover.

"They do the little things," Hester said. "They don't give you much free stuff, so you have to earn it."

But in the sixth, Mat-Su was able to take advantage of a Fubon defensive breakdown and push three runs across the plate. Mat-Su scored two runs on two errors, and another on the double steal.

With two Miners on, Fubon bobbled a double play ball on a Micheal Taylor ground ball, and Brett Bigler scored. With Hester in the batter's box, Taylor broke toward second, and as Fubon tried to make the play at second base, Haley stole home. Taylor later scored on a throwing error to give Mat-Su the 5-0 advantage.

"Once we got some runners on, and started stealing, we were putting pressure on them," Hester said.

Taylor and Matthew Johnson drove in late runs. Taylor drew a walk with the bases loaded, and James McCarthy scored. Bud Baun scored in the eight inning, on a Johnson single.

Steven Calicutt earned the win in his first start with the Miners. The East Tennessee State junior allowed three hits and three walks, and struck out five in six innings of shutout work. Alex Trafton allowed one hit and one walk in two innings of relief.

The game was called before the start of the ninth inning due to thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Late in the game, stormy conditions continued to move closer to Hermon Brothers. As the final hitter of the eighth inning was retired, rain began to fall. Players soon found themselves in a downpour.

Random hits … Tonight, as the Miners take on the Stockton Senators, Mat-Su is hosting "Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Night." The fan with the ugliest Hawaiian shirt will win a prize. The Miners are also giving away a pair of round-trip tickets to Hawaii. A drawing for the prize will be held during the game. Numbers for the drawing can be found inside the Mat-Su Miners 2005 program.