Oilers blank Miners

PALMER — Now in his sixth season as head coach of the Mat-Su Miners, Ben Taylor knows his club will face its fair share of ups and downs throughout the typical Alaska Baseball League season.

Following his team’s third straight loss, Taylor said it’s an opportunity to learn how to battle through a losing streak.

“It’s everything,” Taylor said after a 2-0 loss to the Peninsula Oilers Tuesday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer. “You figure this out now, and you don’t have to deal with it later in the summer.”

The Miners were blanked for the first time this season a night after plating just a single run during a loss at Chugiak. Taylor said it could be as simple as the new cast of Miners trying to get acclimated in the storied summer baseball league.

“They’re trying to find their way a little bit,” Taylor said. “Probably putting a lot of pressure on themselves, trying to press and do too much instead of trying to relax and have some fun.”

Despite a quiet night on the base paths, Mat-Su did have the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

Austin Pinorini led off with a single. Brett Owen drew a one-out walk. Drew Swift loaded the bases with a two-out single to left. Peninsula reliever Bret Ricklefs was able to force the final out and earn the save for the Oilers.

“We put ourselves in a position to try to win a ballgame,” Taylor said.

Oklahoma right-hander Jake Terry made his first start with the Miners on the mound. Terry was tagged with the loss, but allowed only three hits and one earned run over five innings.

“He did a good job for us. He gave us five innings and a good chance to win,” Taylor said.

Terry left the mound with the Miners trailing 1-0. The lone run scored against Terry was a Brian Leonhardt home run, tucked just inside the right field foul pole. Michael Yourg also dove in a run for the Oilers to give his team a 2-0 lead in the eighth.

The Miners finished with nine hits in the loss, compared to Peninsula’s six. Swift, Pinorini and Kona Quiggle led Mat-Su with two hits each.

The Miners (3-4) return to the field to host the Oilers Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers.

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