Oilers bring Miners back to earth, sweep doubleheader

KENAI — The Mat-Su Miners entered play Monday as the top hitting team of the Alaska Baseball League. If the Miners are the supermen at the ABL play, apparently they found their kryptonite Monday evening.

Eddie Orozco threw a seven-inning no-hitter to silence the Miners and lead the Peninsula Oilers to a 3-0 win over Mat-Su at Corel Seymour Field in Kenai. The victory gave the Oilers the sweep of a Monday doubleheader and allowed Peninsula (11-4) to tie Mat-Su at the top of the ABL standings.

Orozco, making his first start of the season, fanned five and walked only two. The University of California Riverside sophomore carried a perfect game into the fifth, but Mat-Su’s Quinn Pippen drew a walk to lead off the inning. Andy Mee also walked in the sixth.

The Oilers offense gave Orozco three runs of support in the fifth when Tyler Grimes followed Justin Charles’ two-run single with a run-scoring single.

Mat-Su starter Matt Applegate was solid, allowing four hits and one earned run over five, but was tagged with the loss.

The Oilers won the first leg of the doubleheader in grand fashion. Jeff Popick smacked a grand slam in the first inning to lead the Oilers to an 8-1 win over the Miners. Patrick Wisdom also homered for the Kenai club in the win.

Mat-Su had taken the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Bret Schwartz scored on an Andy Mee ground out, but Popick quickly erased that Oiler deficit.

Mat-Su was held to six hits in the loss. No Miner had multiple hits. Eric Holmes pitched six innings in the seven-inning game, and allowed eight hits and six earned runs.

The teams were scheduled to play in a doubleheader on Sunday, but those games were rained out. That doubleheader was moved to Monday, and Monday’s contest will become part of a doubleheader scheduled for today in Kenai.

Mat-Su will play the Anchorage Bucs at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage on Wednesday, and return home to host the Bucs Thursday at Hermon Brothers Field.

Thursday’s game also marks the team’s food drive. The Miners have teammed with the local Napa Auto Parts stores to create the food drive. Fans who bring canned goods to the game will be admitted for free. Fans can also stop by Napa stores in Palmer, Wasilla and Big Lake to pick up free cans of food to take to Hermon Brothers to get free admission.

—Jeremiah Bartz