Opening day

PALMER — Casey Coyle took a page straight from the baseball textbook.

Facing two strikes, the Oklahoma catcher dumped a ball into short right field to push across the go-ahead run and help the Mat-Su Miners rally to a 6-4 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Hermon Brothers Field on Wednesday.

Coyle recorded a pair of hits during the final two innings, and singled and scored in the seventh to help the Miners open the summer of 2011 with a come-from-behind win.

“Anytime I get two strikes I’m just looking to hit it to the opposite field,” Coyle, a right-handed hitter, said after the win.

Coyle’s effort was just one example of the Miners’ work late in the count, late in the game.

“If you looked at where we scored our runs, it’s because of what we did with two strikes,” first-year Mat-Su head coach Brian Yocke said. “Make contact, good things will happen.”

Dominick Francia fouled off a handful of pitches and punched a two-strike single into centerfield to lead off the seventh. Michael Suiter took a pitch in the back to put two men on, and after an errant Anchorage throw to third as the Miners put together the double steal, Francia was able to score and tie the game at 3.

Suiter was safe at third on the play, and soon gave the Miners the 4-3 lead when he scored on Coyle’s single to right field.

“Our focus was being aggressive on the base paths,” Yocke said.

Tim Zier blooped a single into left field and Stephen Branca legged out an infield hit to load the bases. Cam Kneeland drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Coyle and give the Miners the 5-3 advantage.

“We did it as a team,” Coyle said. “Couple walks, couple hits got us the job done.”

Anchorage’s Dustin Torchino doubled and scored in the top of the eighth to cut Mat-Su’s lead to 5-4, but the Miners added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning.

Francia drew a lead-off walk and advanced to third on a Suiter singled. Kevin Lum used a sacrifice fly to left field to score Francia.

The Miners used five pitchers in the contest, which followed Mat-Su’s plan for the exhibition game. David Gibson, Ryan Dull, Jacob Brewer, AJ Holland and Ryan Kemp each saw work on the mound for the Miners. Dull was particularly key during the win.

Anchorage took the 2-1 lead in the third win. With the Miners trailing with one out and a pair of Pilots on base, Dull forced an inning-ending double play with his first pitch.

“Usually in that situation, you take when you see a new pitcher, but obviously (the hitter) saw something he liked,” Yocke said. “The ball got on the right part of the bat and we got two for it.”

The Mat-Su arms were also aided by some stellar, highlight-reel worthy defense in the game. Zier made a stop in the middle infield early that potentially saved a run. Lum stretched out to make a diving grab in left field in the fourth, with a man on and two outs. In the sixth, Coyle made a great effort to catch a pop fly behind the plate.

Mat-Su owned an early 1-0 lead, but Anchorage tied the score with a bases-loaded walk in the top of the third. A bloop single drove in another run to give Anchorage the 2-1 advantage.

Kevin Hall sent a sharp single down the third-base line in the fourth inning for the Pilots and later scored on an Adam Landecker single to push Anchorage’s lead to 3-1.

The game is part of a season-opening four-game exhibition series between the ABL rivals. Action continues today at 7 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.