Pilots edge Miners

PALMER — A Michael Donadio blast broke up a no-hit bid, but the Mat-Su Miners couldn’t find a way to get past the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Fred Schlichtholz pitched six innings of no-hit ball, and helped Anchorage score a 3-2 win over the league-leading Miners Thursday night at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“He was very effective tonight. His changeup was working well for him,” Miners head coach said in a press release issued by the team. “He did a really good job of keeping us off balance with off-speed pitches.”

Schlichtholz entered the start with a 7.96 earned run average, but Donadio was the lone Miner to have success against the Fresno State product, knocking a two-run bomb over the Hermon Brothers wall in the seventh. Schlichtholz retired 21 of the 24 hitters he faced.

Earlier in the seventh, Schlichtholz hit Mat-Su’s Garrison Schwartz with a pitch. Schwartz scored on the Donadio home run.

Mat-Su’s Cody Higgins had a solid start, but was tagged with the loss. Higgins scattered six hits and two earned runs over seven innings.

Thursday’s game was the first of two straight against the Pilots, and part of a seven-game, six-day homestand. The Miners host the Pilots again Friday at 6 p.m., and meet Peninsula Saturday in a doubleheader that starts at 3 p.m. at Hermon Brothers.

With the loss, Mat-Su dropped to 22-16 league play. The Miners hold a one-game lead over Peninsula (19-15) at the top of the ABL standings.