Pilots score another win over Mat-Su

The Mat-Su Miners came into Mulcahy Stadium on Thursday with one thing on their mind, redemption.

After suffering an 11-3 loss to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots the day before, Mat-Su was looking to get back into the swing of things by revving up the offense on the road.

But the Pilots got the best of the Miners once again, with a 4-1 win over Mat-Su.

The Miners offense had been somewhat limited in the past five games heading into this matchup, but past success against the Pilots certainly created hope for an offensive explosion.

Mat-Su would call on the services of Ryan Peterson for his fifth appearance of the season. He entered the day with a chance to take the spot of the ABL’s strikeout leader if he could get four K’s against the Pilots. The game started off quietly enough with the first inning leading to 1-2-3 frames for both offenses.

In the second inning, the Miners would get the first crack at scoring with a Kellen Strohmeyer Single to become the first baserunner of the day for Mat-Su. However, no one else joined him before the inning came to a close leading to the goose egg remaining on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the second, the Pilots would strike against Ryan Peterson. It started with a hit-by-pitch on Rodrigo Barajas and then a Jake Dodge RBI single that would score Barajas and give the Pilots a 1-0 lead. It was a similar start to the prior game, and Mat-Su needed to respond.

Dom Patrizi would add his name to the hit total with a one-out single that would give Mat-Su an opportunity to tie. However two straight outs saw to it that the mission failed, leading to defense needing to come up clutch in the bottom of the third. The Pilots would immediately suffer their fourth strikeout against Peterson to give him the K’s lead in the ABL, but that moment would pass as the Pilots found a way to load the bases and set up Rodrigo Barajas. He would then deliver a two-run single that would give the Pilots a 3-0 lead and put Mat-Su on the backfoot early.

In the fourth, Mat-Su was once again held scoreless and the Pilots were able to take flight again. Ben Detaeye came in relief of Ryan Peterson and looked to keep up his solid pace from his first 16.0 innings pitched this season. Logan Sanders would bring in Jake Dodge on a sacrifice fly that would hand Anchorage a 4-0 lead and seemingly put the Miners in a desperate position.

However, Mat-Su was not quitting that easily. The fifth was as quiet as a mouse with both teams creating 1-2-3 innings defensively. In the sixth though, Mat-Su would make things happen with a Dom Patrizi and Chase Wilcox Single that would put Patrizi in scoring position. Kyle McCaulsand would then send a sacrifice fly to center field to score Patrizi and put Mat-Su on the board for the first time. After that, the bottom of the sixth would see another 1-2-3 inning, putting Mat-Su in position to potentially build a comeback of epic proportions.

Mat-Su would be 1-2-3’d in the top of the seventh, while Ryan Harrahill would come into the bottom of the seventh and would limit the Pilots to just one single and keep the score at 4-1.

In the top of the eighth, Mat-Su would be 1-2-3’d yet again as the offense just could not get the engine to start. This would lead to the bottom frame with Drew Koenen coming for a potential final defensive frame for Mat-Su. He ,much like the other pitchers, did a solid job by limiting the Pilots to just one hit and no runs. The top of the ninth saw Mat-Su have their final stand with Chase Wilcox starting things off with a single. Kyle McCaulsand would then reach first base on an error to give Mat-Su a runner in scoring position and two runners on base. With two outs, both Wilcox and McCausland would steal a base, moving to second and third in the process. Kellen Strohmeyer would then reach first via walk, loading the bases and giving the Miners an opportunity to take the lead on one swing. Ryan Cochran would come into the game with the final chance for the Miners riding on his bat. Despite a tough effort, Cochran would strike out swinging to end the game.

The Miners have now dropped 4 straight games and are 4-9 on the road this season. However, Mat-Su is still in the thick of the race for second in the ABL Standings alongside the Peninsula Oilers. In addition, Mat-Su gets a three-day break from ABL action with an exhibition game against the Anchorage Adult League All-Star Team sandwiched in between. Perhaps with a chance to refocus and reload, Mat-Su can find the form they need to create a true late season rally in the valley.