Recent additions lift Miners

PALMER — Even though the Mat-Su Miners are past the halfway point of the Alaska Baseball League season, there’s been room for new talent on the league-leading squad. Friday, a couple of recent additions to the Miners helped Mat-Su sweep a pair of games during the first day of the ABL/MLB Showcase in Anchorage.

In Mat-Su’s final game of the day, Justin Frederick threw four solid innings to help the Miners score a 3-0 win over the Anchorage Bucs.

“He’s thrown some big innings,” Mat-Su head coach Ben Taylor said of Frederick. “Going forward, he’s going to provide the staff much needed depth.”

Friday’s game marked Frederick’s third appearance since arriving in Alaska early in the month. Even though Frederick only pitched four innings, and didn’t qualify for the win on the mound, the Scottsdale Community College right-hander allowed only four hits. He fanned two and didn’t walk a batter.

Taylor said Frederick also had key outings earlier this season against the Peninsula Oilers. In his ABL debut July 4, Frederick pitched the final 2 2/3 innings of Mat-Su’s 10-inning win over the Oilers. Later in the week at Kenai, Frederick was able to chew through five innings as Mat-Su dealt with a tired bullpen.

Two other recent additions to the squad, Angelo Armenta and Zach Sharpley, combined for three hits in the win over the Bucs. Armenta, an infielder from the University of Southern California, finished 2 for 3 with a run scored.

“Angelo has been a huge pick up,” Taylor said. “He’s been a fantastic utility infielder.”

Armenta, who made his debut July 6, has already appeared in 14 games for the Miners.

Sharpley, a catcher and another USC product, added a hit in the win. Sharpley has appeared in eight games as Mat-Su tries to solidify things behind the plate.

Another catcher, Andy Cosgrove, who also joined the team early in the month used two hits, two runs and an RBI to help lead Mat-Su to a 7-4 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots earlier in the day. Infielder AJ Lee led the Miners with three hits in the victory. Josh Bissonette added a pair of runs and an RBI, and Jacob Hughey drove in two runs for the Miners.

Mick Vorhof earned the win in relief, scattering a pair of hits and an earned run in 2 1/3 innings of work.

With the wins, Mat-Su improved to 19-12 overall. All of the games during the two-day showcase are nonleague games. The Miners entered the weekend 17-12 in league play, with a two-game lead over Peninsula (13-12) at the top of the ABL standings.

The Miners also faced the Bucs Saturday at 7 p.m. in Anchorage. Results of the contest were not available prior to press time. The league’s home run derby and all-star game are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

The ABL/MLB Showcase was designed to feature each of the teams in the league in one venue during a long weekend. Scouts from numbers MLB teams attend the showcase each year.

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