Starter closes the door in win over Pilots

July 13, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE - Jason Erickson has spent much of his summer shutting down opponents as Mat-Su's top starter. But on Wednesday, Erickson took on a different role - closer.

Mat-Su's ace stranded the tying run on third and helped the Miners cling to a crucial 5-4 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

With the win, Mat-Su (12-4 in ABL play) retained a half-game leading over the surging AIA Fire.

Erickson, 2-0 with a 0.33 ERA as a starter, earned his first save of the summer by fanning Bernard Williams and forcing Aaron Barrows to fly out in the bottom of the ninth.

While he was pleased the University of Washington product was able to get the job done out of the bullpen, Mat-Su head coach Jeff Pritchard said this does not mean Erickson will have a different role with the club.

&#8220This won't change his spot in the rotation,” Pritchard said.

The way Pritchard looked at it, he said, the Miners were killing two birds with one stone. Erickson was on schedule for a bullpen session to prepare for a weekend start, and the Miners need a strong arm for a quick inning of work.

The Miners scored two runs in consecutive innings to earn the come-from-behind win. After taking an early 1-0 lead, Anchorage was able to build a 4-1 advantage with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth.

Ryan Conan scored on a Donald Brown ground out early in the sixth, and Gunnar Terhune followed with a two-out RBI-single late in the inning. Michael Ewing scored on the play.

Joey August singled and drove in Carl Uhl to tie the score at 4-4, and scored the go-ahead run on a Derek Helenihi single in the seventh.

August was one of three Miners to grab two hits in the game. Uhl and catcher Chris McMurray also singled twice.

Webster Beal picked up the win for the Miners in relief.

Max Peterson made the start for Mat-Su, but was issued the no-decision after he allowed four hits and walked six in five innings.

Pilots 6, Miners 4

Anchorage right-fielder Todd Sebek was 4-for-5 with three RBI, and led the Glacier Pilots to a 6-4 win over the Miners at Mulcahy Stadium on Tuesday.

Sebek erased a Mat-Su lead with a two-run single in the sixth inning. He padded the Pilots' advantage by driving in a run on a fielder's choice in the seventh.

Mat-Su took the early 1-0 lead in the first, and added runs on two Anchorage errors in the third.

August drove in Uhl in the first to give the Miners that early advantage. In the third, August and Ryan Conan singled and scored on errors.

Conan posted three of Mat-Su's five hits in the loss.

Reliever Nate Garcia was tagged with the loss on the mound. The Santa Clara product allowed five hits and two earned runs in four innings.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.