Trio of Miners join Pilots in Wichita

PALMER — Although the Mat-Su Miners didn’t make the trip to Wichita, Kan., to compete in the 2008 National Baseball Congress World Series, a trio of Mat-Su players are there representing the Palmer-based Alaska Baseball League squad.

Pitchers Jason Erickson and Garrett Richards, and right fielder D.J. Gentile were added to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots roster following the final game of the ABL season.

Following Mat-Su’s 7-2 season-ending win over the Alaska Goldpanners on Friday, Erickson said he was excited to be making the trip to Wichita to competed in the famous amateur baseball classic.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Erickson said. “(The Glacier Pilots) look like a good bunch of guys, and I think we’re going to be a good team over there.”

For Erickson and Richards, two of the top pitchers in the ABL, and Gentile, Mat-Su’s batting champion with a .370 mark, it’s another chance to be seen by professional scouts.

Plus it’s another chance to simply play baseball.

“What else am I going to do?” Erickson asked. “Sit home and watch T.V. or go play baseball? I might as well go play baseball.”

Erickson, an All-ABL first-team selection and Mat-Su’s team MVP, finished a league-high 7-1. He led the squad with 48 innings pitched and 42 strikeouts. He also walked only seven hitters during the season.

“He’s a polished guy,” Mat-Su head coach Conor Bird said. “For two years in a row, he’s been our best pitcher — as solid as it gets.”

In 2007, Erickson finished 3-3 with a 1.56 ERA in 52 innings. He also had 35 strikeouts and just eight walks.

Richards’ late-season efforts allowed him to establish himself as one of the most dominant right-handers in the ABL.

A late addition to the Mat-Su roster, Richards finished the summer with a 2-1 mark, and fanned 23 hitters in 26 innings.

“He’s as good as anyone in the country,” Bird said. “It’ll be fun to see what he does in Wichita.”

Powered by a huge July, Gentile finished the season with a .370 batting average. But because he spent most of the early portion of the season platooning with Ty Rasmussen in right field and hitting low in the batting order, Gentile finished the season with only 100 official at bats. He needed 105 at-bats to be listed among league leaders.

“It’s unfortunate D.J. didn’t have enough at-bats or he would have led the league in hitting,” Bird said. “He pretty much would have run away with it. It’s tough for him to miss out on that, but he had a great summer. He was a huge cog in our wheel.”

Gentile capped the ABL season with an eight-game hitting streak, and posted at least one hit in 17 of his final 20 games.

Gentile hit .430 during the final 20 games of the season.

The NBC World Series is a historic amateur baseball tournament that draws teams from across the country. Anchorage and the Peninsula Oilers will appear in the 2008 tourney.

The Oilers earned an 11-1 win over the Southern California Bombers in their first-round game. The Pilots played late Monday. Results were unavailable prior to press time.

See www.nbcbaseball.com for more information.

Erickson named team’s most valuable player

PALMER — Jason Erickson was one of several Miners to be recognized during their annual host family appreciate banquet last week at Evangelo’s Restaurant in Wasilla.

Also earning awards were Michael Rocha (most valuable pitcher), Kyle Jensen (most valuable position player) and Ty Rasmussen (Stan Zaborac Award).

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