Early Offense Drives Miners to Fifth Straight League Win
July 19, 2016 - Alaska Baseball League (Alaska)
Mat-Su Miners News Release
CHUGIAK, Alaska - Pitching has been the storyline of the Alaska Baseball League (ABL) this summer, but the Mat-Su Miners offense made its presence known with five first-inning runs in a 9-0 road victory against the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks.
The win at Lee Jordan Field on Tuesday marked the fifth consecutive league victory for the Miners.
"We stuck to a good team approach, the guys hit their starter really well," Miners head coach Ben Taylor said. "These guys competed for nine innings tonight and it was really impressive."
Rightfielder Garrison Schwartz opened up the scoring for Mat-Su in the top of the first, driving in third baseman A.J. Lee on a single. Designated hitter Michael Donadio followed with a triple off the right field wall to plate two more runs and stretch the early lead to 3-0.
The Miners (19-12) posted two more runs in the inning, as first baseman Tyler Wyatt and shortstop Angelo Armenta both added RBIs in their first at-bats of the game.
Mat-Su second baseman Levi Jordan tallied another in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly. Schwartz followed with a triple to score Jordan and Lee to give the Miners an 8-0 advantage.
Donadio added the team's final run in the sixth by lifting a sacrifice fly to left field to score Schwartz.
The Chinooks (12-20) were held scoreless through eight innings by Mat-Su starting pitcher Cody Deason. The right-hander surrendered six hits and fanned five batters while not allowing a walk.
"It was huge, it allows us to reset our bullpen going forward," Taylor said. "That was a big start for both him and Kolek last night. They made the jump and really came out and competed. They're definitely part of everything that is going on for us."
Reliever Mick Vorhof entered in the ninth inning, allowing two hits while preventing the Chinooks from scoring.
Chugiak-Eagle River starter Brady Battan was tagged with the loss after allowing five Mat-Su runs in the top of the first inning. He failed to record an out and only faced six batters.
The Chinooks utilized six relief pitchers in the loss, as the team's bullpen allowed four runs in nine innings of work.
The Miners are scheduled to travel to Anchorage on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium.
"It's always important to get a win," Taylor said. "Every game is the same. We want to get a win and go out and compete every night."
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Alaska Baseball League Stories from July 19, 2016
- Early Offense Drives Miners to Fifth Straight League Win - Mat-Su Miners
- Miners Slide by Chinooks on 8 Innings from Kolek - Mat-Su Miners
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