Miners Stretch Win Streak to Three
July 14, 2016 - Alaska Baseball League (Alaska)
Mat-Su Miners News Release
PALMER, Alaska - Dual threat players are few and far between in the sport of baseball, but the Mat-Su Miners used strong performances from two of these athletes to score a 10-2 win over the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks.
Mat-Su designated hitter Jacob Hughey and third baseman Tyler Wyatt combined for four hits and four RBIs in the home victory at Hermon Brothers Field on Wednesday.
"It makes my job tougher, because now these guys are really starting to put their hand up after a performance like that," Miners head coach Ben Taylor said. "It makes the conversation about the lineup tough, but I love it. These guys are competing hard and they want to win and work within our system offensively."
Both players are primarily listed as pitchers and have appeared on the mound for the Miners this summer. Hughey leads the team with 33 strikeouts while Wyatt boasts a 2.17 ERA.
"I'm just trying to take advantage of my opportunities," Hughey said. "Whenever they get handed to me I try to do what I can for the team."
The Miners (17-12) offense struck in the bottom of the second, as Wyatt launched a line drive that bounced off the top of the left field fence for a solo home run.
"He really got the offense going there and started the motor" Hughey said.
The Chinooks (12-17) responded in the top of the fifth, capitalizing on a sacrifice fly from leftfielder Zach Sanford to tie the game at 1-1. Third baseman Tim Millard contributed an RBI single later in the inning to give Chugiak-Eagle River its only lead of the game.
Mat-Su first baseman Jake Scudder continued a dominate offensive stretch by driving a two-run double to the centerfield gap in the bottom half of the fifth to regain the lead.
"Jake is the microcosm of our lineup working together," Taylor said. "He's getting a lot of pitches to hit because Donadio, Schwartz or Hughey are swinging the bat well behind him. It's like a pick your poison kind of thing."
With Wednesday's performance, Scudder now leads the Alaska Baseball League with 20 RBIs.
"Those are hard-earned RBIs," Taylor said. "He's gotten a bunch of them the past couple of nights. The kid plays really hard."
Hughey followed with an RBI double in the next at-bat to stretch the Mat-Su lead to two runs, scoring later in the inning on a wild pitch to give his team a 5-2 advantage.
The Miners struck again in the seventh, as leftfielder Garrison Schwartz doubled to left field to score Hughey, giving Mat-Su a three-run lead.
Second baseman Levi Jordan added to the Miners offense with a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth. Hughey followed with his second RBI on a one-out single, while Wyatt earned Mat-Su's final run on an RBI groundout to stretch the lead to 10-2.
Miners starting pitcher Cody Deason spent 4.1 innings on the mound, surrendering one run on three hits while striking out five.
"It was better than his first start, he made some improvements," Taylor said. "Next time he'll be around the strike zone more often when he's early in the count. We'll get him stretched out and he'll be great for us down the stretch."
Relief pitcher Trent Shelton earned the win after taking over in the fifth and holding the Chinooks to one run in 2.2 innings of work.
Mat-Su closer Jordan Floyd improved his ERA to 0.56 after throwing a perfect ninth inning.
Chugiak-Eagle River starting pitcher Robert Winslow was handed the loss after allowing five runs in 4.2 innings of work.
Mat-Su returns to the diamond on Friday in a doubleheader as part of the annual Scout's Showcase at Mulcahy Field. The Miners face the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at 4 p.m. and the Anchorage Bucs at 7 p.m. in front of a crowd containing Major League Baseball scouts.
Alaska Baseball League Stories from July 14, 2016
- Miners Stretch Win Streak to Three - Mat-Su Miners
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