Schlichtholz Flirts with No-Hitter
July 28, 2016 - Alaska Baseball League (Alaska)
Mat-Su Miners News Release
PALMER, Alaska - Anchorage Glacier Pilots pitcher Fred Schlichtholz struggled in his first seven appearances this summer in the Alaska Baseball League, surrendering 18 runs and producing a 7.96 ERA.
But on Thursday night, Schlichtholz almost became a part of Alaska Baseball League history, taking a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in a 3-2 victory over the Mat-Su Miners.
"He was very effective tonight, his changeup was working well for him," Miners head coach Ben Taylor said. "He did a really good job keeping us off balance with off-speed pitches."
The sophomore left-hander held the Mat-Su offense to two baserunners through 6.1 innings of work before surrendering a two-run homer to Miners leftfielder Michael Donadio.
The base knock would prove to be the lone hit of the ballgame for the Mat-Su, as Schlichtholz finished with six strikeouts and Timothy Holdgrafer added two hitless innings of relief to secure the win.
"That's just baseball," Taylor said. "These guys have been competing, but things haven't been falling our way these past few nights. Baseball has been pretty tough on us during this stretch."
The Miners (22-16) received a strong showing on the bump from left-hander Connor Higgins. The Arizona State freshman held the Glacier Pilots to three runs on six hits while tallying six strikeouts.
Mat-Su relievers Gage O'Brien and Gage Burland combined for two innings of scoreless relief.
Anchorage (22-19) scored the first two runs of the ballgame in the top of the first when rightfielder Joe Gillette tripled to bring in third baseman Nate Eikhoff and shortstop Kyle Watson.
Eikhoff added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to plate shortstop Watson for his second run of the game, extending the lead to 3-0.
Despite Donadio's seventh inning home run, the Mat-Su offense could not generate any momentum at the plate, as Schlichtholz and Holdgrafer combined to complete the one-hitter.
The loss cuts Mat-Su's lead in the Alaska Baseball League standings to one game over the Peninsula Oilers.
"We might not have been playing the best baseball, but we are still in every ballgame," Higgins said.
The Miners return to Hermon Brothers Field at 6 p.m. on Friday for the second matchup of the two-game series with the Glacier Pilots. The game is sponsored by Tudor Bingo and features a Miners baseball card giveaway courtesy of Sen. Bill Stoltze.
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Alaska Baseball League Stories from July 28, 2016
- Schlichtholz Flirts with No-Hitter - Mat-Su Miners
- Bucs Rally to Hand Miners a Series Loss - Mat-Su Miners
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