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Aug. 3—PALMER — With a Top of the World Series title at the end of the road, the Mat-Su Miners never took their foot off the accelerator Sunday.
The Miners scored runs in each of the first six innings to topple the Anchorage Bucs 13-8 and earn their second consecutive Alaska Baseball League championship.
The Miners won the series 2-0, after besting the Bucs 5-0 in Saturday's opening game of the best-of-three series.
While clinching the series Sunday, the Miners put on an offensive show, collecting all 13 runs in the first six innings.
"That was the goal, to come out here and bang and let our pitchers throw strikes," Mat-Su shortstop Austin Park said.
Park was one of six Miners to record multiple hits on Sunday, finishing 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
Park helped spearhead a three-run first inning for the Miners, putting them in the driver's seat in the early going. Mat-Su, which was the visiting team and batted first in the game despite playing at home, added single runs in the second and third innings to take a 5-0 lead.
But in the bottom of the third, Anchorage struck back. The Bucs batted around and scored five runs to tie the score at 5-5, chasing Mat-Su starter Cooper Grace in the process.
"We just kind of had to play like it was zero to zero after that third inning," Mat-Su outfielder Alexander Pearson said. "We never gave up as an offense, and we just kept pushing away at it."
That response came quickly for the Miners, who retook the lead with three more runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning.
Park and Pearson were in the middle of the rally, both delivering RBI hits to help push the Miners' advantage to 8-5.
"That was huge," Pearson said. "We give the pitchers the confidence to go back out and just fill up the zone and know that they have a defense behind them as well, so that for us is big as the offense."
Mat-Su tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth to take a commanding 13-5 lead. Anchorage scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 13-6 but didn't dent the scoreboard again until there were two outs in the ninth inning.
Meanwhile, Mat-Su reliever Jonathan Anders came in and steadied the ship, pitching 5 2/3 innings to earn the win.
The Miners had the ABL's best regular season record at 23-13, which Park attributed to an easy coalescence on the roster.
"It's just a group of guys that loves playing baseball," Park said. "We bonded really quickly, and it was just a ton of fun."
Righthanded pitcher Connor Mondey was a rare holdover from the 2025 championship team for the Miners. Mondey, who plays collegiately at Sam Houston State, said a number of players came to him early in the season to get a sense of what the 2025 title-winning team was like.
Mondey said the summer league features a combination of camaraderie, development and competition.
"It's all about having a good mindset about it at first, and then just getting to know everybody and going out to have a good time," he said. "You're out here for a reason, you can be a little selfish about it. Get your innings. Get your (at-bats). Do what you need to do. But at the end of the day, we're a whole bunch of guys just trying to win a ball game."
Hermon Brothers Field was packed with fans on Sunday, with a great majority cheering on the Miners. After recording the final out, the team celebrated and mobbed Auden Pankonin, who pitched the ninth inning for Mat-Su.
"We really take pride in this and in what we do, in being competitors and being players," Pearson said. "This is more than just a summer ballgame that doesn't mean anything to us. This means a lot to me, and I'm glad that we could put on a good show for the people of Palmer and represent this community well."
Continue reading...
The Miners scored runs in each of the first six innings to topple the Anchorage Bucs 13-8 and earn their second consecutive Alaska Baseball League championship.
The Miners won the series 2-0, after besting the Bucs 5-0 in Saturday's opening game of the best-of-three series.
While clinching the series Sunday, the Miners put on an offensive show, collecting all 13 runs in the first six innings.
"That was the goal, to come out here and bang and let our pitchers throw strikes," Mat-Su shortstop Austin Park said.
Park was one of six Miners to record multiple hits on Sunday, finishing 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
Park helped spearhead a three-run first inning for the Miners, putting them in the driver's seat in the early going. Mat-Su, which was the visiting team and batted first in the game despite playing at home, added single runs in the second and third innings to take a 5-0 lead.
But in the bottom of the third, Anchorage struck back. The Bucs batted around and scored five runs to tie the score at 5-5, chasing Mat-Su starter Cooper Grace in the process.
"We just kind of had to play like it was zero to zero after that third inning," Mat-Su outfielder Alexander Pearson said. "We never gave up as an offense, and we just kept pushing away at it."
That response came quickly for the Miners, who retook the lead with three more runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning.
Park and Pearson were in the middle of the rally, both delivering RBI hits to help push the Miners' advantage to 8-5.
"That was huge," Pearson said. "We give the pitchers the confidence to go back out and just fill up the zone and know that they have a defense behind them as well, so that for us is big as the offense."
Mat-Su tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth to take a commanding 13-5 lead. Anchorage scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 13-6 but didn't dent the scoreboard again until there were two outs in the ninth inning.
Meanwhile, Mat-Su reliever Jonathan Anders came in and steadied the ship, pitching 5 2/3 innings to earn the win.
The Miners had the ABL's best regular season record at 23-13, which Park attributed to an easy coalescence on the roster.
"It's just a group of guys that loves playing baseball," Park said. "We bonded really quickly, and it was just a ton of fun."
Righthanded pitcher Connor Mondey was a rare holdover from the 2025 championship team for the Miners. Mondey, who plays collegiately at Sam Houston State, said a number of players came to him early in the season to get a sense of what the 2025 title-winning team was like.
Mondey said the summer league features a combination of camaraderie, development and competition.
"It's all about having a good mindset about it at first, and then just getting to know everybody and going out to have a good time," he said. "You're out here for a reason, you can be a little selfish about it. Get your innings. Get your (at-bats). Do what you need to do. But at the end of the day, we're a whole bunch of guys just trying to win a ball game."
Hermon Brothers Field was packed with fans on Sunday, with a great majority cheering on the Miners. After recording the final out, the team celebrated and mobbed Auden Pankonin, who pitched the ninth inning for Mat-Su.
"We really take pride in this and in what we do, in being competitors and being players," Pearson said. "This is more than just a summer ballgame that doesn't mean anything to us. This means a lot to me, and I'm glad that we could put on a good show for the people of Palmer and represent this community well."
Continue reading...
