SID- Trace Niemann
The Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks came through when it mattered most, scoring two runs in the eighth inning to rally past the Mat-Su Miners for a 3-2 W.
Mat-Su opened the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Diesel Toth, then added another run in the fifth when Matt Bline delivered an RBI single that was aided by an outfield error, giving the Miners a 2-0 advantage.
The Chinooks finally broke through in the sixth. Kai Butler sparked the offense with a double and later advanced to third before Phoenix West lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home JJ Pruneau and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Chugiak-Eagle River's pitching staff kept the game within reach throughout the night. Starter Drew McCartney allowed just one run over four innings, while Kolby Jensen worked through the fifth inning. Trey Harper delivered two scoreless innings in relief to earn the victory, and Evan Rossi shut the door with two scoreless innings to record the save.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth. Butler opened the inning with his second double of the night and Pruneau followed by reaching base before West singled to put runners at the corners. With two outs, JD Wolff stepped to the plate and delivered the biggest hit of the game, ripping a two-run double to score Butler and Pruneau, turning a one-run deficit into a 3-2 Chinooks lead.
Wolff finished with two RBIs, while Butler paced the offense with a perfect 2-for-2 night and two runs scored. Cal Wipf continued his hot hitting with three hits, including a double, and Reese Vassar added a pair of doubles of his own. Pruneau crossed the plate twice as the Chinooks collected 10 hits in the win.
Rossi worked around three hits in the final two innings, striking out two and keeping the lead despite a late push from the Miners.
In the 9th, there was no bigger play than right fielder Kai Butler throwing an absolute SEED from right to home to gun down the game tying run at home to keep the score at 3-2. A few pitches later Rossi forced a fly ball to JD Wolff for the final out and secure the win. The Chinooks have two days off then are in Anchorage for their 9:00PM summer solstice game on Saturday.