Glacier Pilots Give Miners a Taste of Their Own Medicine With Walk-off Win in the 9th

The Anchorage Glacier Pilots walked off the Mat-Su Miners for a 7-6 win on Tuesday night. The wildest game of the Miners' season so far, highlighted by the Miners scoring four runs in the top of the ninth, ended when Dallas Baptist senior Adam Berghult smacked a single just past the diving glove of center fielder Lincoln Stephenson to end a chaotic game. 

The Tuesday night matchup started as a pitchers' duel, as Miner's starter Michael Cunneely pitched three perfect frames with five strikeouts to begin his day. However, Cunneely got three outs in four batters in the fourth, but began to struggle in the fifth, giving up two runs, before head coach Tyler Lebrun would go to his bullpen. Barry College RHP Jack Ensell would shut down the remainder of the fifth, but the sixth wasn't so easy. 

Ensell would give up a hit and a walk in the sixth before being pulled by Missouri State reliever Gabe Smith. An immediate Landon Tiesing 2 RBI triple for the Glacier Pilots, followed by a sacrifice fly, and a solo shot by Dallas Baptist outfielder Tyler Ness put an exclamation mark on a four-run inning for the Glacier Pilots. 

The game would remain quiet in the seventh and eighth innings on both sides, and all things pointed to an easy 6-2 win for Anchorage as University of Hawaii reliever Hekili Robello iced the Miners. However, the Miners didn't go down without a fight. 

After Kennesaw state catcher James Mcgee grounded out to the pitcher to start the ninth, Mat-Su would record five hits over their next six batters, indlduing a 2 RBI triple by Colorado School of Mines outfielder Evan Bilter to make the game 6-5, and was followed by a Cole Funkhouser RBI single on the next at bat to tie the game at 6-6.

The miners tried to carry the momentum into the the bottom half of the ninth behind Nebraska sophomore Blake Encarrnacion, but a leadoff single and two walks in the inning would prove too much given up after Beghult became the walk-off hero and gave the Miners a taste of their own medicine after a 5-4 walk-off win back on June 11.

The Miners fell to 3-2 in the standings and fell back further into second place behind the Anchorage Bucs. The Pilots climb to 3-4 and remain competitive in the Alaska Baseball League standings early on. 

The Miners will have an off day before traveling down to Chugiak Thursday night and then to Anchorage again for a game versus the Bucs on Friday. The first pitch for Thursday is scheduled at 6 p.m.

Dylan VanderVeen
2025 Mat-Su Miners Broadcaster