Game 18: Miners at Pilots, 7:00 p.m.

Tonight the Miners hit the road to begin a brief two-game series against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. The Miners enter winners of two-straight, thanks to last nights 3-1 victory over the Kenai Peninsula Oilers. The Miners and Oilers were tied entering the home half of the eighth, when Miners' first baseman Cam Kneeland (Jr./Mass.-Lowell) ripped a two-run single to left field. Kneeland had three hits on the evening, and drove in all three Miners runs. The Green and Gold enter tonight's contest sitting atop the ABL Standings by a game over the Oilers.

On the other side, the Pilots enter scuffling. They have played competitive baseball of late, however. Wednesday night the Pilots dropped a twelve inning contest against the arch-rival Bucs. Keenyn Walker (So./Cen. Az.) evened the score with a single in the 9th, and put the Pilots ahead by a run on his solo-homer in the twelfth. That's when the Pilots ran into some trouble, and gave up two-runs to fall by a score of 4-3. Last night the Pilots were again on the wrong side of the score, losing 8-3.

To further complicate things, the Pilots have lost outfielder Keenyn Walker who has decided to sign professionally with the White Sox. The Southsiders selected Walker 47th overall in last month's draft. Walker's time as a Pilots was short, as he only played in eight games since arriving back on June 21st.

However, the Pilots now have added Kavin Keyes (Fr./Oregon St.). Keyes was expected earlier here in Alaska, but after sustaining a hand-injury in the NCAA Super Regionals against Vanderbilt, Keyes was forced to miss the first-half of the season. Keyes lead the Beavers in hitting most of the year, before closing his campaign hitting a solid .302. Keyes last month was named to the Louisville Slugger All-America team.

Tonight the Miners turn to lefty Brendan Lobban (Jr./St. John's). Lobban last appeared on the mound on June 24th against these same Pilots. Lobban struggled however, last just four plus innings and gave up five runs. The Miners would erase a four-run deficit, and go on to win the game, 6-5.

This year, including exhibition contests, the Miners are 6-2-1 against the Pilots. The Miners last trip to Mulcahy Stadium came on June 18th, with the Miners pulling out an 11-9 victory in the Summer Solstice Showdown. In the game, the Miners got a huge two-run homer from Michael Suiter (HS Sr./Punahou HS, Hawaii) that proved to be the difference.

Tonight's Game: Miners (9-3) vs. Pilots (2-11)
First-pitch: 7:00 p.m. from Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage, Alaska.
Media: Matt Dudas and Michael Broskowski call the action beginning with the Mat-Su Miners Pre-Game Show at 6:50 p.m. Listen live on www.matsuminers.org.
Pre-Game Guest: Matt Dudas will talk to Miners' second baseman Tim Zier.
Tomorrow: The Miners conclude the brief two-game series against the Pilots at 7:00 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium.

-Matt Dudas