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Panners Defeat Miners Arik Van Zandt delivered a two-out, two-run double to cap off a three-run seventh inning as the Alaska Goldpanners rallied for a 3-2 win over the Mat-Su Miners in Alaska Baseball League action at Growden Park on Sunday. Van Zandt's hit made a winner of fellow Stanford Cardinal teammate J.D. Wilcox, who was nearly perfect in 4 [1/3] innings of relief of Panners' starter Daniel Rich -- the third Cardinal player on the Panners roster. David Bush of Wake Forest got the last four outs to pick up his seventh save of the season. "It was the Stanford connection with a Wake Forest finish," said Goldpanners Manager Dan Cowgill. "We definitely had a good IQ going with those guys out there." The win improved the Panners to 10-10 overall and 5-6 in ABL action. Four of the Panners five league wins have been by one run, while the other was by two runs. Alaska has come from behind in their last three wins, erasing 7-0, 6-2 and 2-0 deficits to post victories. "We've battled from behind a lot this year," Van Zandt said. "We've come up short a couple of times, but a lot of our games have come down to one run." Wilcox came into the game in the fourth inning with the Panners down 2-0 and he retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced. "I knew if I could just hold them we had a chance," Wilcox said. "If we could score a couple runs here and there." Wilcox gave up a pair of one-out singles in the eighth and was lifted in favor of Bush with Miners on the corners. With the runner on third breaking toward home with the tying run, Bush got Matt Strickroth to hit a grounder to Van Zandt at third, beginning a 5-4-3 double play. "Anything that was hit at or to the left of me we were going to try for two to end the inning, anything that was short I probably would've gone home on," Van Zandt said. Bush then set down the side in order in the ninth, including a pair of strikeouts. "Bush came in and bailed me out. He did a great job," Wilcox said. "We have all kinds of confidence when David comes in. He has nasty stuff. I felt great handing the ball off to him in the eighth. He gets the job done." Having pitched in relief at Stanford, Rich came into the game knowing he would be held to a limited number of pitches. The Panners starter allowed two runs on three hits in the third inning and left after the inning, having thrown 63 pitches. Wilcox and Bush then combined to hold the Miners scoreless over the final six innings of play, giving up only two singles and a walk. "Wilcox came in and pitched great. He was hitting his spots and changing speed," Van Zandt said. "Then Bush comes in and heats it up." Wilcox was already warming up in the first inning. "I was ready," Wilcox said. "I knew he would throw around 60 or so and then I would come in. The key was getting ahead with my fast ball. I was throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes." The Panners pitchers combined for nine strikeouts in the contest. Miners starter Beau Hintz held the Panners to four hits through the first six innings. The Panners decisive rally began with one out in the seventh when Erik Frei doubled on a high fly ball that gave center fielder Anthony Hensle fits. Hensle tried to make an awkward catch, but lost the ball when he fell to the ground. After a ground out moved Frei to third Jason Berni hit a soft bounding ball down the third base line that went over the outside edge of the third base bag. Miners' third baseman Greg Filson thought the ball was foul and didn't attempt to make a play. Robert Guzman followed with a surprise two-out bunt and beat the throw to first to put runners on first and second. Chris Wright, pinch-running for Berni, stole third and Van Zandt followed with a double to right center that scored Wright and Guzman. Panner Nuggets: The Panners had three batters, Jonah Martin, Bobby Crosby and Robert Guzman, hit by pitches in the game. The Panners have had 12 batters hit by pitches on the season. ... Van Zandt was hitting .163 on the season entering Sunday's game and was 0-for-2 in his first two at-bats before his clutch double. ... In the second inning the Miners' Scott Tousa hit a shot down the line that hit the third base bag and bounced up in the air where Van Zandt grabbed the ball and threw to first for the unorthodox out. Van Zandt also made a sliding catch in foul territory just inches from the wall near the Panners' dugout in the fifth inning. July 5, 1999, Daily News-Miner
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