Goldpanners Take Night Off On Eve of ABL Opener
June 23, 2000, Daily News-Miner

By RICHARD LARSON

With an epic win in the Midnight Sun Game behind them and the start of the Alaska Baseball League season immediately ahead, the Alaska Goldpanners took one on the chin Thursday.

The Santa Barbara Foresters pounded out 13 hits and cruised to an 11-2 win at Growden Park, halting the Panners' five-game win streak.

It was the lone win in the four-game series for the Foresters. The Panners won the first three games by scores of 5-4, 4-1 and 3-2.

The Panners (6-2) rested a number of players and made sure their pitching rotation was in order for the start of the ABL season at 7 tonight against the Mat-Su Miners (6-6 overall, 1-0 in the ABL) at Growden Memorial Park.

"Absolutely, we were preparing for the ABL," Goldpanners field manager Dan Cowgill said. "We gave some guys the day off and we pitched some local kids. No disrespect to Santa Barbara, they have a very good club, but we were getting ready for the ABL."

Thursday's loss notwithstanding, the Goldpanners appear to be in good shape for the 29-game ABL season. The pitching staff had a combined 1.83 earned run average and the team was hitting at a .286 clip before Thursday.

"I think this team has good character," Cowgill said. "We've played both sides of the diamond really well, offensively and defensively. We have some returning guys who are tough and I am sure they are capable of handling what happened today and coming back strong tomorrow."

The Panners have been playing stellar defense and they have been moving runners up consistently with successful bunts, hit-and-runs and sacrifice flys. They've also shown an ability to come-from-behind, rallying to win five times. The lone downfall for the Panners early in the season has been a tendency to get caught on the base paths, shutting down potential rallies.

"Generally what I see is that we have a little better athletes," Goldpanners general manager Don Dennis said. "They run a little better, throw better. And they seem to get along really well together."

The Goldpanners placed fifth in the six-team ABL two years ago, but were only four games out of first. Last year the Panners were third, but were just 2[1/2] games out of first.

"I think it is going to be another close race, just like the previous two years," Dennis said. "If we play well enough to win one or two more of those one-run games we lost last year, that could be the difference."

The Panners host Mat-Su for a three-game series, then play two at home against the Kenai Peninsula Oilers before hitting the road for an eight-game trip.

"It is going to be a grind," Cowgill said. "Every game is important."

Greg Sain had a triple and a sacrifice fly for two of the few highlights in the Panners' loss on Thursday. Sain has been the team leader at the plate through the first eight games of the season with three home runs, four doubles and a triple. He is batting just a shade below .400 and has a slugging percentage around .850.

The Anchorage Bucs (6-2, 1-0) are tied with Mat-Su atop the league standings, followed by the Anchorage Glacier Pilots (5-6, 1-1) and the Kenai Peninsula Oilers (9-4, 0-2). Like the Panners, the Hawaii Island Movers have yet to play an ABL game.

June 23, 2000, Daily News-Miner