The Alaska Goldpanners won the Alaska Baseball League championship series Wednesday at Mulcahy Stadium with a 2-1 victory over the Mat-Su Miners. The win was the first of a scheduled doubleheader Wednesday, but since Fairbanks only needed two wins out the three-game series that began Tuesday, one game was all that was needed.
All three runs in the game were scored in the fifth inning, starting with the Goldpanners at the top of the frame. Brandon Caruso’s double brought Tyler Mildenberg in to score, and Scott Hurst followed it up with a single that scored Caruso.
The Miners answered with two-out single from Jonny Locher that scored Nick Blaser.
Joe Belk recorded the win on the hill with four innings of work, allowing one run on two hits, five walks and one strikeout.
As champions of the ABL, the Panners will now travel to Wichita, Kansas, for the National Baseball Congress World Series.
