Today in the Alaska Baseball League

Standings

W L Pct. GB Overall

Miners 31 14 .689 -- 33-15

Goldpanners 30 15 .667 1 34-15

Oilers 29 15 .659 1 1/2 30-15-1

Bucs 17 27 .386 13 1/2 21-31-1

AIA 15 30 .333 16 19-30

Glacier Pilots 12 33 .267 19 15-35

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Today's game

Pilots at Bucs, Mayor's Cup, 7 p.m.

Saturday's results

Miners 9, Panners 0, Game 1

Miners 5, Panners 1, Game 2

Fire 7, Bucs 6 (10 innings)

Friday's results

Miners 5, Goldpanners 2

Goldpanners 4, Miners 1

Bucs 6, Fire 4

Fire 4, Bucs 3

• Needing a doubleheader sweep to defend their league title, the Mat-Su Miners delivered Saturday, dispatching the Fairbanks Goldpanners 9-0 and 5-1 in a pair of seven-inning games at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer to wrap the league season.

All-ABL ace Joe Bircher pitched a complete game in the clincher and permitted four hits.

Mat-Su's stars flourished in a series in which the Miners won three of four games to come from a game behind in the standings and leapfrog the Panners.

ABL Player of the Year Bret Schwartz went 2 for 3 in the clincher and All-ABL first baseman Nick DeBiasse drove in one run in the clincher and three runs in the opener.

Quinn Pippin supported Bircher (6-1) with a solo home run in the fifth for his first bomb of the season, and added an RBI single in the sixth.

In the first game, Mat-Su starter Matt Applegate and reliever Jason Trivett combined on a four-hit shutout, and DeBiasse and All-ABL outfielder Andy Mee provided ample offense.

Applegate allowed four hits in six innings and Trivett retired the side in order in the seventh.

DeBiasse doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Mee went 2 for 3 with a triple, a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. The Miners pounded 12 hits, including five doubles and a triple.

The Goldpanners and the third-place Peninsula Oilers are scheduled to represent the league at the annual National Baseball Congress World Series next week in Wichita, Kan. The Miners will not make the trip because it's a money-loser, said general manager Pete Christopher.

• With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday afternoon, Marc Schoch's sacrifice fly scored Will Watson to furnish the AIA Fire a 7-6 win over the Anchorage Bucs at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks.

The Fire loaded the bases without striking a ball hard -- Watson flared a leadoff single, and Colby Everett and Charlies DiBella each reached on bunt singles.

The Bucs took a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth on Tony Piazza's sacrifice fly, but the Fire forged a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the inning on Aaron Parnell's RBI double.

The game wrapped the league schedule for both clubs. The Bucs finished fourth in the six-team league and the Fire finished fifth.

The Bucs tonight open the three-game, season-ending Mayor's Cup against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium.