Anchorage Daily News

Connor Spink entered the Glacier Pilots' Thursday afternoon blowout win in the seventh inning and turned in the kind of performance that could lead to more than mop-up duty this summer.

Spink, the lanky left-hander late of Chugiak High, did exactly what a manager wants a reliever to do with a big lead -- come out, throw strikes and get the game over.

Nine batters and nine outs later, Spink had three perfect innings to his credit and the Pilots had an 11-1 win over the San Francisco Seals at Mulcahy Stadium.

"That's two outings now he's done a nice job," Pilots skipper Bob Miller said. "He keeps the ball down, he's able to change speeds and throw a lot of strikes.

"He's certainly done the most with the opportunity he's had so far. If he keeps up that type of thing, his role will expand."

Spink struck out two and allowed one ball out of the infield -- a harmless fly to shallow right. Starter Travis Kelly went six innings, settling down after a bumpy start to strike out six and scatter four hits.

Pilots batters hammered the first two San Francisco pitchers for 10 runs in an inning and a third on nine hits, four walks and two hit batters.

"Ten runs in the first two innings -- that takes the pressure off right off the bat," Spink said. "It was kind of nice because some of the Alaskan kids got to come in."

Spink is coming off his redshirt freshman season at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash., where he served as a setup man out of the bullpen.

"Got 20 innings there, which was pretty typical for a redshirt freshman," Spink said. "I learned how to throw changeups. Really rounded out my game."

Adding an offspeed pitch was an important step in Spink's development, his ABL manager said.

"He's not an overpowering type," Miller said. "He keeps the ball down and has some late sink. In two outing there haven't been any really good swings against him."

Lower Columbia has a well-respected baseball program, and it didn't take Spink long to understand why.

"It's a community college, so the coach can run you to death," he said. "We had some kids that quit on the first day. Once I got over those first couple of weeks, it was easy.

"Lower Columbia is kind of famous for being a tough school. Ten of the 12 pitchers hit 90 (mph on the radar gun). They're definitely legit. It was a good experience and showed me what I had to do to be successful."

After posting a sub-2.00 ERA at Lower Columbia, Spink is adjusting to the ABL style of play.

"I love the wood bats," he said with a laugh. "That's definitely awesome. The biggest difference is just the level of pitchers here. They just know the game of baseball inside and out.

"It's really a good experience being able to leech off their knowledge. It's making me a better baseball player even if I'm not getting a ton of innings."

As the Pilots' roster rounds out with late arrivals, players like Spink push for more playing time. Miller likes his mix.

"I like the way they come to play," he said. "They do a good job of picking each other up, we run the bases really hard. We have a nice little blend."

The Pilots begin a stretch of seven consecutive league games tonight.

Find Andrew Hinkelman online at adn.com/contact/ahinkelman or call 257-4335.

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