07/20/2026
Sorry for the delay but this was last week’s game on 7-11.
Miners Fall to Sharptails, 7-3
The Miners saw their one-game lead in the standings disappear Saturday as they dropped a 7-3 decision to the Sharptails on a warm afternoon in Washburn.
The Miners threatened early in the first inning when Luke Zakovec reached on an error and advanced to second base. James Huber followed with a sharp single to right field, but the Sharptails' right fielder fielded the ball on one hop and fired a strike to the plate to cut down Zakovec and keep the game scoreless.
Brayden Bender got the start on the mound for the Miners. Washburn struck first in the bottom of the opening inning, taking advantage of a one-out single, a passed ball, and a bloop hit to plate the game's first run.
From there, both pitchers settled in, and the game turned into a defensive battle. Neither team could generate much offense until the fifth inning, when the Miners broke through.
Mike Stovall and Barnabus Zeilke opened the inning with consecutive singles before Matt Tarasewicz drew a walk to load the bases. Walker Zwetow and Zakovec were then hit by pitches, forcing home two runs and giving the Miners a 2-1 lead. However, the Miners were unable to deliver the big hit needed to extend the advantage and left additional runs on the table.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth inning. A single, two walks, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly helped the Sharptails score two runs and reclaim the lead at 3-2 heading into the seventh.
The Miners answered once again in the top of the seventh. Tarasewicz led off with a walk, advanced on a groundout, and eventually scored on a pair of wild pitches to knot the score at 3-3.
The turning point came in the bottom half of the inning. After recording the first out, the Miners committed a throwing error that put a runner in scoring position. Washburn capitalized, stringing together a double, two singles, a walk, and a groundout to score four runs and take a 7-3 lead.
The Miners were unable to mount a rally in the eighth inning. They loaded the bases in the ninth to bring the tying run to the on-deck circle, but the comeback effort fell short as the Sharptails secured the victory.
Offensively, the Miners were limited to five hits, with Tarasewicz, Zwetow, Huber, Stovall, and Zeilke each collecting one hit. Despite several hard-hit balls throughout the game, the Miners struggled to find timely offense against the Washburn pitching staff.
Bender pitched 7⅓ innings for the Miners, allowing eight hits and seven runs, four of which were unearned, while striking out five. Zakovec worked the final 1⅔ innings, surrendering one walk and recording two strikeouts.
The loss drops the Miners into a tie with the Sharptails as the two teams continue their battle near the top of the standings.
