Miners look for consistent play in second half

Jul. 5—Like the 11 other teams that have been unable to clinch a spot in the Prospect League playoffs, the West Virginia Miners will wake up Tuesday and welcome the league's second half reset.

Chillicothe, Danville, Quincy and Alton River all secured their tickets and will host a one-game playoff on Aug. 7 against their divisions' second half winners. Those 12 other teams are faced with a tough task — it's often tougher to win in the second half than in the first.

The second half poses several obstacles that make it difficult to reach that destination.

In the Miners' case, they did at least close the first half with something to build on.

Going into the last day of the first half on Monday, the Miners had won four of their last five games, including Sunday's doubleheader sweep of Johnstown. The offense has been the star of the show, averaging 8.4 runs per game during that stretch.

They aren't winning pretty — opponents are averaging 7.6 runs per game — but that's the way it will have to be if the Miners are to get into the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

"We have been fighting for our lives since the season started," Miners manager Tim Epling said after last Thursday's 14-4, seven-inning win over Lafayette. "We're strapped on pitching, our defense hadn't been playing well. We're not a home run hitting team, per se. We have some guys who can take it that way, but we're a team that's got to manufacture runs and stay efficient. We may not be great in all three phases, but if we can play average in all three phases, that's what we have to do."

The offense has not been carried by any one player, but first baseman Coby Tweten has certainly stood out. A 6-foot-6, 275-pound first baseman who wears No. 99, Tweten is third in the Prospect League with a .387 batting average. He had a nine-game hitting streak snapped in Sunday's 2-1 win in the opening game against the Mill Rats and had been two for his last 10 at-bats but is still flirting with a .400 season.

Tweten also leads the team with 20 runs batted in, a .483 on-base percentage and .547 slugging percentage.

Center fielder Barrett Riebock was the nation's leading basestealer among JUCO players at Paris Community College, and is perfect in 14 stolen base attempts this summer. He was walked a team-high 15 times and is batting .346.

Shortstop Alex Christie (.328) has delivered of late, smacking three run-scoring doubles in the series against Lafayette. Left fielder Hayden Skipper leads the team with eight doubles, and outfielder Eddie Leon has five home runs.

The team does strike out a lot, with 259 whiffs. Six players have struck out at least 20 times.

The defense has picked up. The Miners are tied for third with a .962 fielding percentage.

The offense and defense have been able to bail out a pitching staff that bears the most glaring need for improvement. The Miners are still last in the league with a 7.33 earned run average and have walked 147 batters in 227 innings.

Those numbers have to improve over the next five weeks. The offense can't be counted on to post six-run innings every night — something that happened twice in Sunday's 13-10 nightcap victory.

"We're hoping we're getting about three or four more pitchers in here," Epling said. "We've got some more players leaving, the same old thing. But we've got to get some arms in here and once we do that, I like the nucleus of our defense a little bit and I really like the team chemistry. They're a fun bunch of guys. They are really a lot of fun. We have a good time with each other."

As with every summer, the Miners will have to deal with attrition, something that is plaguing every team in the league. By the end of the week, 25 percent of the opening day roster will likely be gone due to myriad reasons (college coaches shutting them down, homesickness, fatigue and more).

"We're going to be losing a bunch of players here over the next few days, for whatever reasons," Epling said. "But that's OK. We're going to try to get some replacements. Until then, we are going to fight like crazy and hopefully continue to play good and the kids can have fun."

Some new players have stepped in, including pitcher Brett Whiteman. The right-hander from Fairmont State made his debut June 11 and is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA and is averaging 10.42 strikeouts per nine innings.

Infielder Brittain Shander (Mansfield) is batting .400 — three of his eight hits are doubles — and has driven in five runs in six games. Noah Canterbury (Fairmont State) is 2-for-8, both hits doubles, as he tries to settle in.

"I hate to lose, but the way the team is coming out and practicing and everything, I nothing but tip my hat to them because we're fighting for everything we've got," Epling said. "We're getting decent performances and we're playing as well as we can right now. That's just the way it is.

"Playing consistent is what we have to do."

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5