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The Fire had 26 outs to go, but the game was already over.

At that point, the Mat-Su Miners had scored the first five runs of their 14-5 rout over Fairbanks’ Athletes in Action Fire in Alaska Baseball League action Wednesday night.

“They just came out swinging,” Fire manager Mike Gillespie said.

Fire starting pitcher Todd Jeffress finally got out No. 2 at Growden Memorial Park when Kevin Rodland, the final batter of the order, struck out swinging.

Jeffress never got the third. He left the game shortly afterward, giving up six earned runs off six hits in 2/3 innings.

“At that point there’s not much you can say (to Jeffress),” Gillespie said. “I think he knows he just kind of got hit around a little bit.”

The Miners’ rally was highlighted Ty Rassmussen and Wes Dorrell, who both launched two-run homers over the left field fence the inning.

“It’s just one of those outings you’ll remember for the rest of your life,” Gillespie said. “You just don’t want to have but one of them”

Down 7-0, the Fire’s offense tried to respond in the bottom of the first by leading off with two doubles, but those hits were made useless by mistakes on the base paths.

After seeing the center fielder juggle the ball, Fire right fielder Brint Hardy tried to extend his double, but was thrown out at third base.

Three at-bats later, AIA center fielder Ryan Enos stole second, but he didn’t only fool the Miners. Jonathon Merritt, who was on second base, didn’t see Enos coming and had to try to get to third. He was tagged out.

Mat-Su was able to take the game well out of the Fire’s reach with a four-run third that included a three-run home run by Dorrell.

The Fire’s offense started then stalled again in the fourth, when winning pitcher Jeremy Erben recorded three straight strikeouts after putting runners in scoring position with no outs.

Though AIA struggled to score runs, they had a decent night from the plate with 11 hits.

Hardy had the best game for the Fire. He lined a solo home run over the left-field fence in the third inning and hit a two-run shot in the seventh when the Fire scored four runs.

“That was a good inning for us, just, ’cause we’ve been struggling to put up runs,” Hardy said. “Four runs in an inning, we haven’t done that in quite a while. It was big from a mental standpoint.”

Hardy went 4-for-5 and was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. He also made an athletic catch to end the top of the ninth, diving forward to snag the ball in shallow right field.

“The hardest part is seeing guys struggle and you’re feeling good about yourself,” Hardy said, “but you’re seeing your teammates struggle, so you hurt for them.”

Mat-Su entered Wednesday’s game hitting at a .213 clip. Today, the Miners have a .229 average, thanks to 16 hits, including eight for extra bases.

The last-place Fire’s record dropped to 6-10, with an ABL mark of 3-8. Mat-Su improved to 12-5 and a first-place ABL record of 8-5.

Jeffress took the loss.

Erben allowed one earned run from six hits in five innings. He struck out five.

Contact staff writer Joshua Armstrong at 459-7583.