The Southern Ohio Copperheads hosted the Indianapolis Servants last weekend and got the best of them in a three-game series, winning Friday and splitting the doubleheader Saturday.
The team shut out the Servants Friday with a final score of 3-0. It was a defensive battle from the beginning; both teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Copperheads' offense lit up the scoreboard.
A.J. Jezerski, Denison, and Paul Bennett, Elon, both started things off by hitting singles to reach base. Mike Folli, Buffalo, followed along, hitting a single that scored Jezerski. With two runners in scoring position, Josh Miller, W. Virginia State, hit a triple into the outfield that gave the Copperheads their 3-0 lead.
Dallas Puskar, Denison, has his best outing of season; he pitched seven innings giving up four hits, one walk, no runs and retiring six batters. Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Pitcher of the Week Richie Fralick, Ball State, and Aaron Miller, Lynn, relived Puskar to finish the game.
Coach Andrew See said he wanted to make sure his team knew the importance of this game because it was the first in the three-game series.
I've said before that the first game of series really sets the tone for the rest of it. It was important for us to have solid pitching and defense. Our offense really needed to come through as well in order for us to have a good weekend
he said. These were important games for us especially since we are making a run at the playoff spots left.
The momentum carried on into the weekend, but shifted as the Servants won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader by the score of 3-2.
The Copperheads jumped on the scoreboard first in the second inning when Jason Selhorst, Ohio, came into home off Ryan Reed's, Winthrop, single.
The Servants responded in the next inning, gaining two runs on the home team. Greg Horn, Eastern Michigan, reached first after being walked by Copperheads pitcher Andrew Albers, Kentucky, who was brought to the team because of injuries to the bullpen. Horn reached second on a sacrifice bunt by teammate Scott Hamilton, Wabash, then scored on a Jon Hickey, Eastern Illinois, single. Jonathan Nichols, UNC Greensboro, came in to relieve Albers of his pitching duties, but then walked Hickey, bringing him home, after the bases were loaded. Jeff Mercer, Dayton, sealed the win with a solo-homer shot over the left field wall in the fifth inning.
After the loss, the Copperheads regrouped for the final game of the series and served the Servants a devastating 10-0 loss. Paul Bennett was walked by Servants starter Jeremy Kehrt, University of S. Indiana, and then advanced two more bases after Kehrt committed a pitching error. Ryan Peisel, East Carolina, was put into scoring position on a walk as well, giving Willie Walker, Ohio, a chance to bring in a runner with a RBI single. Dennis Winn hit a sacrifice fly that brought in the second run of the inning, giving the Copperheads a 2-0 lead.
The Servants saw more woes in the second inning. Committing seven errors in the game, they seemed to be out of focus, and the Copperheads exploited their opponents' weaknesses. Twelve batters came up in the inning for the home team, racking up six runs bringing the team a commanding 8-0 lead. They then built upon this in the third inning, when they tallied up two more runs.
Walker was the Copperheads' man of the game, going 4-5, hitting three singles and a double and scoring three RBIs. Dustin Gibbs, Rio Grande, had a superb pitching outing, giving up three hits, three walks and striking out nine.
The Copperheads will look to carry this energy into their next games as they host the Grand Lake Mariners for a three game series this weekend at Bob Wren Stadium. They will play a double-header on Saturday starting at 5:30 p.m. and one game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
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Anthony Chambers
