Daniel Utts
Director Media Relations
740.248.6202
danielutts@yahoo.com
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Andy Schaefer
COLUMBUS, OH – Even though the
Southern Ohio Copperheads have just finished a record-setting regular season,
earning more wins than any previous Copperhead team, it seems that they have
only just begun to prove their worth in the GLSCL.
The Lima Locos came into the GLSCL
playoff tournament ranked number one in the league, even after dropping four
games in a row to end their regular season. The Copperheads were determined to
keep the Loco slump alive on Wednesday afternoon, as John Karr pitched seven scoreless
innings in the 10-1 victory.
Not only were the Locos unable to
put a run on the board until the bottom of the ninth, but they were also unable
to prevent the Copperheads from doing just the opposite. The
“We had tremendous hitting today,”
said Coach Deegan after the game. “Our first three bats (Campana, Koehnlein, Stiffler) work counts and have really good at-bats every
time. When they play the way they did today it really takes a lot of pressure
off of some other guys.”
Included in the Copperheads’ hit
parade was a two-run blast over the left field wall by Anthony Gallas that came
in the seventh, which was merely insult to injury, as the Copperheads were
already on top 7-0 at the time.
“(Gallas) is a guy that has a lot of
potential,” said Deegan. “He has struggled at times but he’s starting to play
better and get better at-bats.”
Leading the Copperheads’ offensive
outburst was John Koehnlein, who went 4-4 on the day with one RBI, and also crossed
home plate twice himself. Matt Stiffler brought in three Copperhead runs, two
of which came in the top of the first on a double to right-centerfield. That
hit seemed to spark the Copperheads into a three-inning slugfest, collecting
seven runs off of eight hits by the middle of the third inning.
Perhaps that is what kept John Karr
rolling, as he completely shut down the Locos throughout his seven-inning
effort. Karr allowed just a pair of harmless singles that came in the third and
fourth innings, finishing off the outing with three walks and three strikeouts.
Throughout his impressive performance, he was able to confuse hitters, even make
some look foolish at times, as the Locos consistently popped balls up and hit
grounders right at the Copperheads infield.
“(Karr) is a guy that is getting
better with every start,” said Deegan. “He pitched great. Unfortunately, this
was probably his last start for us, but he just did a great job today. He gets
a lot of fly balls by keeping his curve ball down and throwing his fastball for
strikes. He has that rising fastball that comes up on hitters, and at the same
time keeps his curve down to get them to hit the ball on the ground.”
Coach Deegan’s analysis was quite
evident throughout Karr’s outing. The
The Locos defense looked poor on
paper, charged with two errors that came early in the ballgame. The two infield
errors allowed Tony Campana to reach base twice—once in the second and again in
the third inning. He scored both times. In all fairness, however, the errors
were debatable, as is usually the case when Campana puts the ball on the ground.
On both plays, Campana likely would have reached base even without the
defensive mistake, which often causes debate among scoring officials, who try
to decide whether or not to reward his speed with an infield hit, rather than
an error.
Aside from Campana troubling the
Locos pitching staff with his quickness, the Copperheads were also able to
record three doubles, one by Brad Winter (2-3, RBI), and two more that came in
the ninth. Arden McWilliams (2-5) doubled down the third baseline in the ninth,
and was followed by a Quentin Eberhardt standup RBI double
to right-center. The final Copperhead run poured salt on what was now a gaping
10-run wound. The Locos were able to prevent the shutout by tacking on a run in
the bottom of the ninth, but the inning was a mere formality, as the
Copperheads dominated the entire contest.
The Copperheads will look to go 2-0
in the playoff tournament tomorrow against the Cincinnati Steam. Like all
games, it can be heard live from Bill Davis Stadium in