Ninth inning balk carries Copperheads to 3-2 victory over Xenia

By Brian Boesch

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t easy. But Southern Ohio found a way to record its second 3-2 victory over the Xenia Scouts in the last six days.

With the win, the Copperheads (6-6) have won four of their last six to reach the .500 mark. Five of their last six games have been decided by one run, and the Snakes have won four of those games.

After Xenia (6-8) battled back from a 2-0 deficit with a run in the fourth and the seventh, the Copperheads took back the lead in the ninth in an unconventional way. Taylor Davis reached first on an error by the Scouts’ second baseman Andrew Douglas. Then, Jerod Yakubik hit an infield single. Trying to sacrifice the runners to second and third, Sam Mahoney put down a bunt, but Douglas, covering first on the play, could not catch the throw, loading the bases.

With the bases loaded, pitcher John LaCorte committed his first balk of the year by starting to come set, stopping and starting again. As a result, Davis scored the third, and deciding, run for the Snakes.

Southern Ohio did not tack on an insurance run despite having runners at second and third with nobody out, but it did not matter. Jordan Langley set the Scouts down in order in the ninth to notch his third save of the year.

“We set that up with a series of several pretty good things,” head coach Mike Florak said about the ninth inning. “However it happens, it happens.”

Andy Carter, making his debut for the Green and Gold, gave the squad a solid outing. The Shawnee State sophomore went four innings, allowing one run on four hits. The right-hander rung up four and did not walk a batter.

“I felt pretty good,” Carter said. “I was getting ahead of batters. I was hitting the inside spot pretty good today.”

“Andy was outstanding tonight,” Florak said. “He came in and threw strikes, and when you do that you give your defense a chance. You give yourself a chance.”

The hurlers behind Carter were just as effective. David Starn, Rob Moffat, Tyler Gatrell and Langley combined to throw five innings out of the pen, giving up only run on four hits.

“I’m not afraid to get pulled out of the game at all,” Carter said. “I know they will keep you in [the game].”

Offensively, the Copperheads did not light up the scoreboard, but they did come through in a few key situations. Southern Ohio scored on an RBI groundout by Davis in the first inning. In the fourth, Trent Moses drilled an RBI triple to right-center to make it 2-0.

“It all added up to guys being unselfish and just taking care of business when they get the opportunity,” Florak said. “We’re really, really happy with what the pitchers have done so far, and as soon as the offense comes around, I look forward to us getting on a roll.”

The team batting average continues to hover around the .200 mark, and the squad is averaging only 3.3 runs per game, but Moses thinks the offense can improve.

“I think eventually we’ll start finding holes,” Moses said. “We’ve got some good hitters on the team.”

Xenia scored in the fourth and the seventh inning. Case Rigby, who went 3-for-4 today, drove in the Scouts’ first run on a single. Robert Rashid tied the game at two apiece in the seventh with an RBI groundout.

The Copperheads have yet to climb above the break-even point through the first third of the season. They will give it another shot Wednesday against Stark County. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. from Bob Wren Stadium. The Copperheads downed the Terriers in their only meeting of the year by a score of 6-1 in North Canton June 18.

Brian Boesch and Allie LaForce will take the air on Power 105 and online at copperheadbaseball.com at 7:15 p.m. Southern Ohio’s Cameron Hobson will battle Stark County’s Ryan Mace.

Xenia will host Cincinnati Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

• Dating back to 2008, the Copperheads have won five of their last six against Xenia. Only one of those games were not decided by one run, which was a 6-3 Southern Ohio win in 11 innings.
• The Copperheads will only have one road trip from now until July 17. Southern Ohio is set to battle Licking County in a doubleheader in Newark July 7.
• The Copperheads have averaged only three runs per game in their last six games, and they are 4-2 in those games.
• Chad Geier did not start because of an injury to his right elbow. He did enter the game as a pinch runner in the ninth inning and expects to return to the lineup Wednesday.