Southern Ohio Copperheads

                                                                                                                   

Daniel Utts

Director Media Relations

740.248.6202

danielutts@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 1, 2007

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 Southern Ohio bats were as hot as the southern Ohio summer sun, collecting 14 hits in the mid-90 degree Columbus weather.

 

“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 Penn State righty recorded 12 outs via the fly ball, and another six off of ground balls. The Copperheads also played sound, flawless defense, getting under fly balls and making the more difficult plays when necessary.

 

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 Columbus, Ohio on copperheadbaseball.com and Power 105.5 FM starting at noon on Thursday.