News

by Alex Harrison

Hamilton, OH -- The Southern Ohio Copperheads drove into Hamilton to battle the Joes with a 10-7 record and a chance to move into first place in their division. The Copperheads drove out of Hamilton with a 10-9 record, gathering two losses in one day.

Game One

In a continuation of a rained out game from June 18, the Copperheads were in trouble from the very beginning.

Ryan Ziels was on third base for Hamilton with no outs when the continuation began. Ryan McLelland singled in Ziels and Hamilton led 1-0. Ziels got on base with a single and moved after Southern Ohio pitcher Butch Baird threw a wild pitch and balked on consecutive pitches. Those pitching mistake carried over to Saturday and doomed the Copperheads.

Hamilton defeated the Copperheads 4-3. Two of the Hamilton runs were helped by wild pitches and passed balls.

The Copperheads tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh after Josh Fewell launched a solo home run and Daniel McFarland singled in Phillip Tomasulo. The lead did not stick around.

Evan Bell scored the winning run in the top of the eighth for Hamilton. Bell reached second after a single and some passed balls plated him with two outs.

Baird got stuck with the loss despite pitching a complete game. The left-hander allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits. Baird also struck out an impressive 13 batters with just one walk.

Game Two

If the first game of the day was uncomfortable, then game two was just plain ugly. After holding a 7-1 lead, the Copperheads allowed 11 unanswered runs to fall 12-7.

Matt Harrison led off the top of the second with a single and the Copperheads rolled at the plate. Justin Kirkpatrick doubled to score Harrison and the Copperheads batted around until Daniel McCauley struck out with a 7-1 lead. Just like the first game of the day, Southern Ohio's lead quickly vanished.

The Joes tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Southern Ohio starter Ty Shoaff struggled with control early and was removed before finishing the second inning. Derek Carr replaced Shoaff, but runs kept coming.

The Copperheads used four pitchers in the second game and all four allowed runs to score. The Joes were able to earn the win after getting pitchers to settle down.

Hamilton also had to remove its starter, Danny Hentz, after less than two innings. Tyler Walton came into relief for Hentz and earned the win after pitching 5.1 innings and allowing only one run. Dalton Laney wrapped up the last two innings on the mound for Hamilton and did not give up a run or a hit.

The Copperheads will need to have a quick turnaround as the team returns to Hamilton for the series' final game on Sunday.

Aaron Ochsenbein will start for the Copperheads. Ochsenbein has arguably been the best pitcher for Southern Ohio and another fine performance will be needed to halt the team’s slump.