Cheads Look to Even Series in Grand Lake
by Eric Walker
Celina, OH -- The winning streak ended at five games Tuesday in Celina but the Southern Ohio Copperheads (20-16) head back to take on the Grand Lake Mariners (21-15), attempting to split the series against the second-best team in the Central Division.
Game one of the two-game series was a close affair as pitching dominated the evening and the Mariners found clutch hits. Chances were limited as the teams combined for 11 hits. When either get opportunities on base, somebody will need to step up.
Tuesday was an off night for the Copperhead hitting, but they have still managed 48 runs in their last six games. Two perfect throws from right fielder Nic Varda nailed Copperhead runners at the plate Tuesday, both with two outs as the Copperheads clung to a 2-1 lead.
Phillip Tomasulo has shown some power over the previous week with two home runs and a triple. He's also driven in four runs. Tomasulo has continued to get on base this past week with four walks complimenting a .300 batting average.
Greg Dunham (1-1) gets the start for the Copperheads. Dunham boasts a 3.43 ERA on the season in six appearances, five of them starts, and has thrown 39 one-third innings. In his last start, Dunham threw eight innings and allowed only two earned runs while striking out eight hitters. Dunham threw six and one-third innings on July 20th when the Copperheads and Xenia Scouts continued playing a game that was postponed earlier in the year.
The Mariners counter with Stephen Morrison (2-2) on the mound, and he is coming off his best start of the year. Morrison struck out nine batters in seven innings while allowing four runs in a 7-4 win over the Lima Locos. Walking only eight hitters in 27.2 innings this year, the Copperheads should expect to see the ball in the strike zone often and be ready to put good swings on the pitches.
The importance of winning each game has gone up now that there are only five regular season games left. Southern Ohio sits a half-game ahead of the Cincinnati Steam (20-17) and two-and-a-half games behind the Richmond Jazz (23-14). Only two of those teams will make the playoffs, and it will likely go down to the final day. The second-place team will likely play the Mariners in the playoffs.
First pitch Wednesday night is set for 7:05 p.m. at Montgomery Field. Tune into Power 105.5 for play-by-play updates from Lukas Moore and Russ Heltman, the voices of the Copperheads. As always, check out the Copperheads on Twitter by following @Copperheads for additional info and on Snapchat and Instagram by following @Cheadsbaseball for pictures throughout the game. Go Cheads!
