Copperheads take semifinal series with 14-3 win
Carmichaels jumped out to an early lead and didn鈥檛 look back for a 14-3 series-clinching road victory over Oakland in the Fayette County Baseball League playoffs on July 25.
The Copperheads won the best-of-3 semifinal series, 2-1, to advance to the championship series against M&R Transit, the defending champions.
鈥淭hey have several good lefties, and Santino (Marra) will throw,鈥� said Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause of M&R Transit. 鈥淭hey hit the ball well.
鈥淲e saw them twice in the last couple weeks of the regular season. We know they are a very good baseball team.鈥�
The Copperheads entered the final series with an injury or two.
鈥淲e have some injuries. We have had such rotten luck the past three seasons. We鈥檝e lost two significant players to injury each year,鈥� explained Krause.
But, Krause was looking forward to another title run.
鈥淪ome parts of our game are coming on. We are hitting the ball. I think we are starting to peak,鈥� said Krause, adding, 鈥淚 think it will be a good series.鈥�
Carmichaels jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Oakland in the top of the first inning powered by two-run home runs from Noah Mildren and Marco Gambino.
The lead grew to 6-0 in the top of the second, but the Oaks got the runs back in the bottom of the inning.
Carmichaels added singles runs in the fourth and fifth inning, and Oakland responded with a single run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Copperheads put the game away with six runs in the top of the sixth inning, helped by two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Jim Sadler and winning pitcher Joe Chambers had RBI singles, Gavin Pratt hit a sacrifice fly and Luke Camden came through with a two-out, two-run double.
鈥淟uke蘑菇视频 hit was big because it invoked the mercy rule,鈥� said Krause.
Chambers went the distance in the win, allowing eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Sadler led the offense with three hits and four RBI. Camden finished with two hits and three RBI. Gambino added a sacrifice fly and drove in three runs.
The semifinal series was unusual with the road team winning all three games. The Copperheads opened with a 16-12 victory, lost at home, 6-2, and capped the series with 14 more runs.
鈥淚t was a strange series. We scored 30 runs in the two games down there and Tyler Wickline had us off balance in Game 2,鈥� said Krause. 鈥淲e played three games (at Southern Garrett HS) this season and scored 37 runs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what it is about that field. We hit the cover off the ball.鈥�