Copperheads riding hot streak into FCBL playoffs
Two things are almost a certainty in Greene County during the summer months, the unpredictability of the weather and the Carmichaels Copperheads being near the top of the standings in the Fayette County Baseball League.
And 2017 is no different, as the weather is still an enigmatic fixture in the area and the squad from Carmichaels is currently in the top spot in the league in the final week of the regular season.
As of Monday, the first-place Copperheads are 16-2 overall.
Carmichaels was at Mill Run on Tuesday and concluded the regular season on Thursday at Little Joeys Pizza.
“Our offense has been hit or miss all season long,” Copperheads manager Richard Krause said. “We have played a lot of low-scoring games, and thankfully our starting pitching and our defense has carried us. We are a work in progress at the plate and we are just looking for consistency. We have to be able to string together hits and work the counts in our favor.”
Carmichaels is the defending FCBL champion, sweeping Mill Run in last year’s final for its 11th championship in the league.
“There are tremendous differences between this year’s team and last year’s team,” Krause said. “We had a lot of turnover on our roster and we are missing a lot of veteran players, six starters, in this league. We still have a couple of guys with experience in this league, but we are young in a lot of spots. It’s been fun to see these kids grow and it’s been really invigorating for our team.”
At the start of the season, the FCBL was a six-team league, but unfortunately Economy Electric pulled out and forfeited its remaining games.
Along with Carmichaels, the FCBL in 2017 is comprised of Mill Run, Little Joeys Pizza (Brownsville), Better Edge (Belle Vernon) and Mitch’s Bail Bonds (Charleroi).
The fourth and fifth seed will face off against each other in the play-in game on Sunday, and the winner will play the top seed.
The semifinal round series will be a best-of-three, while the finals will be a best-of-five.
One key aspect of the Copperheads in the league for years is a steady mixture of veteran and younger players on the roster.
Carmichaels has stalwarts like JW Kayla, Joby Lapkowicz, Chuck Gasti and Eric Holt on its roster and also has a crop of younger players like Hunter Robinson, West Bristor, Jacob Calloway, Austin Clark, Tyler Cole, Joe Havrilak and Joel Spishock.
“Depth is so critical in this league,” Krause said. “Every season we try to have a strong mix of veteran and young players. It’s key to have depth and to work on cycling the younger guys into games. This is a different year, and it has taken us a little longer than expected to figure it out. I like our guys and I feel like we have a lot of talent on the field.”
Along with overall depth, Krause explains having a wealth of pitching is also a vital part for success in the FCBL.
“You can’t win games and you can’t compete in this league if you don’t have a reliable starting staff,” Krause said. “When we do our recruiting calls in the off-season, usually our first four phone calls are to four pitchers. You need to have that depth on the mound. Hunter Robinson has been strong for us and pitched in a lot of big games. We also have Nick Groover and Joby Lapkowicz.”
The Copperheads have their sights set on title number 12 this summer, as the postseason will start early next week.