Fayette County Baseball League playoffs
Carmichaels sends championship series to 7th game CARMICHAELS – What started out as a best-of-seven set is now to a very big, important “Best-Of-One.”
Carmichaels came from behind with two runs in the sixth to edge Bud Murphy’s, 4-3, in a nailbiting sixth game of the Fayette County Baseball League’s championship series, Thursday.
The best-of-seven final set is now deadlocked, 3-3, with the seventh and deciding game slated for 6 p.m. today at the Breakneck Field.
The Copperheads were down, 3-2, going into the sixth. With one out, Charlie Humes singled, Jeff Thompson walked and Eric Holt singled to score Humes. Jeremiah Bandish, courtesy runner for Thompson, went to second, and scored on Bob Spithaler’s single. The throw to the plate trying to get Bandish got away, and when Holt also tried to score, he was tagged at home on a throw from pitcher Marty Fagler to catcher Jeff Lander.
Pitching was the key factor for both sides with Ron Nopwasky and winner Derek Fritz combining on a three-hitter and losing pitcher Fagler giving up five.
Two of the Coker hits went for extra bases, Jack Smarslak and Brian Sankovich hitting doubles. Thompson had a triple and scored three runs for the Copperheads, and Spithaler drove in two runs, including the clincher, with a pair of singles.
Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause called the outcome “a real big win for us. We trailed into the sixth, and then to come back and win like we did was a big point for us. We were behind, it was getting dark and we didn’t know how much longer the game would continue.”
Bud’s manager Tom Sankovich said, “We didn’t get any runs until the fourth, but that was partly due to our not being aggressive at the plate.”
Nopwasky started for the Copperheads (27-13 season, 8-6 playoffs) and didn’t give up a hit until being relieved with two out in the fourth. Fritz came on and ceded all three Coker hits, but allowed nothing after Sankovich’s double in the fifth. He closed the game with a string of eight outs, all of them by the infield. The Carmichaels outfield had only one putout the entire game, Brain Shipley’s fly to right, leading off the second.
Fagler threw double zeroes until the fourth when Thompson hit a one-out triple and the Coker gardeners had only two putouts, J.W. Kayla to center and Humes to left – both in the first inning.
Each side had nine putouts at first base.
Krause added, “This was the first time Nopwasky had pitched in about five years, and he gave us four good innings before Derek came on in relief. Derek was the loser in Game 2, and he offset that today. He gave up a hit to the first batter he faced, but after that he was strong to the finish. For the two pitchers, a big factor also was Thompson’s catching them. He’s a veteran presence in any game, and today along with calling the pitches he was on base three times and scored three runs.”
Carmichaels led 1-0 in the second after Thompson walked to lead off, moved ahead on Holt’s bunt, and scored on an error.
Bud’s (30-8, 7-4) tied in the fourth. Shipley walked leading off and moved to third on Jeff Lander’s bunt and Mark Edenfield’s groundout. The latter was all for Nopwasky with Fritz relieving and giving up Smarslak’s RBI double.
Carmichaels regained the lead in the fourth. With one out, Thompson got the first home team hit, a long liner to left that Tony Rose just missed in a diving catch try, and Thompson legged it into third. Holt grounded out, and then Spithaler singled in the go-ahead run.
Bud’s got the lead again in the fifth and looked like it might have a big inning in the making. Rose led off with a walk and went to second on Joe Bonadio’s single. With one out, Sankovich doubled in Rose, sending Bonadio to third. A pitch got away from Thompson at the plate and rolled into the out of play area, and Bonadio was waved home with the go-ahead run while Sankovich went to third. Shipley walked, but Nopwasky grabbed Lander’s grounder and turned it into a threat-ending double play.
Now the deciding game shifts back to Breakneck, which has been a “Jinx Field” for Carmichaels.
As Krause said, “Now we have to find a way to win there.”