Jul 25, 2018 By The 3 min read

Ryan Minteer twirled a one-hitter and Joel Spishock hit a late, tie-breaking home run as Carmichaels blanked Mitch’s Bail Bonds, 3-0, in Fayette County Baseball League playoff action at War Memorial Stadium in Charleroi on Tuesday to win their best-of-three series, 2-0.

The Copperheads, the league’s regular-season champion, will now wait to see who they will host in Game 1 of the best-of-five championship series. The other semifinal series between Bill’s Bit Service and Mill Run was tied 1-1 going into Game 3 which was scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Hutchinson Field.

Minteer and Josiah Fisher were locked in a scoreless battle until the top of the sixth when Luke Carter drew a lead-off walk and Spishock followed with a two-run homer to right-center field.

“Joel just crushed it,” Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause said of Spishock’s clutch blast. “It was a bullet, I didn’t think it was high enough to get out.

“He’s a big bat for us. Joel’s a legitimate college hitter. He’s very rare. He’s a lefty bat and to hit a shot like that against a very good left-handed pitcher just shows what a great hitter he is. We’re very fortunate to have him.”

The Copperheads actually didn’t have Spishock, who played under Krause for the Mikes in high school, at the beginning of the season.

“He didn’t play for us the first half of the year,” Krause said. “It was nice to get him back.”

The Mikes tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Carter hit a one-out single, took second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on Tyler Godwin’s grounder.

That was more than enough for Minteer, who walked four and struck out seven. Minteer’s bid at a no-hitter was broken up in the sixth by Troy Kifer’s single.

“Ryan is a veteran guy, a Peters Township kid who played college baseball in Georgia, so he’s been around the block,” Krause said. “He throws upper 80s with a good slider and curve.

“He was very dominating throughout the game, he only allowed one runner to third base and that was on an error,” Krause said. “And that’s against a pretty strong lineup, especially at the top of the order.”

The error was the only miscue in a well-played game.

Fisher held the Copperheads down for the most of the night, despite some control problems. The left-hander allowed the three earned runs on seven hits with eight walks and four strikeouts in tossing a complete game.

“The kid for (Mitch’s) threw a great game,” Krause said of Fisher. “He did a great job of pitching out of jams, knowing who he wanted to face and who he didn’t want to face. He’s a very smart pitcher.

“They are very good defensively, too, as good as any team in the league, and that’s a credit to (Mitch’s manager) Ryan (Encapera).”

Krause commended Encapera, who guided Mitch’s to the 2015 FCBL title, not only for the way he prepares his team but for the job he’s done as league president.

“Ryan is a big reason why the County League still exists,” Krause said. “He works really hard at it, is very organized and puts a lot of time into it. He’s done an excellent job with his team and with the league.”