Copperheads take semifinal series with 14-3 win
Carmichaels jumped out to an early lead Tuesday night and didn’t look back for a 14-3 series-clinching road victory over Oakland.
The Copperheads win the best-of-3 semifinal series, 2-1, and advance to the championship series which begins tonight against M&R Transit, the defending champions, at Hutchinson Field with a 6 p.m. start.
The best-of-5 championship series moves to Carmichaels on Friday at 6 p.m., with Game 3 back at Hutchinson on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Should Game 4 be needed the series returns to Carmichaels on Monday. The fifth and deciding game, if necessary, will be at Hutchinson. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m.
“They have several good lefties, and Santino (Marra) will throw,” said Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause. “They hit the ball well.
“We saw them twice in the last couple weeks of the regular season. We know they are a very good baseball team.”
The Copperheads enter the final series with an injury or two.
“We have some injuries. We have had such rotten luck the past three seasons. We’ve lost two significant players to injury each year,” explained Krause.
But, he’s looking forward to another title run.
“Some parts of our game are coming on. We are hitting the ball. I think we are starting to peak,” said Krause, adding, “I think it will be a good series.”
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.
“Luke’s hit was big because it invoked the mercy rule,” 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.
“It was a strange series. We scored 30 runs in the two games down there and Tyler Wickline had us off balance in Game 2,” said Krause. “We played three games (at Southern Garrett HS) this season and scored 37 runs.
“I don’t know what it is about that field. We hit the cover off the ball.”