Sports

The Terriers took no time getting on the board with a homerun from Adam Dennison coming off of Copperheads pitcher Tyler Isbell.

 

The Terriers caught a break in the second inning to give themselves a bigger cushion.

 

Stark County had runners on first and second with no outs.

 

A grounder to Matt Lopez took an unlucky bounce and went right through Lopez’s legs, allowing Jacob North to score.

 

Max Murphy drove home a third run, giving the Terriers a 3-0 lead going into the third.

 

It was all Stark County in the third inning as well. Erik Maki hit a two RBI single to give his team a 5-0 lead.

 

Later in the inning, Max Murphy hit a 3-run homerun over the left field wall.

 

The Terriers scored a total of seven runs in the inning and had a 10-0 lead over Southern Ohio in the fourth.

 

At times the Copperheads were able to take advantage of some opportunities.

 

Brice Nikithser was able to reach base twice, including a double.

 

Blaise Salter was also able to reach base.

 

“I felt alright. I was able to see the ball well,” Salter said.

 

The Copperheads were just unable to find a way to bring the runners home.

 

Johnny Fasola had a good outing for Stark County, allowing no runs in six innings.

 

“Their guy did a pretty good job throwing fastballs for strikes early in counts, and we weren’t able to put very good moves on him,” head coach Chris Moore said.

 

One positive note for the Copperheads was their new pitcher Zak Esposito.

 

Esposito met the team for the first time on Stark County’s field and proved himself worthy of the Gold and Green as he came in relief for the fourth and pitched a solid game, allowing only one run in four innings.

 

“I felt good,” Esposito said. “Other than that one mistake everything was working.”

 

“I thought he did a good job especially for his first time,” Moore added.

 

The Copperheads showed some life offensively in the eighth inning.

 

Salter and Matt Borgschulte were both able to reach base in the inning, and Mike Fish took advantage of the opportunity with a solid hit off the left field wall.

 

Nikithser then hit an RBI groundout, making it an 11-2 game.

 

The Terriers extended their lead 15-2 in the bottom half of the eighth inning.

 

Southern Ohio ended up losing the game with a final score of 15-4, with Aaron Novak hitting a solo shot in the ninth inning. Brice Nikithser also got another RBI in the ninth.

 

Don’t let the rough ending distract you from the outstanding work the Cheads have done. They spent the past seven days and nine games on the road, finishing 6-3 for the run and 14-8 for the season.

 

“It was a long stretch for us but I felt like we played well,” Salter said.

 

“Winning twice as much as you lose no matter what the situation is always good,” Moore said. “We had some adversity but overall I thought the trip went very well.”

 

After a very long road trip like this team has had, it will be nice to not only have a three day break, but to finally come home to Bob Wren.

 

“We miss being in Athens and miss seeing the home crowd and having people to cheer us on,” said Moore. “We’re definitely excited to get back.”

 

The Southern Ohio Copperheads presented by O’Bleness Health System will return to Bob Wren Friday at 7:30 for fireworks night against the Licking County Settlers.