Third time was the charm for the Southern Ohio Copperheads.
The Copperheads clinched the 2018 Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Championship on Wednesday with an improbable 10-8 victory. It was the first title in franchise history and the third trip to the final series.
Southern Ohio was flooded by rain prior to the first pitch which delayed the start. After an hour delay, the Saginaw Sugar Beets flooded the Copperheads with runs.
Copperheads starting pitcher Thomas Zazzaro was hit hard for four runs in the second inning before he got into a groove. Three singles loaded the bases with two outs before Ryan Robinette lined a bases-clearing double to left-center that just graved off of Ty Suntken's glove. Robinette scored when Cooper Marshall followed with a single before being thrown out trying to stretch into second base.
Southern Ohio mustered only two hits in the first four innings before Saginaw kicked the offense back up in the top of the fifth. Zazzaro walked Marshall before loading the bases on singles by Gaosh Williams and Connor Charping. Zazzaro was relieved by Kyle Wisniewski who worked out of the jam, but not before allowing a Noah Marcoux single that scored two runs.
In the bottom half, the Copperheads finally got to Saginaw starter Brandon Reed. Ty Suntken doubled after a Joe Weisenseel single to put runners in scoring position for Jack Longo who singled in Weisenseel. Longo was erased on a Ray Zuberer double play, but Suntken crossed to cut the lead to 7-2. Blaine Crim and Blake Holub tacked on one more after Crim singled and was doubled in by Holub.
A seven-run deficit tied the largest deficit the Copperheads had seen all season. Southern Ohio ended up winning that game.
Crim and Zuberer had two clutch postseason home runs in the first game of the series against the Hamilton Joes. In the seventh inning, they put that clutch magic back-to-back.
Kyler Seemann relieved Reed on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Longo, who was an under the radar 2-3 with two walks, two runs and a run-batted in, started the rally with a single. Zuberer took one ball and launched the next over the right field fence for a home run. Crim followed and among the "M-V-P" chants put the very next pitch over the wall.
Two pitches was all it took for a three-run swing that slithered the Copperheads to within one run. Seemann stayed in relief until a single by Holub was followed by two wild pitches and a Joe Stewart walk. Matthew Blunk relieved Seemann who then walked Mason Nadeau to load the bases. One more walk to Weisenseel scored Holub and tied the game at 7-7.
Wild comebacks were nothing new to the Copperheads and the game seemed like it was Southern Ohio's to lose. Even when the Sugar Beets retook the lead 8-7 in the top of the eighth inning, the Cheads seemed ready to clinch.
No hits in the bottom of the eighth weren't a problem for the Copperheads. The Sugar Beets couldn't locate the strike zone and two errors allowed three Copperheads to cross the plate. Longo again started the rally with a leadoff walk and scored the tying run on a balk by Saginaw's Billy Blair. Crim reached on a fielder's choice and Holub walked to get on base. The duo scored the final two runs on the same play with two Saginaw errors.
Closer Joel Hake entered for the final frame and he was as automatic as he had been all postseason. Hake struck out Daniel Page to end the game and clinch the fist league title in Copperheads history. It was Hake's third save of the postseason. He faced the minimum nine batters in his three appearances and struck out eight.
Including the postseason, the Copperheads went 35-10 and finally earned the elusive title. Southern Ohio was the best team in the GLSCL and proved it with the trophy. The Copperheads had many records set in 2018 and finally having the name etched on the trophy is without a doubt the sweetest way to cap off the historic season.
