by Billy McDermott

ATHENS, Ohio – The Copperheads ruthlessly defeated the Licking County Settlers Thursday night as a collaborative effort from the offense propelled them to an 11-5 victory.

Left-handed pitcher Wesley Pyles had a strong start on the mound for the Copperheads as he used his dynamic pitching to strike out five of the 23 batters he faced.

In the bottom of the first, Southern Ohio’s Ty Alderman led off the inning with a single to right. Ray Zuberer was hit by a pitch soon after, followed by another line-drive single off the bat of Blaine Crim to load the bases. Crim, who has an astounding .421 batting average, would finish the game with two hits and two RBIs. Alderman scored the first run of the game after Kyle Casserly was walked by Licking County’s Chris Sparks. Collin Minor drove in Zuberer on an error at short, and Crim scored after a walk from Mason Nadeau. Joe Weisenseel then stepped up to the plate and hit a two RBI single to score Casserly and Minor. After the end of the first, the Copperheads led by five runs.

The Copperheads continued their offensive momentum in the second inning when Zuberer got on first with a single, and was later driven in to score after another base hit from Blake Holub. Casserly then advanced to second on a double, and during the next at bat Minor got on base again after a single that scored Holub and Casserly. With the bases loaded, the Settlers made a pitching substitution to cool down the Copperheads’ offense. Regardless, Southern Ohio scored a ninth run when Ty Suntken was hit by a pitch that brought in Minor. Zuberer seized his second hit of the game on a single that scored Weisenseel for the last run of the inning.

Despite leading by 10 runs in the third, the Copperheads didn’t hold back as they continued to assert their dominance over Licking County. Blake Holub began the inning with a line drive to right, before Nadeau followed suit to give the Copperheads their tenth hit on the night.

Pyles continued to pound the strike zone through the fourth inning, but the Settlers managed to get on the board when Sam Wilson scored after a RBI single from Nathan Dill. Both Eddie Pena and Turner Hill would score in the following inning to give the Settlers three runs to the Copperheads’ 10.

Crim got on base once again in the bottom of the fifth after hitting a double to left. Southern Ohio then loaded the bases, which allowed Crim to score and give them an eight-run advantage.

After five innings, Coach Phil Butler called in Chris Mutter to relieve for Pyles in the top of the sixth inning. Pyles finished his performance with five strikeouts through five innings and only gave up two earned runs. The Settlers scored two more runs off Mutter in the same inning to make it an 11-5 ball game.

The game remained scoreless after the sixth, but the Copperheads ended up on top by six runs. Willie Poe came in to close for Southern Ohio in the ninth and retired the last three batters.

The Copperheads aim to go undefeated against the Settlers as they match up against each other once again at Licking County. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.