The Southern Ohio Copperheads are proud to announce that 9 players have been named to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game. These players were selected based on their outstanding performance throughout the season. 

These players ranked among the best of the best in the league at their respective positions. The 9 players that were selected are; Alex Ungar (OF), Joey Canzoni (IF), Trenton Neuer (OF), Matthew Blanchard (P), Clay Clatterbaugh (P), Ben Clark (C), Hunter Strong (C), Gavyn Smith (IF), and Alejandro Covas (OF).

Having 9 players that are selected to the All-Star Game is unprecedented for the Copperheads. Not only have these players exceeded expectations on the field but they have also knocked it out of the park in the community by attending 16 community events that the team has hosted since the players moved in on June 1st. 

Alex Ungar has been a fan favorite of the team since he hit his back to back home runs on opening weekend. A combination of him connecting with fans and his now infamous walk up song “Sweet Escape”, has helped him make a name for himself within the Athens community. This season the Junior from Sacred Heart University has been able to rack up 35 hits with 16 RBIs and 4 HRs. This has led him to have the best batting average on the team with a .368. 

Joey Canzoni joined the team a few games into the season and made his Copperheads debut on opening weekend where he recorded 1 hit on 4 at bats with 1 RBI. Since then Canzoni has recorded 1 HR, 10 RBIs, and 21 hits. He has been to multiple community events where he has had a chance to connect with the community and meet many people from the Athens area. 

Matthew Blanchard, a hometown guy from Redsville, OH, has seen how the Copperheads operate since he was a kid. Being from the area he has been the most active in community events, and has been connecting with the fans since he stepped foot in Bob Wren for opening night. Blanchard has been dominant for the Copperheads. He has recorded an ERA of 4.88 while recording 14 strikeouts in 27.5 innings. He has been able to keep a record of 3-0 while pitching. 

Trenton Neuer, a 2 time Copperhead from Ohio University became a fan favorite ever since he joined the team 2 years ago. His impressive speed allows him to reach and track down pop flys and deep drives in the outfield with ease. He has done a great job batting this season as well. Neuer has a batting average of .253 with 21 hits and 8 RBIs. He has been able to rack in a total of 16 runs. He has been active with the fans especially during games. He is always talking to kids that sit on top of the dugout and making connections with them.
 

Clay Clatterbaugh, a Junior pitcher from Radford University has had a great season as a closer for the Copperheads. In his 7 games played he has only allowed 9 hits and 4 runs. To go along with this he had 9 total strikeouts and a team leading ERA of 3.60. Clatterbaugh has been a clutch closer for the team and has helped the team win multiple games by getting in his bag of different pitches. 

Oakland University catcher, Ben Clark, has had a successful season behind home plate for the Copperheads. He has been able to make great plays to allow the team to get outs and win games by getting multiple throw downs. He has cheetah-like reflexes when there's a wild pitch to secure the ball and make sure no one can steal.He has had a notable season on the batting side of the ball as well. He is currently averaging a .286 batting average. He has had 28 hits with 14 RBIs and 17 total runs. 

Hunter Strong is the second catcher for the Copperheads selected to the game. He has been invested in building connections with fans all summer. During the Ohio Health hitting and pitching clinic, he made sure to help the kids that wanted to be catchers to help improve their skills. Along with being great in the community Strong has put on a great performance batting. He has a .253 batting average, with 22 hits, 18 RBIs, 3 home runs, and 14 total runs scored.

Gavyn Smith who is a third base and first baseman from University of Findlay had a season Smith has had a successful season batting being able to rack in 10 RBIs on 13 hits and a total of 14 runs scored. He has been able to bring in 6 double hits during the year. He had one of the most memorable plays during Star Wars night in which he managed to hit a walk-off single to win the game for the Copperheads. The team celebrated his walk-off by rushing the outfield and spraying water everywhere as the Copperheads fans cheered them on. 

Alejandro Covas was the final selection to the All Star Game for the Copperheads. Covas is a outfielder from Kent State. Covas joined the team a few weeks into the season and made an immediate impact with his first at bat being a triple. He has recorded 11 hits and 7 RBIs as well as 8 total runs scored. 

By Josh Beach

The Southern Ohio Copperheads is a community-owned, student-operated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Established in 2002, the Copperheads is a summer collegiate wooden bat baseball team that competes in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and plays its home games at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, OH. The Copperheads organization strives to provide the most affordable means of family-friendly outdoor entertainment in southeast OH. Tickets to the Copperheads games are $5 and children under the age of 5 receive free admission. Staffed by Ohio University students, the Southern Ohio Copperheads also serve as a “learning lab” for student interns looking to work in the sport and entertainment industry.