While the Southern Ohio Copperheads Community night wasn’t necessarily conventional, it was still a success.

The night of June 24th started off great with 1,955 Copperhead fans filling the seats of Bob Wren Stadium. This amount of fans smashed the program's previous record of 1,400 fans which was on opening night of this season. There were sponsors such as Ohio University Credit Union (OUCU) handing out free things to fans, The Joe Burrow Foundation hosting a silent auction for various items, as well as the team celebrating one of our biggest fans, Ethel’s 100th birthday. 

Everything started off smoothly with the first pitches being thrown and everyone getting into the game and cheering. This was until around the 2nd inning of the game where a weather storm put the night on halt. The team tried to wait out the storm but the teams came to the conclusion to cancel the game. Now this didn’t let the Copperheads staff give up on giving the fans a great Community Night. They came up with the idea of hosting a “Community Party” sponsored by OUCU on June 25th instead. 

The Community Party was a success with around 400 fans attending the event. All of the events and games from the day before were in attendance as well as live music by Chris Michael and the Andrews. 

Sadie Rudduck, who is the team's Assistant General Manager said, “It was unfortunate that the community night presented by OUCU Financial was canceled due to the weather but it provided a way for the Copperheads to end on a positive note. The community party was extremely special, it was the true definition of what it means to be community owned. Fireworks and all it was an amazing way to end the season and honor both the community and all the hard work the Copperheads staff has put into the organization!” 

Director of Business Analytics, Jimmy Schwinne stated, “Fans had the opportunity to test out our bumper balls which have been used throughout the games as well as yard games typically featured at our kids zone, and a wiffle ball game all on the field.” 

Chris Wright, who is the Director of Community Outreach has been in charge of setting up community events the entire season and said, “Being able to have one last event for the Community was great. The staff worked so hard to make it as fun as possible and I definitely think they did a great job. None of this would have been possible without the fans and we can’t thank them enough.” 

“The opportunity to end the season focused on the community instead of baseball was great for the organization.” Schwinne said, “Hosting around 400 community members with the opportunity to play games and listen to live music created a fun environment in the ballpark.”

Director of Entertainment and Sponsorship Activation, Kali Osborne commented, “The best part about community night was the opportunity to connect with the fans as one last hoorah for the summer.” 

Community night was certainly a success for the Copperheads and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support from the community. The organization wants to thank the team's fans and sponsors such as OUCU Financial for making the event possible. 

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.