By Jack Veltri
Correspondent
It was never meant to be easy. A three-game series between two teams fighting for higher playoff seeding and a Region title was bound to go wire-to-wire.
After winning game one with ease, Catawba Ridge baseball had to work much harder for a chance at winning game two. In the end, the Copperheads fought from behind only to lose 3-2 at home to the Indian Land Warriors Wednesday night.
“It’s just a hard-fought game,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Stas Swerdzewski. “I think both teams played really well. I think that’s one of those games where you hate to see either team lose.”
It was a much different night at the plate for the Copperheads after scoring 10 runs on Monday. Through four innings, they only squeaked out two hits off Warriors left-hander Logan Sulli. Walks seemed to be their only hope of putting some runs across in the early going. But despite walking three times, the offense didn’t get the big hit and left five runners in scoring position.
Things slowly changed once Sulli faced Catawba Ridge’s lineup the third time through. After putting two runners aboard in the fifth, Jake McCoy laid down a bunt to move both in scoring position for Jackson Mullen. And he delivered, driving in those runners with a two-run single to tie the game.
“We are a better club offensively,” Swerdzewski said. “For us to score two runs is not a good night for us.”
Although McCoy, who also started on the mound for the Copperheads, didn’t have his best stuff, he did give them a chance to win. After serving up two runs on two hits in the first, he settled in nicely and didn’t allow another run.
From the second inning on, McCoy didn’t scatter another hit or run. He’d finish his night with 10 strikeouts in five innings of work.
“He really battled out there,” Swerdzewski said. “When Jake McCoy’s on, he’s as good a pitcher as you’ll see in the state. He just didn’t have his best stuff tonight and was struggling with command a little bit. But we know that he’s better than that and we know that moving forward he’s going to be one of our guys.”
After reliever Jacob Iverson pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, Swerdzewski turned to Caden Glauber to pitch the seventh. He’d strike out the first batter before serving up back-to-back singles. Catawba Ridge chose to intentionally walk Issac Pena, who crushed an RBI double in the first, and it didn’t pay off. Glauber struggled to find the strike zone and walked in a run on four straight balls.
But the Copperheads didn’t go down without a fight. They’d make things interesting in the seventh, putting the winning run in scoring position with two outs. However, Indian Land would get out of trouble by retiring the final batter on a groundout to second base.
Catawba Ridge only had six hits in the game as Mullen led the way with two hits and two RBIs.
“I don’t think you can pinpoint that particular spot and say we lost because of that,” Swerdzewski said. “It’s a seven-inning game, and we had opportunities throughout the game and didn’t capitalize.”
Losing has been a rarity for the Copperheads this season, especially in region play. The loss moves them to 15-4 overall and 10-1 in Region 3-4A.
But much like any win, there were positives that Swerdzewski could take away from a game like this.
“Our goal is to win the region and in order to do that we need to win games like this,” Swerdzewski said. “Moving forward to the playoffs, you just love being in close ballgames when pressure is on because that’s probably how it’s going to be when it really matters in the playoffs.”
The series will shift back to Indian Land for a pivotal game three at 7 p.m. Thursday night. It’s a game that will propel the series winner into a better position to win the region title.
“Everybody knows what the situation is in the region,” Swerdzewski said. “It’s us and Indian Land battling it out for the top spot. This just means that tomorrow’s game is that much more important. We would’ve liked to go in having clinched the series, but it didn’t work out. So, tomorrow’s going to be a lot of fun because it’s going to be a pressure-type situation. That’s what you play for. You’ve got to love it.”
