FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Redbirds Win on Road, Lead SCBL Championship Series 1-0

Huntersville, NC (July 23, 2010) Clutch hitting prevailed in the eighth inning for the Asheville Redbirds last night as they defeated the Lake Norman Copperheads 9-8 here in Game 1 of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League Championship Series.

After building a 7-2 lead through five, Asheville starter Adam Sigmon (Taylorsville, NC) ran into trouble and left the game after allowing a total of four runs on 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings.  Copperhead momentum chased reliever Klint Davis (Franklin, NC) without retiring a batter, amounting to a five-run inning to tie the game 7-7.  They added another in the seventh off Joseph Timp (Bristol, VA) to grab their first and only lead, as the Redbirds rallied against Patrick Sherrill (Huntersville, NC) in the eighth.

Sherrill, who struck out four batters while only allowing a walk and no hits, fell victim to errors and left the game with runners aboard and no outs for Tanner Merritt (Greenville, NC).  Like Sherrill, Merritt struck out three and only allowed one hit, but that one hit did the job as both of Sherrill’s runners scored to give Asheville the 9-8 lead.  Tommy Crowder (Arden, NC) held things together for the Redbirds and won out of the bullpen after 2 1-3 innings, allowing a hit and a walk with a strikeout.

Hits were plenty, as Asheville was 5-20 with runners in scoring position while stranding 15 while Lake Norman went 6-15 in scoring opportunities with 14 left on base.  Errors, however, also loomed large, as the Copperheads committed four to the Redbirds’ three.

 Nine of the original Asheville lineup of ten hit safely in the game, with Tommy Reed (Brandon, FL) driving in three runs in the second inning.  Mike Vaughn (Cornelius, NC) finished 2-3 with two RBIs, while Cody Buch (Charlotte, NC) was 2-5 with a double and a run scored.  Chris Allen (Murphy, NC), Zach Hutton (Bennington, NH) and Dalton Hardee (Boone, NC) all recorded two-hit nights and scored two runs each, while Allen also drove in one.

Four Copperheads hit safely three times, with Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, NC) going 3-5 with a triple, double, two runs scored and an RBI sacrifice fly in the lead-off spot.  Wes Dozier (Cornelius, NC), Dan Haverstick (Marlton, NJ) and D.J. Jarrad (Portage, MI) also finished 3-5.  Dozier and Jarrad both doubled and scored once.  Mark Heil (Clayton, MO) drove in a run in a 2-5 performance, while Ryan Stetson (Charlotte, NC) was 1-3 with a triple, sacrifice fly, two walks and three total RBIs.  Tyler Horan (Middleboro, MA) finished 1-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Leading the series 1-0, Asheville has a chance to win the Jeffers Cup at home tonight as Game 2 happens at T.C. Roberson High School at 7 PM.

Established in 1999, Southern Collegiate Baseball League adopted two divisions of four teams and the new divisional playoff format this season after adding its newest member, the Statesville Owls.  Stretching from northeast Tennessee through the Piedmont of North Carolina and into the Upstate of South Carolina, the league attracts players and coaches from NCAA Division I and II, NJCAA and NAIA schools.  In 2010, players represented 28 states, Canada and the Dominican Republic.  A member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB), Southern Collegiate Baseball League and its members are officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball.

League Championship Game 2

Friday, July 23rd

7 PM – First Pitch  

Redbirds Home Field

T. C. Roberson High School

Asheville, North Carolina