The Copley Indians will venture away from home to face off against the University School Preppers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Copley hadn't beaten Tallmadge on the road since April 10, 2017 but that history sure didn't bother them on Thursday. The Indians were the clear victors by a 17-1 margin over the Blue Devils. The contest marked the Indians' most dominant victory of the season so far.
AZ Patterson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Patterson was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Jake Stitsinger was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and two doubles. Another player making a difference was Brody Petry, who went 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Copley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .568. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, University School came tearing into Wednesday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.4 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 7-1 win. The Preppers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matchups by six runs or more this season.
University School also got a great performance from Slater Schoaf as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Schoaf has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Tucker Greer, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.
Copley is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 6-8 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.4 runs on average over those games. As for University School, their record is now 14-2.
