After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Hickory, Oscar Smith was happy to have turned things around on Thursday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Deep Creek Hornets a 10-0 shutout. That looming 10-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Tigers yet this season.
Braden Copeland and Dominick Zak made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Copeland tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Zak struck out eight batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits (and not a single walk). He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Oscar Smith is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-6 otherwise. At the plate, Copeland went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double, while Zak got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave Copeland a new career-high.
Sean Brown
| 04/24/25 vs Deep Creek | 2 |
| 04/15/25 vs Pine Forest | 1 |
| 04/02/25 vs Catholic | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs Grassfield | 1 |
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Sean Brown, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high. Another was Olvaun Collins, who earned three runs and one stolen base.
Oscar Smith pushed their record up to 6-6 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Deep Creek, they are on a nine-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-12.
We've got plenty of inter-region action coming up soon. Oscar Smith is set to challenge their familiar foe Nansemond River at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Deep Creek will take on rival Lakeland at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
