FCBL finals series recap Games 1-3
Carmichaels鈥� Gavin Pratt releases a pitch against M&R Transit during Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League finals at Hutchinson Field Thursday night. Pratt pitched a four-hit shutout in the Copperheads鈥� 10-0, six-inning victory. (Photos by Rob Burchianti)
Carmichaels catcher Marco Gambino (right) congratulates Gavin Pratt after the righthander completed a four-hit shutout against M&R Transit in Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League finals at Hutchinson Field Thursday night.
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels鈥� Nick Ricco follows through on a single to left-center field in the third inning during Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League finals against M&R Transit at Hutchinson Field Thursday night. Ricco had two hits in the Copperheads鈥� 10-0 win.
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause (left) has a talk with Nick Pegg with two outs in the top of the sixth inning during Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League finals against M&R Transit at Hutchinson Field Thursday night. Pegg went on to reach on an infield hit which started a five-run rally as the Copperheads won, 10-0.
Carmichaels' Noah Mildren sends a run-scoring single into right field聽during Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League finals against M&R Transit at Hutchinson Field聽Thursday night.
Carmichaels' Gavin Pratt goes into his windup聽during Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League finals against M&R Transit at Hutchinson Field聽Thursday night. Pratt pitched a four-hit shutout in the Copperheads' 10-0, six-inning victory.
Following is a recap of the first three games of the 2023 Fayette County Baseball League finals series between the Carmichaels Copperheads and M&R Transit.
Game 1, Carmichaels 10, M&R Transit 0, 6 innings
Dickie Krause has led Carmichaels into the Fayette County Baseball League finals many times over the years and won 14 titles.
Guiding his Copperheads there again this season is something he admitted he relishes after his team blanked defending champion M&R Transit, 10-0 in six innings, at Hutchinson Field on July 27, to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
鈥淚 have to admit, it is a little extra special because the last time we were here was 2019,鈥� said Krause, whose team claimed the last of a string of four consecutive championships that year. 鈥淚t will always be special to be here. So I was really looking forward to tonight.鈥�
Gavin Pratt threw a four-hit shutout and was 3 for 3 with a walk and an RBI as Carmichaels stunned the top seed on the night M&R Transit received its trophy for winning the regular-season title.
The Copperheads took control in the top of the third inning against M&R Transit starter Jace Cappelini, parlaying just one hit 鈥� the first of two singles by Nick Ricco 鈥� with two walks, a hit batter and three errors to score four runs.
鈥淲e had some uncharacteristic errors in the field from players that don鈥檛 usually make them,鈥� M&R Transit manager Buddy Marra said. 鈥淭heir pitcher was great. He had our number tonight. Errors don鈥檛 really make a difference when you can鈥檛 score a run.鈥�
Pratt allowed just one walk with six strikeouts.
M&R Transit mounted its only serious threat in the first inning. Santino Marra drew a lead-off walk and Nate Zimcosky hit into a force out, stole second and took third one out later when Andino Vechiolla鈥檚 grounder hit the first base bag and resulted in an infield hit. Pratt got Chad Petrush on an inning-ending fly out.
The only other hits Pratt allowed were singles by Petrush in the fourth, Cappelini in the fifth and Zimcosky in the sixth. The righthander didn鈥檛 allow a runner to reach second after the first inning.
The start of the game was delayed one hour after a short rain storm but waiting around actually had a positive effect on the Copperheads, according to Pratt.
鈥淚t gave us a chance to get here early and get everybody communicating,鈥� Pratt said. 鈥淓verybody felt good, spirits were good. Everything just worked today. The bats seemed to come together and my pitches were working. I was hitting spots. It was a great team win for Game 1.
鈥淢y curveball felt good. I was also throwing a lot of two seams (fastballs). I was just mainly working with those two pitches, running away and running in. That seemed to work a lot with a lot of their hitters.鈥�
The complete game was welcomed by Krause whose team was forced to go the full three games in defeating Oakland in the semifinals while M&R Transit swept Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds.
鈥淔antastic effort,鈥� Krause said of Pratt. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little beat up from a pitching standpoint. We went the extra game and expended a lot of pitching in a couple of those games. This was kind of the formula we needed, for Gavin to be lights out and for us to hit for him.
鈥淗e was in command the whole game. He had great stuff. He鈥檚 just an athletic kid who knows how to play the game.鈥�
Cappelini allowed five runs on three hits but only one run was earned. He walked three, hit one batter and struck out one in taking the loss.
鈥淚 felt pretty confident,鈥� Buddy Marra said. 鈥淐appelini pitched a good game Sunday against Mitch鈥檚 and we didn鈥檛 run his pitch count up that much so he was fresh.鈥�
Kaleb Scott came on to pitch in the fifth and was rocked for five runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings.
鈥淜aleb has been out about a month with an injury and we put him in just to see where he was at,鈥� Marra said. 鈥淗e had one good inning but then after that they bumped their lead up and then at that point we didn鈥檛 want to use another pitcher.鈥�
Santino Marra relieved with two outs in the top of the sixth and threw one pitch to end the frame.
Nick Pegg, after a quick conference with Krause, started the rally with a two-out infield hit. Jim Sadler walked and then Pratt, Noah Mildren and Joe Chambers followed with RBI singles. After Drake Long walked, Marco Gambino hit a two-run double to cap the scoring.
Mildren had two hits and Hunter Hamilton and Sadler each scored twice.
Krause made sure his team knew after the game that the series was far from over.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e learned over the years is this is just one game out of five,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to come ready and prepared tomorrow because that鈥檚 what good teams do, they bounce back. We鈥檝e got to match their intensity.鈥�
Marra expected a tough series.
鈥淚 knew we weren鈥檛 going to sweep Carmichaels,鈥� Marra said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a good team. Our kids know how bad this feels so now move on and play hard because you don鈥檛 want to feel that way again.鈥�
Game 2, M&R Transit 7, Carmichaels 0
Justin Brestensky was ready for the task at hand last Friday evening.
M&R Transit had fallen in Game 1 of the Fayette County Baseball League best-of-five finals at home to Carmichaels and manager Buddy Marra called on the lefthander to make sure the regular-season champions didn鈥檛 fall into a 2-0 deficit.
鈥淚 knew my team needed me today and I had to bring it because if we lost this one it wouldn鈥檛 be looking good for us,鈥� Brestensky said. 鈥淭he whole way here I was laser-focused. I didn鈥檛 say a word in the car. I was ready to come in and throw strikes.鈥�
Brestensky delivered and so did M&R Transit鈥檚 offense early on in a 7-0 win at Carmichaels to even the series at 1-1.
After being blanked by Gavin Pratt in a 10-0, six-inning, series-opening loss, Santino Marra gave M&R Transit a quick 1-0 lead in Game 2 by drilling a solo home run to spark a five-run first inning.
鈥淚t felt good after being shut out to get a run on the board right off the bat and then we got four more,鈥� Buddy Marra said. 鈥淜nowing that we had Brestensky today I knew we were going to be good.鈥�
Brestensky welcomed the early cushion.
鈥淭hat just takes a lot of stress off your back,鈥� said Brestensky, who combined with Santino Marra on a two-hitter. 鈥淣ow you know if you give up a run or two it鈥檚 not the end of the world, you鈥檙e still good.
鈥淛ust being able to go out there and pitch and know my guys have got my back makes it easier to get into your groove and cruise.鈥�
Brestensky was in command in all six innings he pitched, allowing just four baserunners with three walks and a third-inning single by Reed Long while striking out seven.
鈥淛ustin was approaching 100 pitches which is why we took him out,鈥� Buddy Marra said. 鈥淚f he had a no-hitter we might have let him go that last inning.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a bull. He doesn鈥檛 tire out too easily and with his mental state he鈥檚 the guy you want out there. He鈥檚 confident and sure of himself. When he gets fired up while he pitches it fires the rest of the team up.鈥�
The only other hit the Copperheads managed was a single by Noah Mildren off Santino Marra who tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Marra鈥檚 one-out homer off Carmichaels starting and losing pitcher Garrett Woodburn seemed to jumpstart M&R Transit鈥檚 hitting attack.
Andino Vecchiolla followed with a walk, went to third when Nate Zimcosky smashed a double off the left field fence and scored on a wild pitch. After Chad Petrush walked, Jace Cappelini hit a run-scoring single to center and both runners moved up on the throw to third base.
Wyatt Lefley鈥檚 RBI ground out and Sevi Vecchiolla鈥檚 run-scoring single to left made it 5-0 and prompted Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause to pull Woodburn for Anthony Romero who got out of the inning without any further damage.
Krause wasn鈥檛 shocked by the sudden turn of events from Game 1.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 baseball,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淥ne day you win 10-0 and the next day you lose 7-0.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a whole lot that鈥檚 surprised me so far to be honest. Nobody was sweeping anybody in this series. Last night we played a really great game and shut them down. Today pitching got away from us early, we didn鈥檛 hit the ball well. They got a great effort from their pitcher and won the baseball game.鈥�
Krause did see some positives in the loss.
鈥淓ven though it was a bad night for us there are still a few things I鈥檓 going to take out of this that were pretty healthy,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淭he back end of our bullpen, which hasn鈥檛 had a lot of chances, held them to two runs over six innings and if we don鈥檛 have a wicked hop over our second baseman鈥檚 head it was one.鈥�
Romero gave up one run in 2 1/3 innings, Nick Pegg tossed a scoreless frame and Ryan Opfer allowed one run in three innings for the Copperheads.
M&R Transit tacked on insurance runs on RBI singles by Zimcosky in the fourth and Brestensky in the seventh. Brestensky helped his own cause by going 2 for 2 with a pair of walks. Santino Marra and Zimcosky also had two hits apiece.
Krause also lauded catcher Marco Gambino who threw out one runner trying to advance to second and picked off runners at third and first.
鈥淢arco plays for West Liberty and does a great job on the running game,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 real aggressive defensively.鈥�
Marra stressed the importance of evening the series.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to go into Sunday down 2-0,鈥� Buddy Marra said. 鈥淭hen you鈥檙e not playing your game because you鈥檙e nervous knowing if you lose you go home. So now it鈥檚 a best-of-three from here and we feel really good. We don鈥檛 know how much pitching they have left.鈥�
Game 3, M&R Transit 7, Carmichaels 5
The first two games of the Fayette County Baseball League championship series had the visiting team cruising to a big shutout victory.
The trend was snapped in Sunday鈥檚 Game 3 with M&R Transit holding on for a 7-5 victory against visiting Carmichaels.
鈥淧ersonally, when you play a game like this, or coach a game like this, or watch a game like this, they鈥檙e great games,鈥� said M&R Transit manager Buddy Marra, adding, 鈥淎nd, it鈥檚 a lot funner if you win.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e never an easy team to play.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the champs, they鈥檙e the top seeds, all the accolades,鈥� said Carmichaels manager Krause.
After an inning-ending double play in the top of the first inning, M&R Transit jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the inning.
Ty Sankovich opened with a single and Santino Marra walked. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch.
Sankovich scored on Andino Vecchiolla鈥檚 ground out. Marra moved to third on a throwing error after third baseman Noah Mildren made a great stop on a sharp grounder hit by Nate Zimcosky.
Zimcosky stole second and Chad Petrush walked to load the bases. Jace Cappellini dumped a single into short right field to score Marra and Wyatt Lepley hit a sacrifice fly for the third run.
The home team鈥檚 lead grew to 4-0 in the second inning after Brestensky started with a single and Sankovich walked. Sankovich was forced at second on Marra鈥檚 grounder.
Andino Vecchiolla walked to load the bases.
Nate Pegg came on to face Zimcosky, but had a rough start when his pitch nicked Zimcosky for an RBI.
Back-to-back infield fly outs stranded the bases loaded.
The Copperheads started to claw their way back into the game by taking advantage of a throwing error on Pegg鈥檚 swinging bunt with one out in the third inning. Jim Sadler came through with a two-out, run-scoring single.
However, M&R Transit was able to get the run back in the bottom of the inning.
Wyatt Lepley legged out an infield single to start the inning. Sevi Vecchiolla bunted and was able to run through the tag, jarring the ball loose for runners at first and third.
Brestensky鈥檚 fly ball to right field wasn鈥檛 deep enough to score Lepley, but Sankovich鈥檚 ground out to short stop was able to plate the run.
M&R Transit鈥檚 lead grew to 6-1 in the fourth inning when Zimcosky launched a long home run over the left field fence.
Pegg settled in after the Zimcosky home run by retiring the next seven batters in a row.
Andino Vecchiolla and Zimcosky singled with two outs, and Vecchiolla scored when the throw to first in a pickoff attempt on Zimcosky skipped into right field.
Vecchiolla gave way to Caleb Scott in the top of the fourth inning and Scott managed to strand Joe Chambers at second after he doubled to left field with one out.
The fifth inning didn鈥檛 go as smooth for Scott.
JW Kayla, batting for an injured Luke Camden, and Liam Lohr walked to start the inning. Pegg鈥檚 single loaded the bases.
Anthony Romero drove in a pair of runs with a single off Jace Cappellini, who came on in relief after Pegg鈥檚 single, and Pegg scored when the throw skipped into the dugout.
Cappellini managed to retire the next two batters, but Carmichaels kept the inning alive when Mildren walked. Chambers came through with a run-scoring single to cut the deficit to 6-5.
Santino Marra came on in relief in the top of the sixth inning. He allowed Liam Lohr鈥檚 two-out single in the sixth inning and Romero鈥檚 inning-opening single in the seventh inning, but both runners were stranded to pick up the save.
Pegg pitched the final 4.2 innings in relief of Drake Long.
鈥淟ook what my backside pitching has done for us the last couple games. The starting pitching hasn鈥檛 really gotten us out of the second or third inning,鈥� said Krause. 鈥淭he guys coming out of the pen have been great. They鈥檝e kept us in it.鈥�