Coppinger Tourney Schedule

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Search April 12, 2010

 

Coppinger baseball tourney begins Friday

Staff report

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD — The annual Allen D. Coppinger Jr. Invitational Baseball Tournament gets underway on Friday at Bowen Field in Bluefield with the Bluefield Beavers taking on Galax at 6 p.m. Seven games will be played this Saturday in three ballparks.

 

The format now features 16 teams in a single-elimination affair that will end on Championship Saturday, April 24.

 

*****

 

Coppinger Invitational Schedule

 

 

 

First Round

 

Friday, April 16 at Bowen Field

Galax 11 Bluefield 0

 

Saturday, April 17 at Bowen Field

Chilhowie 19 Mount View 2

Nicholas County 4 Summers County 2

Oak Hill 18 Graham 7

 

Saturday, April 17 at Lou Peery Field, Tazewell

Richlands 12 PikeView 2

Tazewell 31 Liberty (Raleigh) 0

 

Saturday, April 17 at Hunnicutt Field, Princeton

James Monroe 5 Greenbrier West 0

Princeton 8 George Wythe 3

 

———

 

Second Round

 

Monday, April 19, at Bowen Field

Galax 17 Oak Hill 14

 

Tuesday, April 20, at Bowen Field

Nicholas Co. 10 Chilhowie 3

 

Wednesday, April 21, at Bowen Field

Richlands 4 James Monroe 2

 

Thursday, April 22, at Bowen Field

Princeton 5 Tazewell 2 (Princeton forfeits due to use of ineligible player.)

 

Friday, April 23

Makeup day in case of rain

 

———

 

Semifinals

 

Saturday, April 24, at Bowen Field

Tazewell 18 Galax 13

Richlands 2 Nicholas Co. 1

 

———

 

Championship

 

Saturday, April 24, at Bowen Field

Tazewell 10 Richlands 6

 

*****

 

Life has many choices---eternity two

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http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x563621645/Wasilewski-ready-for-Coppinger

 

 

Life has many choices---eternity two

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http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1687714036/Bradley-Strong-set-for-Coppinger-chance

 

 

Life has many choices---eternity two

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http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1612541047/Tide-rolls-on

 

Tide rolls on

 

Galax tops Beavers in Coppinger

 

By TOM BONE Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD — Some “new blood” infused into the prestigious Coppinger tournament will continue coursing into the second round, while a team of tourney “blue-bloods” had only a five-inning stay.

 

The Galax Maroon Tide enjoyed an 11-0 tourney debut over Bluefield on Friday evening in the first game of the 37th annual Allen D. Coppinger Jr. Invitational Tournament at a windy but sunny Bowen Field.

 

Galax (8-2) junior Terrance Mazon tossed a three-hitter and struck out six in the game, shortened by the 10-run rule.

 

Bluefield (3-7) senior Marcus Constantino was 2-for-3 to lead the Beavers’ offense.

 

Galax coach Ronald Mankins said, “The kids are excited about playing up here, and playing somewhere different. They came out hitting the ground running, so to speak, today.”

 

That certainly helped Mazon enjoy early run support.

 

On the sixth pitch of the contest, the Tide took a 2-0 lead. Travis Cockerham, a sophomore, hammered his first pitch from Bluefield’s Matt Keczan over left field, where the ball bounced on top of the wall and on to daylight for a two-run homer.

 

Mankins said, “He’s not a big guy, but he waits back, and he drives the ball well. I told him in the huddle after the game that that really got us started off on the right foot. Everybody fed off of that.”

 

Five more runs scored in the second, punctuated by a two-RBI single by Eddie Hanks. An outfield error on the play let another run home.

 

Bluefield coach Justin Gilbert said that in those two frames, “They earned just about every run they had. ... When another team’s just hitting the ball where you’re not, you just have to tip your hat to that.”

 

After that inning, Keczan held Galax hitless in the third and fourth.

 

“Matt Keczan settled in after that,” Gilbert said. “For the first two innings, I didn’t think he threw bad. It was just a matter of, what he was throwing, they were hitting.

 

“It wasn’t really that we played bad the first two innings. Galax just did what they were supposed to.”

 

Bluefield’s lack of run production was magnified as the innings started adding up.

 

Gilbert said that in the middle of the game, “We were still confident. We still wanted it. But it was tough ... not to back ourselves up at the plate. ... We just hit the ball right at ’em tonight. We put the ball in play; we just hit it to them.”

 

The final inning began with Keczan issuing three walks and one strikeout. All three base-runners scored, starting with an RBI single from No. 9 batter Shane Cummings, one of two Tide seniors.

 

Jacob Woodel brought two more home with a single to center, and Hanks got the final run across on his groundout before Keczan struck out Cockerham.

 

Mazon said about his offense, “I couldn’t have done it without my team.”

 

Gilbert said, “You’ve got to tip your hats to them. Anybody that travels and hour-and-a-half, and gets here and just comes straight out and hits the ball the way they did, I’ve got to compliment them.”

 

Mankins, in his fourth year in charge at Galax, said he has often told his team, “We don’t have to do anything special — just do fundamental baseball stuff. Just throw strikes, don’t make errors and put the ball in play.

 

“We’re doing those fundamental things this year, and it’s paying off.”

 

He noted, “We’ve got a good group of young kids, only two seniors.”

 

Mazon gave up one base on balls, and hit one batter in his 94-pitch outing. Only one of the Beavers’ eight base-runners reached third base — Andrew Siegel, in the fifth.

 

Mankins said, “Terrance did a very good job. (He was) getting a little tired there at the end, but (Bluefield) had some good hitters that battled really good and made him hit his spots.

 

“But he did a very good job of working ahead on batters today and making them put his pitches in play.”

 

The coach said, “This is only the second game he’s started. He had a little bit of trouble with grades, and we just (invoked) a self-imposed rule and wouldn’t let him play for three weeks. So this is the first game he’s started since the first week of the season.”

 

Mazon said, “I’ve just been waiting on the chance (for the coaches) to give it to me again.”

 

Mazon said he was throwing strikes “for most of the game.” Toward the end, he said, “they kind of started catching up to it, but I just kept throwing strikes.”

 

Gilbert said, “On the high school level, if you’ve got three pitches that you can play around with, you’re going to be successful. And he was tonight.

 

“The hits we got, we battled through to get those hits. Even the guys said, ‘He kept us off-balance.’ That was a big thing for him tonight.”

 

The Maroon Tide earned a spot in the second round of the Coppinger, at 6 p.m. Monday at Bowen Field against the winner of today’s game between Graham and Oak Hill.

 

Bluefield will visit Princeton on Wednesday afternoon, pairing two young teams striving to learn.

 

“We’re going through a tough stretch right now,” Gilbert said. “We’re young in spots. It’s tough because, the maturation process has to be fast at times. Sometimes, we’ve just got to grow up in certain spots.

 

“If we have to experience a little bit of failure in the beginning of the year, I think we’ll be fine (if we) mature toward the playoffs.”

 

Both teams, he said, “have some young kids, and some good senior leaders, but we only have a few. And they’re all working hard. ... As long as they’re working hard, I promise that we’ll be better. We’ve just got to get over this bump in the road right now.”

 

— Contact Tom Bone at

tbone@bdtonline.com

 

At Bowen Field

Galax (8-2)..........250 04 — 11 9 2

Bluefield (3-7).....000 00 — 0 3 3

Terrance Mazon and Jacob Woodel. Matt Keczan and Brad Fox. WP-Mazon. LP-Keczan. HR-Cockerham, 1st, 1 on. Time-1:35.

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http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993503910/Dransfield-pitches-Mavericks-past-Cavaliers

 

Dransfield pitches Mavericks past Cavaliers

 

By JED LOCKETT Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — Ian Drans-field threw a seven-inning complete game and gave up just three hits, leading James Monroe to a 5-0 win over Greenbrier West in the first round of the Coppinger Tournament at Hunnicutt Field on Saturday afternoon.

 

“They’ve got very good pitching,” said James Monroe head coach John Mustain. “To be able to get some runs off of them there in the middle was very important. But I thought Ian pitched the best game he’s pitched this year. He didn’t have a very high pitch count. He was on his curve ball really well and spotting his fastball.”

 

“We played a good ball game, but they hit the ball really well,” said Greenbrier West assistant coach David Ransom. “Our hits found them, their hits found the holes.”

 

Dransfield’s day was a very good one. He was only in trouble once, in the first inning when he hit a batter to put runners on first and second with two outs. That was as far as any Greenbrier West runner got. He struck out six and walked none, and got the necessary 21 outs in just 75 pitches.

 

When asked how he kept Greenbrier West off balance, Dransfield said, “Changing speed and working the corners. It’s always good to have (run support).”

 

“We don’t really have overpowering pitchers,” Mustain said. “Our two hardest throwers are kids that we’ve been bringing out of the bullpen,” Mustain said. “But Ian and the other kids, they do a good job of locating their fastball and then mixing in that curve ball and throwing it in different locations, not the same spot every time.”

 

"He had a really nice breaking ball that fell for a strike,” Ransom said. “He was throwing his curve ball, his breaking stuff for strikes and ours wasn’t finding that corner.”

 

With Dransfield on the mound, the Mavericks did not need much offense. Catcher Morgan McKinley led the Mavericks with a 2-for-3 game with an RBI in the fifth inning and he led off a three-run fourth with a double to left-center.

 

Jackson Mohler followed with an RBI triple down the right field line, Dransfield had an RBI single down the left field line and Justin Harvey followed with an RBI triple over the center fielder’s head. Together, the hits turned a slim 1-0 lead into a more secure 4-0 lead.

 

“I think early on we were making good contact, but it seemed like everything was right at them,” Mustain said. “Jackson Mohler had a pretty good day at the plate today and I’ve been working with Jackson the past few days about some different things and trying to drive the ball up the middle.”

 

"When our pitcher would get behind in the count, they would sit back and wait for the fastball and just hit it,” Ransom said.

 

Greenbrier West (3-12) hosts Meadow Bridge on Monday. They are a young group still learning their craft — and developing a desire to win.”

 

“I call it want-to. They’ve got to want to win,” Ransom said. “Every game (for us is) close. This game was never unobtainable. But we never broke that ice cube. Of all the games, they’ve been 3-1, 8-6, 9-7. We’ve been right there.”

 

James Monroe (8-2) has a busy schedule next week, hosting Shady Spring on Monday and Woodrow Wilson on Tuesday before their next Coppinger Tournament game on Wednesday against Richlands at Bowen Field and a make-up game at home against Bluefield on Thursday. Before shifting focus to those games, Mustain took a moment to reflect.

 

“I’m so happy just to play and that our kids get to play in a facility like this and Bowen Field,” Mustain said. “It’s great. I told the kids I could build a house on one of these fields and be happy for the rest of my life.”

 

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

 

At Hunnicutt Field

Greenbrier West.............000 000 0 — 0 3 1

James Monroe................001 310 x — 5 9 3

Chase Fitzwater, Josh Callison (5) and Josh Callison, Chase Fitzwater (5). Ian Dransfield and John Mustain. WP — Dransfield. LP — Fitzwater. HR — None.

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http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993503914/Grizzlies-advance-in-Coppinger

 

Grizzlies advance in Coppinger

 

Staff reports Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — The Nicholas County Grizzlies scored all their runs in the fifth inning to overtake the Bobcats 4-2 in a first-round game of the Coppinger Invitational Tournament at Bowen Field in Bluefield on Saturday.

 

Behind the pitching of Tanner Lilly, Summers County took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and led 2-0. Briceson Huffman’s double in the third accounted for both runs. Lilly finished with seven strikeouts.

 

Andrew Clevinger pitched the complete game for the Grizzlies, fanning 11 batters. His leadoff single in the fifth started his team’s five-run rally.

 

Nicholas County advanced to round two of the Coppinger tournament, and will play Chilhowie on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Bowen Field.

 

At Bowen Field

Nicholas County...........................................000 040 0 — 4 4 1

Summers County..........................................002 000 0 — 2 2 2

WP-Andrew Clevinger. LP-Tanner Lilly.

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http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1612542446/Graham-errors-help-Oak-Hill-to-tourney-win

 

Graham errors help Oak Hill to tourney win

 

By TOM BONE Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — The final game in round one of the Coppinger Invitational Tournament had a little bit of everything — except, that is, for solid defense.

 

The Red Devils of Oak Hill took an 18-7 victory at Bowen Field over the Graham G-Men Saturday night, 18-7 in six innings, courtesy of the 10-run rule.

 

Graham (1-5-1) banged out 11 hits but was victimized by 11 errors, while Oak Hill (8-8) committed five errors.

 

DeAndre Leonard recovered from a rough start to strike out eight batters and earn the win for the Red Devils. Though he allowed the 11 hits, he did not walk a batter.

 

Oak Hill began the game with three consecutive triples and scored six runs in the first inning, capitalizing on four errors. But Graham answered with four runs in their half of the inning, in which the Red Devils incurred two miscues and Leonard gave up four hits.

 

The Red Devils capped their scoring by batting around in the sixth and tallying five runs on three hits and three Graham errors.

 

Oak Hill’s Dustin Nuckles and David Schoolcraft were each 3-for-4 in the game with a base on balls.

 

Nuckles, the leadoff batter, scored four runs. Leonard helped his cause with two hits and two runs batted in, scoring three times himself.

 

Sacrifice bunts by Daron Light and Matt Lokant brought home two more runs.

 

Graham’s David Marrs was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. He tripled on a full count with two outs in the fourth to bring Tanner Howell home — one of three scores by Howell.

 

Austin Matthews’ first-inning single delivered two runs batted in.

 

Marrs took the pitching loss. He followed a 34-pitch first inning with a five-pitch second frame, but could not withstand the Red Devils’ attack in the sixth.

 

Oak Hill coach Chris Walls said, “It seemed like it was the first game of the season. Both teams are young. We just made a couple of little bone-head mistakes ... but they bounced back and played hard.”

 

“We’ve been hitting the ball pretty decent,” Walls said. “I’m proud of them. They’re working hard. They hit into a couple of gaps early in the game. Putting the ball in play helps.”

 

Graham coach Matt Dixon said, “Offensively we did a good job. We’ve just got to play better defense.”

 

“Oak Hill’s got a good program,” he said, while keeping faith in his team’s potential. “We could play with these guys if we didn’t make those errors,” he said.

 

Oak Hill will face Galax (Va.) in round two of the Coppinger Tournament at 6 p.m. Monday at Bowen Field.

 

— Contact Tom Bone at

tbone@bdtonline.com

 

At Bowen Field

Oak Hill (8-8)................602 235 — 18 13 5

Graham (1-5-1).............401 101 — 7 11 11

DeAndre Leonard and Jarad Wolfe. David Marrs, Kyle Furrow (6) and Taylor Gearhart. WP-Leonard. LP-Marrs. HR-none.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1612542458/Mount-View-chilled-by-Chilhowie-bats

 

Mount View chilled by Chilhowie bats

 

By BRIAN WOODSON Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — The Chilhowie Warriors were eagerly anticipating the prom on Saturday night. They made sure to go in a good mood.

 

Ashby clubbed three hits and drove in four runs — including a single, double and two RBIs in the opening inning — as Chilhowie chilled Mount View 19-2 in the first round of the Coppinger Invitational on a breezy Saturday afternoon at Bowen Field.

 

“This will make the prom much better rather than going back with a loss,” Ashby said.

 

Chilhowie (5-5) collected 10 runs in the first inning, and finished with 22 hits in the game, continuing what has been a week-long hit-fest for the Hogoheegee District Warriors.

 

“It’s coming around just about the time we needed it to,” Chilhowie head coach Jeff Robinson said. “We’ve had four games this week and we had double digit hits in each game. I think our team batting average rose about 120 points so we’re hitting it right now.”

 

Mount View (5-6) head coach Nick Shaffron noticed. None of the four pitchers he used had much success.

 

“When they hit like that, there is not much you can do, just sit back and throw and do the best you can,” Shaffron said. “They put the bat on the ball today, they had 22 hits.

 

“It’s just one of those days. If you have been in it long enough it’s going to happen. They hit the ball hard, plus they got the tweeners, they got the seeing-eye hits.”

 

Ashby’s two-run double finished off the first inning, which also saw Scott Pennington drive in the first two with a double, and Forrest Haga added a two-run single.

 

“We were just coming up here ready to play,” Ashby said. “We was in a hitting slump and we’re just now starting to come out of it.”

 

Other key first frame hits were RBI doubles by Seth McKinney and Austin Pote and run-scoring singles from Caleb Sheets and Aaron Conley.

 

Needless to say, Ashby and the Warriors enjoyed a frame that featured a couple of misjudged balls, but no errors from the Knights.

 

“It is exciting and it is fun,” said Ashby, who enjoyed the drive to Bluefield.

 

“It’s a good tournament, I think it makes us better in district play. It’s a real challenge for us and pretty much makes us better. It helps us in our league and makes it better for us to defend our district championship.”

 

After 14 batters came to the plate in the first, the Warriors sent nine up tine second, scoring four runs, highlighted by Ashby’s two-run single. Chilhowie added five more over the final three innings.

 

Mount View scored its lone two runs in the third. Maurice Brown and Adam Rhodes, who had the Knights’ only two hits off winning pitcher Adam Powers, scored on an error and a sacrifice fly from Justin Clemins.

 

Powers and Tyler King combined to strike out nine, including the final seven Knights in the game. King pitched the last two frames, fanning all six batters he faced.

 

“They put the bat on the ball,” said Shaffron, whose Knights will host Wyoming East on Monday. “I just told our guys to keep playing hard and doing the best we can with what we’ve got.”

 

Sheets joined Ashby with three hits, while five others added two apiece, just a few hours after the Warriors defeated George Wythe to move into a tie with the Maroons at the top of their district standings.

 

“I think that may have jump-started us, we have really underachieved to this point,” Robinson said. “I hope we are start coming around.

 

“We always have high hopes. We’re just trying to the defend the district championship. This tournament really prepares us for that, that is why I like coming over here.”

 

Chilhowie, which will play Summers County on Tuesday at Bowen Field, reached the finals of the Coppinger last season, falling to Tazewell 11-0.

 

They remember.

 

“We’re ready to play,” Ashby said. “We done good in this tournament last year. We got second, our goal this year is to get first.”

 

While Chilhowie plays on, Mount View is done with the Coppinger for this year, but Shaffron still likes the single-elimination format that replaced the pool play that had been used in recent seasons.

 

“That’s the way it used to be when we first started playing in it, it’s almost like regional time, you go home,” said Shaffron, with a smile. “I like the tournament to be single elimination. Not today I don’t, but overall.”

 

at Bowen Field

Chilhowie.....................(10)41 31 — 19 22 2

Mount View.......................002 00 — 2 2 3

Adam Powers, Tyler King (4) and Aaron Conley. Brandon Towler, Justin Clemins (1), Chris Hardy (2), Ryan Rhodes (4) and Adam Rhodes. W—Powers; L—Clemins. HR—none.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1687715460/No-no

 

No-no

 

Tazewell scores 31 runs to rout Liberty

 

By MIKE DAVIS Bluefield Daily Telegraph

TAZEWELL, Va. — The Bulldogs took the diamond in the second Coppinger Tournament game at Lou Peery Field Saturday evening against Liberty-Raleigh.

 

Tazewell wasted little time in getting their game in gear and sent 17 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. The Bulldogs scored 12 of those batters to put the game on ice early on their way to a 31-0 win.

 

Zak Wasilewski was the winning pitcher for Tazewell with a no-hitter in tact after the game was shortened by the mercy rule in the fifth inning.

 

Wasilewski had 12 strikeouts and walked just one batter in the game and helped his cause at the plate by going 6-for-6 with a five runs scored and three RBIs.

 

“The biggest thing for us today was our pitching,” Tazewell head coach said. “It was stable and we consistently threw strikes and overpowered their hitters and that always makes the defensive effort a lot better.

 

“But our hitting was excellent and it seemed like everyone saw the ball well and that’s all you can ask for.”

 

Tazewell’s first-inning heroics began with a triple by Josh Mitchem, who later scored, followed by seven batters that also plated runs. Taylor Herald singled midway through the pack with the only hit until Chris Peery had an inside the park home run as the eighth batter to face Raiders’ pitcher, Jacob Shea.

 

Also in the first, Ryan Hankins went yard over the right-field fence for a two-run homer as Liberty-Raleigh struggled to stop the hot Bulldog bats. By the end of the opening frame, the Bulldogs had 10 hits including two home runs and two doubles.

 

The second inning was scoreless before Tazewell came to the plate in the third and plated nine more runs, then, added 10 in the fourth, including a three-run homer by Hankins, before the mercy rule stopped the game in the fifth.

 

“Anytime you have a great pitching performance and you hit the ball well,” Peery said. “You’re going to have an outcome like this. Wasilewski was in control and he threw strikes and I think he was very pleased with that effort.”

 

Mitchem had four hits in five times at the plate with a triple and a double, four runs scored and two RBIs. Hankins was 4-for-4 with four runs scored, two home runs and seven RBIs and Mike Wood was 4-for-6 with five runs scored and two doubles.

 

Blake Hash was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs and Chris Peery was 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. Taylor Herald was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

 

The Bulldogs travel to Richlands on Tuesday and play Princeton in the second round of the Coppinger on Thursday.

 

“We have to kept upbeat and on an even keel,” Peery said. “Hopefully, we can get some good pitching again and some timely hits and play defense.

 

“Anytime you don’t play all three phases of the ball game, you’re apt to get beat.”

 

At Lou Peery Field

Liberty-Raleigh........000 00 — 0 0 6

Tazewell..................(12)09 (10)x — 31 31 0

WP - Wasilewski; LP - Shea

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1612542450/Richlands-looks-Strong-in-Coppinger

 

Richlands looks Strong in Coppinger

 

By MIKE DAVIS Bluefield Daily Telegraph

TAZEWELL, Va. — The Blue Tornado opened Saturday play in the 37th annual Allen D. Coppinger tournament at Lou Peery Field against PikeView (5-9) in Tazewell.

 

After looking at the wrong end of a 2-0 score early in the game, Richlands tore loose and cashed in on several Panther mishaps to score 12 unanswered runs bringing the game to an end in the fifth inning, 12-2.

 

Taylor McGhee was the game winner on the mound for the Tornado (3-2) after three innings of work with James Patton coming in to close.

 

“We’re still growing and still trying to get better each and every day,” Richlands head coach Brad Strong said. “We’re young and they’re not growing up fast enough for us. We had a great week of practice with Bradley and Reece (Strong) gone on a church mission trip in Chicago and we just have to get better and get hungry.”

 

“It’s the same thing that’s happened to us all year,” added PikeView head coach Norman Fletcher. “We’ll play three, four or five good innings and be ahead, then, get beat. They (Richlands) had the bases loaded in the third with two outs and we made an error and it opened the floodgates.”

 

Neither team was able to generate a first-inning run although the Panthers stranded a pair of runners and the Blues loaded the bases after two walks and a runner being hit by a pitch.

 

PikeView (5-9) got their aluminum going in the top of the third when Greg Hogan singled aboard and Matt Hatfield brought him with a sharply hit single. Hatfield came home later in the inning putting the Panthers ahead by two.

 

The Blues answered in the south end of the frame when they got to Hatfield, who was pitching for PikeView, with six runs beginning when Taylor McGhee came to the plate following a right-field single by Cody Lockhart and a pair of fielders choice grounder by C.J. Whitt and Michael Horton.

 

McGhee waited on his pitch inside the box and ripped a two-bagger into the deepest part of center field just below the 350-foot marker. The long ball emptied the bases in front of McGhee for a three-run double.

 

McGhee went to third on the same play on a error on the PikeView outfield, then, scored moments later on a passed ball to give the Blues a 4-2 lead.

 

The Panther pitching went awry, as the next three Tornado batters, Jack Vance, Zach Yates and Bradley Strong, drew walks. Vance and Yates scored on a Panther error later in the inning to start a Tornado route with the Panthers looking to put a hold on a 6-2 Richlands lead.

 

However, the Blues made the top of the fourth a short stay in the field and returned to the batters box for a four-run effort in the bottom of the frame. Bradley Strong capped the effort with a two-run home run in the sequence.

 

Two PikeView mishaps in the fifth caused the game stoppage when Cody Lockhart and Michael Horton scored on an error and a passed ball. Lockhart had reached on a single and Horton walked in the other.

 

“Taylor (McGhee) did a good job on the mound and James (Patton) came in and did a good job,” said Brad Strong. “But, we’ve got to keep getting better and hungry if we want to win ball games.”

 

McGhee led the Blues at the plate helping his own cause at 3-for-3 at the plate including a double with three RBIs and two runs scored. Lockhart was 2-for-3 at the plate with a runs scored and Bradley Strong was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.

 

Matt Hatfield was tagged with the loss for the Panthers. He did, however, lead his team in the box with a triple and a run scored.

 

Richlands plays host to Grundy and Tazewell on Monday and Tuesday for back-to-back Southwest District games. PikeView is trying to line up a game with Bluefield after both teams exited the Coppinger brackets after first round losses.

 

The Blues are scheduled to play James Monroe on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Bowen Field for their next Coppinger game.

 

at Lou Peery Field

PikeView...........................002 00 — 2 2 3

Richlands.........................006 42 —12 6 1

WP – McGhee; LP - Hatfield

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993503950/Tigers-advance-in-Coppinger

 

Tigers advance in Coppinger

 

By JED LOCKETT Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — Cameron Mallory threw for six innings, Chris Otey went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Princeton beat George Wythe 8-3 at windswept Hunnicutt Field on Saturday during the first round of the Coppinger Tournament.

 

“We came out, we hit the ball early and got some runs on the board and that’s what we needed,” said Princeton assistant coach Barry Karnes.

 

“Princeton’s a solid team. They came out hitting the ball well,” said George Wythe head coach Jerad Ward. “We made a lot of errors to start off the game. When you have a game of five to six errors and you don’t start hitting until later in the game, things always don’t go your way.”

 

Mallory hurled five strong innings before allowing three runs in the sixth. He ended the game with nine strikeouts to three walks and put the Tigers in a position where they just had to maintain the lead they built.

 

“Corey Quick called good pitches behind the plate,” Mallory said. “He worked the strike zone really good for me and I tried to keep them off balance as much as I could.”

 

“That’s not typical for us,” Ward said. “We had more strikeouts today than in the past four games.”

 

Led by Otey, Princeton’s offense excelled. They scored four runs in the top of the first with the middle of the lineup making the biggest contributions. Colt Karnes had a two-RBI triple, Seth Rose an RBI single and Otey an RBI double in the frame.

 

“The middle of the lineup has been coming through for us and everyone’s starting to hit the ball and we’re starting to put a lot of runs up on teams,” Colt said.

 

But Princeton’s offense was aided by inconsistent defense by the Maroons. Three consecutive third-inning errors loaded the bases — and Otey cleaned them off with a three-RBI double.

 

“I truly feel that errors were the major determining factor,” Ward said. “Now they put the ball in play a lot, but we had some key determining errors that caused big innings.”

 

Steve Owens went 2-for-3 with a triple and Rose also finished 2-for-3 with three runs for the Tigers.

 

Drew White led George Wythe with a 2-for-3 game that included a run.

 

George Wythe (5-3) hosts Northwood on Tuesday.

 

Princeton (6-11) hosts Bluefield on Wednesday before their Coppinger quarterfinal on Thursday against Tazewell.

 

“We’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Karnes said, “practicing and getting ready for them.”

 

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

 

At Hunnicutt Field

Princeton.......................................................403 010 0 — 8 7 1

George Wythe...............................................000 003 0 — 3 4 5

Cameron Mallory, Jon Shoda (7) and Corey Quick. Chris Scott, Tyler Aker (3) and Mitch Castanon. WP — Mallory. LP — Scott. HR — None.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1687717314/Galax-outlasts-Oak-Hill-Red-Devils

 

Galax outlasts Oak Hill Red Devils

 

Staff report Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — The scoring onslaught continued in the Allen D. Coppinger Jr. Invitational on Monday night. The Maroon Tide of Galax surged past the Oak Hill Red Devils 17-14 in a marathon outing to reach the semifinals of the prestigious tournament at Bowen Field.

 

Galax put up one run in each of the first four innings, then struck for 13 in the fifth, on eight hits with the help of six errors by Oak Hill. The Red Devils attempted to rally, scoring the last four runs of the game, but Galax hung on.

 

Eddie Hanks, who started at shortstop for Galax, took the mound and wound up the winning pitcher in relief. Brock Cox pitched the seventh. The loss went to Oak Hill starter Jerad Wolfe.

 

The Maroon Tide (9-2) earned a spot in the Coppinger semifinals on Saturday at Bowen Field at 1 p.m., when they will meet the winner of Thursday’s game between Tazewell and Princeton.

*****

 

At Bowen Field

Oak Hill...........053 021 3 — 14 x x

Galax..............111 1(13)0 x — 17 8 6

Jerad Wolfe, Brandon Wheeler and Taylor Buchanan. Kyle Schaeffer, Eddie Hanks, Brock Cox and Jacob Woodel.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993507363/Ramsey-leads-Grizzlies-into-Coppinger-semifinals

 

Ramsey leads Grizzlies into Coppinger semifinals

 

Staff report Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Jordan Ramsey didn’t let a first-inning home run get to him. As a result, the Nicholas County Grizzlies will be playing on Championship Saturday in the Allen D. Coppinger Jr. Invitational tournament.

 

Ramsey took a complete-game win for the Grizzlies Tuesday night at Bowen Field, striking out 11 Warriors in a 10-3 victory.

 

Daniel Ashby of Chilhowie slammed the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a towering home run in the top of the first.

 

Ramsey, the leadoff man for Nicholas County, was hit by a pitch and tied the game when K.W. Moore’s single brought him to the plate.

 

The Grizzlies broke out in the third. Jake Dix tripled, K.W. Moore doubled and Andrew Clevenger singled in successive at-bats. Each scored as the Grizzlies pulled out to a 5-2 margin.

 

Ramsey scored his second run in the fourth after hitting a double.

 

In the following inning, Chilhowie starter Caleb Sheets walked Chance Rader and Drew Moore to load the bases. A single to center by No. 9 batter Mason Bishop scored two, and a sacrifice fly by Ramsey and a double by Brandon Frame accounted for two more runs.

 

Chilhowie’s Andrew Russell got home with the game’s final run in the seventh.

 

The Grizzlies had 12 hits for the evening.

 

Nicholas County will play a Coppinger semifinal game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of today’s game at Bowen Field between James Monroe and Richlands. First pitch this evening is at 6 p.m.

 

*****

 

At Bowen Field

Chilhowie...................110 000 1 — 3 6 2

Nicholas County.......113 140 x — 10 12 2

Jordan Ramsey and Chance Rader. Caleb Sheets, Daniel Ashby (6) and Adam Powers. WP-Ramsey. LP-Sheets. HR-Chilhowie, David Ashby, 1st, 0 on.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1687720046/Pitchers-rule

 

Pitchers rule

 

Richlands slips past Mavericks

 

By JED LOCKETT Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — The 2010 edition of the Coppinger Tournament has been a hit parade with lots of offense and plenty of runs being scored. That changed on Wednesday night.

 

In a classic pitchers’ duel, James Patton threw seven innings and struck out 11 and Reece Strong had a key bases-clearing double to lead Richlands to a 4-2 win over James Monroe at Bowen Field in the third of four Coppinger quarterfinals.

 

“We just hung in there and got some runners on and got a couple walks and a couple base hits and Reece stepped up there and unloaded the bases for us ...,” said Richlands head coach Brad Strong. “James did a great job on the mound, 113 pitches and he threw excellent today.”

 

“I thought their pitcher did an excellent job and was definitely the best we’ve seen this year,” said James Monroe head coach John Mustain. “I thought he got stronger, I really did.”

 

For five innings, Patton dueled with James Monroe’s Ian Dransfield. Patton was impressive. The eight outs starting from the third out of the second inning to the first out of the fifth inning were all Patton strikeouts.

 

Patton threw 113 pitches in the first compete game of his Richlands career and gave up two runs on four hits with five walks to his 11 strikeouts.

 

“I just threw what gave me,” Patton said, “mainly just fastballs and curve balls, in and out, working the plate real well.”

 

“He was hitting his spots real well with his fastball and his curve ball,” Brad Strong said. “And he kept them off balance as well. He’s got a fastball that’ll get on you quick and his curve ball’s just enough to keep you off balance.”

 

“It was one of them situations where the catcher would set up where he wanted and he’d put it there,” Mustain said. “If a kid’s going to hit that glove, the umpire’s going to give it to him and that’s what he was doing.”

 

Dransfield was just as solid. He shut out the Blue Tornado in his first five innings, scattering five hits and striking out five to three walks for the game.

 

“The pitcher for James Monroe did a good job of hitting his spots and keeping us off balance,” Brad Strong said. “We were chasing a lot of bad pitches and he did a great job keeping us off balance.”

 

“It looks to me like he’s starting to get things geared up for the postseason,” Mustain said. “He pitched a few more pitches than he did Saturday, but all in all he did an excellent job.”

 

The Tornado finally got to Dransfield in the top of the sixth inning. Michael Horton led off the frame with a double down the left field line and Logan Salyers followed him by drawing a walk. Two batters later, Jack Vance laid down a perfect bunt for a single to load the bases.

 

With two outs, Reece Strong got his biggest hit of the night, smacking a first-pitch fastball over the right fielder's head for a bases-clearing double that gave Richlands the first lead of the game, 3-0.

 

“I told myself I was going to hit the first pitch and I hit it and it fell perfect. That’s all I can ask for,” said Reece, who finished the game 3-for-3 with a walk and the three RBIs.

 

“I’m glad one of the Strongs stepped up today,” Brad Strong said.

 

Reece later scored on an error by James Monroe second baseman Braxton Thompson, increasing Richlands’ advantage to 4-0.

 

The Mavericks responded in the bottom of the sixth. Morgan McKinley singled down the right field line to bring in Caleb Ballard and cut the lead to 4-1.

 

James Monroe threatened again in the bottom of the seventh. Dransfield reached on a walk and was replaced by Devin Kirk as a pinch runner. Two batters later, Kirk scored on an infield single by Justin Harvey. But there were two outs at the time and all Patton needed to do was force Ballard to ground out to the second baseman to end the game.

 

Reece led the Blue Tornado, but Horton also contributed a big game at the dish, going 3-for-4 with the double that began the sixth-inning rally.

 

Ballard led the Mavericks with a 2-for-4 performance that included a run scored.

 

James Monroe (9-5) hosts Bluefield today.

 

“The one thing I want to try to emphasize tomorrow is that defense has got to get shored up some more,” Mustain said. “I think we’ll be all right. We’ve just got to keep plugging away.”

 

Richlands (5-3, 3-2) will play Nicholas County in the second semifinal of the Coppinger Tournament on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Bowen Field.

 

“We’ve had three tough ball games this week,” Brad Strong said. “I’m confident our team has the potential to win ball games. We’ve got to do some little things to get better.”

 

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

 

At Bowen Field

Richlands...............000 004 0 — 4 9 0

James Monroe.......000 001 1 — 2 4 5

James Patton and Joe Guerriero. Ian Dransfield, Braxton Thompson (7) and Morgan McKinley. WP — Patton. LP — Dransfield. HR — None.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1612548852/Surprise

 

Surprise!!!!!

 

Tigers drop Tazewell in Coppinger

 

By BRIAN WOODSON Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — From 31 runs to 2?.

Credit goes to Cameron Mallory, Jon Shoda and the red-hot Princeton Tigers.

 

Sean Williams had two hits and scored three runs, Colt Karnes clubbed a two-run double, and Mallory and Shoda held the potent Tazewell bats to four hits, leading the Tigers to a 5-2 win over the Bulldogs in the second round of the Coppinger Invitational on Thursday evening at Bowen Field.

 

Few expected Princeton to be playing Galax on Saturday in the Coppinger semifinals. Except, that is, for the Tigers.

 

“I’m just happy we won,” Williams said. “No one expected us to get this far and a big part of our motivation is our coach is out. He got suspended so we’re doing it for him. I love you coach.”

 

After starting the season 0-7, the Tigers (11-11) are 11-4, doing much of it without head coach Josh Wilburn, who is serving a suspension. His assistant, Barry Karnes, knows where the difference lies.

 

“The kids are hitting the ball,” Karnes said. “We’re pitching good, we’ve gotten good defense, and that has been the difference.”

 

Tazewell (4-6), which scored 31 runs on 31 hits in a 31-0 whipping of Liberty-Raleigh last Saturday, managed just four hits in the loss, including three in 4 2/3 innings off Mallory. Shoda surrendered just one the rest of the way. They combined for seven strikeouts and four walks.

 

“Cameron came in and his curveball was working good and he kept them off-balanced,” Karnes said. “Jon came in with a good fastball and he kept them off-balanced and he had good defense behind him.”

 

The Bulldogs had three errors, including a crucial pair that led to a three-run seventh for the Tigers. Princeton also had four errors, but none led directly to Tazewell runs.

 

“They capitalized on the mistakes and we didn’t hit the first pitch very well and we just didn’t swing the bats well,” Tazewell head coach Lou Peery said. “Give credit to their pitchers, they did a fine job keeping us off-balanced.”

 

With the score tied at 2-2 in the seventh, Williams — who had singled and scored in the third and fifth innings — hit a slow roller down the third base line, but Tazewell pitcher Heath Harris made a wild throw to first, allowing Williams to advance to second.

 

Williams scored from second when Mallory hustled down the line on a grounder to shortstop and was safe when the first baseman was pulled off the bag. Mallory had two doubles, drove in a run and scored one.

 

“It was a close play,” Mallory said. “I got it right off the end of the bat and all you can do at that point is hustle so I did as good as I could.”

 

Corey Quick followed with a double, and after Tazewell starter Heath Harris was replaced by Matt Kincer, Colt Karnes slugged the first pitch he saw down the left field line for a two-run double and a three-run lead.

 

“That is just insurance runs,” Mallory said. “Colt did a real good job of pulling through for us in past games too.”

 

Tazewell took a 1-0 lead in the first on a single by Josh Mitchem, who stole second and moved to third when the throw flew into center field. He then scored on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Hankins.

 

“They’re a real good hitting ball club,” Mallory said. “I had a real good defense behind me today, they backed me up well, and that gave me all the confidence and I just tried to get as many ground balls as I could.”

 

Princeton tied it in the third on a Williams single, one of two sacrifice bunts by Steve Owens, and a Tazewell error. The Bulldogs took the lead back in the bottom half of the frame, with Harris drawing a one-out walk, followed by ground ball and single from Zak Wasilewski.

 

Williams singled and scored on a Mallory double in the fifth to knot the score at 2-2.

 

Tazewell had just two hits after the third, a single by Harris in the fifth and a Wasilewski double in the seventh. The Bulldogs were the defending Coppinger champions and have won the title a record seven times.

 

“Some days you can hit everything, other days you can’t hit anything, but I still like single-elimination,” Peery said. “Even if we had got beat in the first game because you’ve got the pressure on you each time and you’ve got to perform to the pressure.”

 

Harris worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing six hits before leaving for Kincer. Peery admitted that he left his more veteran pitchers in the field with a key Southwest District game on tap today at Carroll County.

 

“Heath did a fine job, we got a lot of innings out of him,” Peery said. “He hasn’t pitched much, but he is getting better and hopefully down the road when we play in the district it will come in handy...

 

“I could have done some other changes. They were good enough to throw today, but I wasn’t going to take a chance on them. That one tomorrow is more important than this one.”

 

Princeton, which defeated James Monroe 8-3 in its opener, will face Galax in the semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Tigers have won the Coppinger three times, with the last title coming in 2003.

 

“Last Saturday is the first time Princeton has won a game in (the Coppinger in) about five years,” Karnes said. “To win two and be in the semifinal game, that is good for the kids, and good for the program.”

 

— Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

 

at Bowen Field

Princeton....................001 010 3 — 5 7 4

Tazewell......................101 000 0 — 2 4 3

Cameron Mallory, Jon Shoda (5) and Corey Quick. Heath Harris, Matt Kincer (7) and Gavin Yates. W—Shoda; L—Harris. HR—none.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1687722236/AFTERNOON-UPDATE-Princeton-forfeits-Coppinger-win

 

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Princeton forfeits Coppinger win

 

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — The Princeton Tigers’ baseball team has forfeited its 5-2 win over Tazewell on Thursday night in the Coppinger Invitational. According to Princeton principal Jack Parker, a player that had been ejected from a previous game should not have been allowed to play because of a WVSSAC rule that calls for a three-game suspension when that it occurs. Tazewell will now re-enter the Coppinger, and will play Galax on Saturday in the 1 p.m. semifinal at Bowen Field.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993512828/Tazewell-outscores-Galax-18-13

 

Tazewell outscores Galax 18-13

 

By JED LOCKETT Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Even though rain was in the forecast for early Saturday afternoon at Bowen Field, the only thing that poured were hits and runs.

 

Tazewell got the majority of those hits as Taylor Herald went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs and the Bulldogs advanced to the Coppinger Tournament championship game with an 18-13 win.

 

“It wasn’t the prettiest game in the world, but we did a lot of things right, but we did a lot of things wrong too,” said Tazewell head coach Lou Peery. “It’s not often you can do some things wrong and come out on a good team like Galax.”

 

“You never like to lose, but I preach to the kids all the time that you can learn lessons in a loss and I think our team really learned that we don’t have any quit and it got a little sloppy there in the second and third between a few errors and a few of their hits,” said Galax head coach Ronald Mankins.

 

Galax scored two runs in the top of the first and two in the top of the second to take an early 4-0 lead. Tazewell came back in the bottom of the second to put up five of their own. Matt Kincer and Heath Harris had RBI singles, Ryan Hankins tied the game with a two-RBI triple, and Herald gave the Bulldogs the lead with an RBI single to left.

 

Tazewell put up seven more runs in the bottom of the third. Kincer batted in one run with a triple to center and Harris knocked in Kincer with a single to left. With two outs and runners on second and third, the Maroon Tide elected to intentionally walk Hankins to bring up Herald.

 

They paid a heavy price. Herald immediately turned a 7-4 lead into a 10-4 lead with a three-RBI double to right center. One pitch later, Mike Wood blasted a home run to left field to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 12-4.

 

“The 3-hole kid had hit two solid line drives earlier in the game and the 4-hole hadn’t hit the ball as hard,” Mankins said. “So we thought, put the force in play. To be honest, Terrance (Mazon) made a good pitch. It was on the outside. It was low. And the kid ... went down and got it.”

 

“The bottom of the order came through for us,” Peery said. “They started off getting hits and they led the way to the top half and it was just contagious.”

 

Galax retaliated with four runs in the top of the fourth, three of which came on Travis Garvey’s homer to left center. Then they added another run on the top of the fifth on Eddie Hanks’ single to right.

 

The Bulldogs put across a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. But Galax came back with four runs in the top of the sixth, two of which scored on Brock Cox’s double to left and another on Hanks’ single to left center that cut Tazewell’s lead to 14-13.

 

“This is my fourth year in Galax and that’s one of the big things I’ve seen change in these guys,” Mankins said. “They want to win and they’re going to find a way to win. They’re going to battle, whatever it takes — and that’s something we’ve come a long way with.”

 

The Bulldogs answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Herald’s single to left brought in two of them and the other two scored on a sacrifice grounder and a wild pitch. Tazewell held off Galax in the top of the seventh to clinch the game.

 

Herald was the top Bulldog, adding three runs and two doubles to his already impressive day. But he was just one of many hitters. Hankins was 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs and two RBIs. Kincer went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and three RBIs. Heath Harris was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. Zak Wasilewski went 2-for-4 with two runs and Wood was 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs.

 

“When your pitchers are kind-of all over the plate walking and hitting batters, you’ve got to hit the ball to compensate for that effort,” Peery said, “and that’s what we did today and we’re fortunate for it.”

 

Galax also had plenty of hitting. Hanks led them, going 3-for-3 with a run and two RBIs. Cox went 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, four runs and two RBIs and Garvey was 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a double.

 

Tazewell starter Gavin Yates lasted just three innings, but got the win on the mound despite giving up four runs on three hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Travis Cockerham took the loss for Galax.

 

Galax (9-4) hosts Grayson County on Tuesday. Tazewell (5-7, 3-2) travels to Marion on Tuesday.

 

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

 

At Bowen Field

Galax.........................220 414 0 — 13 9 5

Tazewell....................057 024 x — 18 16 4

Travis Cockerham, Terrance Mazon (3), Eddie Hanks (6) and Nick Davis. Gavin Yates, Matt Kincer (4), WP — Yates. LP — Cockerham. HR — Tazewell, Mike Wood.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993512818/Tornado-ekes-by-Grizzlies-2-1

 

Tornado ekes by Grizzlies 2-1

 

By BRIAN WOODSON Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Cody Lockhart struck out 18 batters in eight innings, but was still involved in a tie game with Nicholas County.

 

Reece Strong made Lockhart a winner, slicing a single to left field to bring home Jack Vance and give Richlands a 2-1 Coppinger Invitational semifinal extra-inning win over the Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon at Bowen Field.

 

‘We wanted to win this game for Cody after the way he pitched,” Strong said.

 

Lockhart, who transferred from Tazewell prior to the season, not only fanned 18, but he allowed just three hits, walked one and hit a batter. He also had a double to drive in the tying run in the sixth that forced the extra frame.

 

“He had a great game. We’re struggling at the plate, we’ve got some young kids, but that is no excuse,” Richlands head coach Brad Strong said. “We get a kid that throws a game like that, they’ve got to be on their game ready to go...We won a good ball game against a very good ball club.”

 

Andrew Clevinger was equally dominant for the Grizzlies (7-9), allowing just six hits and striking out five, although the Blue Tornado did touch him for five of those hits in the final three innings.

 

“Neither team hit the ball very well, but I thought the pitching and defense was outstanding both ways,” Nicholas County head coach Gene Morris said. “It was a good ball game, we just have to tip our hats to Richlands, they just out-battled us at the end. It’s just the way it works.

 

“I thought Andrew pitched a heck of a ball game and their kid did too, that is just the way the game is played.”

 

Reece Strong led Richlands with three hits, including the RBI in the eighth that followed a one-out double from Vance, who had two hits for the Tornado from the bottom of the batting order.

 

“I was just trying to move the runner over,” Strong said, “and it just happened to hit a hole and brought him in.”

 

Nicholas County took a 1-0 lead in the second when K.W. Moore walked, moved to third on a Clevinger single and scored by stealing home when Lockhart threw to first to keep Clevinger close to the bag.

 

That was it for the Grizzlies, which got singles from Chance Rader and Brandon Frane, but Lockhart struck out the side three times, and also fanned five of the final six batters in the game.

 

“I was feeling good on the mound, I was just relaxed and throwing strikes,” said Lockhart, in what may have been the best performance of his prep career. “This is probably the best one I have had so far, the most strikeouts I have had.”

 

Richlands had just one hit — a single by Reece Strong — through five innings before the Tornado collected three in the sixth, with the big blast being a Lockhart double that scored Bradley Strong, who had walked. Reece Strong also tried to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate.

 

After Lockhart fanned all three batters in the eighth, Vance slugged a ground-rule double to left field. One out later, Reece Strong singled into the gap to bring home the winning run, and bring a jubilant Lockhart out of the dugout.

 

“It felt great being able to pitch a game like that and come out with a win,” Lockhart said. “I walked out with my arms held high, it felt good.”

 

Nicholas County completed its first visit to the Coppinger with a 2-1 mark, defeating Summers County and Chilhowie. Don’t be surprised to see them back.

 

“It was a lot of fun down here,” Morris said.

 

“This was our first trip down here and I thought this was a well-run tournament. We enjoyed our stay, it’s too bad we couldn’t stay for one more ball game.”

 

Lockhart was excited to play the championship game against Tazewell, a school he was attending earlier this school year. The junior is glad to still be part of a tradition-rich rivalry, even if he has switched sides.

 

“I love it. I still have a couple of friends over there, but I love playing rivals,” Lockhart said. “It makes for some exciting games.”

 

— Contact Brian Woodson

bwoodson@bdtonline.com

 

at Bowen Field

Nicholas County......010 000 00 — 1 3 2

Richlands.................000 001 01 — 2 6 1

Andrew Clevinger and Chance Rader. Cody Lockhart and Joe Guerrero. W—Lockhart; L—Clevinger. HR—none.

[GMan 3,569]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x993512929/Bulldogs-day

 

Bulldogs’ day

 

Tazewell wins 2010 Coppinger

 

By BRIAN WOODSON Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — In less than 48 hours, the Tazewell Bulldogs went from being eliminated from the Coppinger Invitational to winning the Coppinger Invitational.

 

Mike Wood struck out 13 batters, and the Bulldogs took advantage of six Richlands errors in a 10-6 win over the Blue Tornado in a championship game that was called after five innings because of rain that fell hard throughout much of the contest.

 

Tazewell actually lost to Princeton 5-2 on Thursday, but the use of an ineligible player forced the Tigers to forfeit, giving the Bulldogs another chance.

 

That’s all they needed.

 

“We read something and it really put a fire underneath us and we just said that we’re going to prove to everybody that we deserved to be here,” said Wood, who was selected as the Coppinger’s Most Valuable Player.

 

All the Bulldogs did was defeat Galax 18-13 in the first of three games on Saturday, and then knocked off the Blue Tornado to win the Coppinger for a second straight season, and eighth time in the 37-year history of the event.

 

“I think it has a lot to do with youth and self-confidence,” Tazewell head coach Lou Peery said. “I think we grew up a little bit today. We fought through the first game with some miscues and hit the ball, and came back and threw it a little bit against a strong Richlands team.

 

“I think it was a team effort and a group effort.”

 

The Bulldogs (5-7) led 9-1 in the fourth and 10-3 in the fifth before Richlands narrowed the margin to four in what became a driving rain. The game was delayed after one batter hit in the sixth and was called official after 15 minutes because of the weather conditions.

 

“It is not a whole lot you can do, we were runners-up one year because of the same thing,” Peery said. “We had to move it and play the other two innings somewhere else so it’s good it was official after this one.”

 

Tazewell scored three runs in three of the game’s first four innings, collecting seven hits off three Richlands’ pitchers, but the Blue Tornado also struggled in the field with their gloves.

 

“Six errors, you can’t make six errors against any ball club, good, bad, terrible, we just can’t do that,” Richlands head coach Brad Strong said. “Now we’ve got to become battlers and hopefully we will reload and we’ll battle and start working harder and start fighting out of a corner.

 

“We’ve got to do those kind of things.”

 

Taylor Herald’s two-run single and a sacrifice fly by Wood gave Tazewell a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Bradley Strong clubbed a solo homer in the bottom of that frame, but by the time the Tornado scored again, they trailed 9-1.

 

“We’re a little inconsistent right now, but we’re getting there,” Wood said. “We’re working on getting everything together.”

 

Josh Mitchem had two hits, two stolen bases and two runs scored for Tazewell, while Ryan Hankins added two hits and scored three times. Jordan Jones and Blake Hash also singled for the Bulldogs.

 

Meanwhile, Wood worked on a increasingly sloppy mound, striking out at least two batters in all five innings, including six in the final two. He allowed four hits and walked just two.

 

“I felt pretty good today,” Wood said. “I trusted my defense, I knew they would make the plays behind me so all I had to do was get them to put it in play... The last few innings the clay was sitting to my feet and it was getting up there, but you’ve just got to push through.”

 

Cody Lockhart led Richlands with two doubles, driving in two runs in the fifth, and Reece Strong also drove in a run to narrow the margin to four through five innings.

 

However, it was just too late for Richlands, which had to quickly regroup after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Nicholas County in the semifinals to face the Bulldogs, and quickly fell behind.

 

“You’ve got to get your pitcher ready, but I’m not making no excuses,” Brad Strong said. “It’s tough to turn back around and do that for anybody, but you’ve got to do it. We didn’t do it quick enough.”

 

Jones led off the sixth with a single, but the umpires then sent the teams to their dugouts, and called it official 15 minutes later, ending the Coppinger, which had managed to avoid the rain that normally hampers the event until the last of the 16 games.

 

“I think we did some things right this last game,” Peery said, “and I think it is going to mature them a little bit and give them some more confidence.”

 

Richlands (6-4) finished with a 3-1 mark in the Coppinger, and will next play on Wednesday at Graham.

 

“We beat a good James Monroe team, PikeView, and turned around and played Nicholas County, and they’re a good ball club,” Brad Strong said. “We were blessed to be where we were, we’ve just got to keep fighting.”

 

Peery admitted to feeling bad for Princeton, which had defeated Tazewell on the field on Thursday, but had to forfeit because a player that was supposed to be suspended was allowed to play.

 

“I feel definitely bad for the kids,” said Peery, whose Bulldogs will travel Tuesday to Marion. “When an adult screws up and denies a kid the opportunity to do something, I always feel bad for them.”

 

As for Wood and his MVP plaque, he was business-like in his reaction.

 

“I just doing my job,” said Wood, “and I did it well.”

 

Zak Wasilewski and Herald joined Wood as Bulldogs on the All-Tournament team. The rest of the squad included a duo from Richlands (Lockhart, Reece Strong), Nicholas County (Andrew Clevinger, Jake Dix), and Galax (Travis Garvey, Brad Cox).

 

Four schools had one representative apiece, including Princeton’s Cameron Mallory, James Monroe’s Ian Dransfield, Oak Hill’s Dustin Nuckles, and Daniel Ashby of Chilhowie.

 

— Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

 

at Bowen Field

Tazewell..............................303 31 — 10 7 2

Richlands............................100 23 — 6 4 6

Mike Wood and Gavin Yates. Reece Strong, Bradley Strong (4), Jimmy McGhee (5) and Joe Guerrero. W—Wood; L—R.Strong. HR—B.Strong ®, 1st, 0 on.