By PAUL GOTHAM
GENEVA, N.Y. — John Kopicky (Ohio Northern) hurled a complete game, and the Genesee Rapids defeated the Geneva Twins in convincing fashion, 9-1 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at McDonough Park on Saturday.
Kopicky tossed eight shutout innings before surrendering a run in the ninth.
“He was lights out today,” Genesee manager Tyler Rost said. “He threw his off-speed stuff for strikes. He got ahead of guys, and he battled for us.”
The right-hander allowed seven hits. He set down four on punch outs and walked three. Of the 129 pitches he threw, 89 were strikes – most of those were curveballs.
“They weren’t swinging at it at all,” Kopicky said of his breaking ball
. “Throwing that over the plate was an easy strike right there. I was working ahead.”
The Centreville, Ohio native worked out of a jam in the fifth. With the Rapids leading by three, Jeremy Tejada (So. New Hampshire) singled through the box. Bob Barnett (Widener) doubled over the third base bag, and the Twins brought the tying run to the plate.
Topicky ended the threat when he induced a weak pop-up on the right side of the infield.
“I just was trying to not give him anything good to hit,” Kopicky said. “It was just the same approach all game. Work in. Work out. Hit the corners.”
Genesee’s offense took charge from there. The Rapids scored two in the sixth and sent nine to the plate in a four-run seventh.
“It’s nothing magical,” Rost said. “It’s just being on time for pitches you think you’re going to get. We’re not guessing at the plate any more. We’re taking the off-speed stuff the other way.”
Joey Chapman (Cedarville) led the fifth with a base hit just over the outstretched glove of Geneva second baseman, Kenny Reckart (Wooster). Two outs later, Tyler Minogue (Bellarmine) walked. Chapman came home as Karlis Graubics (Marymount) reached on a controversial call at first base. After a brief discussion, Nick Ippolito (California State-Stanislaus) took the first offering from Quinn DiPasquale (Stevens Inst. of Tech) and used an inside-out swing to send a bloop single into shallow right field.
“I knew he was going to come first pitch and try to attack the zone because he was kinda struggling,” Ippolito said. “I just tried to do something simple with it. Just try to put the ball in play. When you put the ball in play, good things happen.”
Cory Andrade (Anna Maria) started the seventh with a double in the left-center gap. One out later, Tommy Haas (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) reached when he was hit by a pitch. William Lucas (Akron) walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch scored a run. Karlis Graubics plated two more with a single to right, and the Rapids didn’t look back from there.
After starting the season getting outscored 18-6 and losing two of three, Genesee has won four and five and at 8-4 are tied atop the NYCBL’s Western Division with the Niagara Power.
“We’ve been swinging it well lately,” Rost commented. “I think guys were maybe a little nervous, but they’re a little bit more relaxed at the plate now that we’re 10, 11 games in. Just good approaches, line drives we’re taking the ball the other way. We look better than we did before.”
Andrade, Chapman, Graubics and Ryan Land (Concordia) all collected two hits. Graubics knocked in a game-high three runs.
Geneva put a run on the board in the ninth. Connor Simonetti (Kent State) walked and came around to score on a Marty Napleton (St. Joseph’s Coll) single to left. Geneva, winners of two straight coming into the game, fell to 5-4 on the season and sit a game and a half out of first.
“I told our guys ‘today is just baseball,’” Geneva manager Andy Weeks said. “You go out one day, and you’re one team. You go out another day, and you might be a little flat or something. You just wipe it clean, and you get to come back another day and play. That’s the great thing about this game.”
Napleton collected three hits in four trips including a double.
James Colgan (Alvernia) worked two shutout innings out of the bullpen for Geneva. Including an appearance on Thursday, Colgan has tossed four straight scoreless stanzas.
Kopicky ended the game with a lazy fly ball followed by a routine ground ball to first.
“That’s huge to go a complete game for us,” Rost said. “It gives the bullpen a rest.”
The same two teams meet Sunday at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex. A 2 p.m. start is scheduled.
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