Coplay continues its winning ways

Reds take playoff series opener by blanking Limeport 3-0.

	Photo by Don Fisher, The Morning Call
	COPLAY'S MIKE BORTZ rounds third and prepares to get a high-five from coach Steve Smull after homering in the second inning against Limeport. Coplay went on to win the Tri-County playoff game 3-0.

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

After a dominant 26-4-1 run through the Tri-County League regular season, the Coplay Reds may not have wanted any time off before the start of the postseason. Still, they earned a first-round bye and an eight-day layoff.

But the Lehigh Valley's version of ''The Big Red Machine'' showed no signs of rust Tuesday night in a crisp 3-0 win over visiting Limeport in the first game of their best-of-five Tri-Co semifinal series.

Brandon Leslie tossed a five-hitter and Coplay made the most of its five hits to take the first step toward defending its 2006 championship.

The amateur baseball series resumes at 7:30 Thursday night in Limeport.

Again, expect runs to be as hard to find as stoplights in sleepy 'ol Limeport.

''I've been telling people all along that the first team to two will probably win every game in this series,'' Coplay manager Steve Smull said. ''Two runs just might be enough to win every game. We got to two first tonight and Brandon made them stand up.''

The two teams allowed the fewest runs of any among the 10 Tri-Co members and Leslie was as stingy as any hurler with a 3-1 record that included a 1.02 ERA and three saves.

Leslie, matched against Bulls' ace Scott Stewart, the runner-up in the league's pitcher-of-the-year balloting, was a little worried about his team's eight-day layoff.

But those concerns were alleviated by solid defense and clutch offense.

''We only had one practice between our last game [July 22] and today,'' Leslie said. ''I was unsure of how we were going to come out, but we got a few hits off Stewart and produced some runs. I just tried to mix it up and change the pitches and sequences. You can't let them sit on fastballs or sliders.''

Leslie walked one, fanned five and had just two 1-2-3 innings, but stranded five runners. He also benefited from a double play in the fourth and having a runner thrown out at third in the fifth.

''We didn't get too many breaks tonight and we struggled at the plate,'' Limeport manager Dylan Dando said. ''Leslie has good stuff and knows what he's doing. We hit some balls hard, but when he needs to get outs, he gets them. When he's got a good slider, you can't hit it. And when you're looking for a slider, he'll throw it by you.''

Dando said his 23-11 Bulls, fresh off an opening-round sweep of the Northern Yankees, have relied on pitching and defense and have had to ''scrap and scratch'' for runs.

''We have a hard time coming from behind against a guy who throws like Leslie,'' Dando said. ''A 3-0 deficit to him might as well be 6-0 or 7-0. We're going to have to work for everything we get in this series. You have to capitalize on every opportunity you get in this series because there's not going to be a lot of chances.''

Coplay didn't have many shots against Stewart and reliever Ryan Gerber, but showed off its versatility.

The Reds used the longball -- a solo home run to left by Mike Bortz -- to go up 1-0 in the second.

They used some ''smallball'' in the third when a bad throw on a sacrifice bunt set the stage for Dan Borden's clutch two-out, RBI single to center.

And then in the fourth they scored without a hit as two walks and an error led to Caleb Calarco's sacrifice fly.

''We scratch and claw every game on offense, but we pitch and play defense and get key hits,'' Borden said. ''So, this was a microcosm of our season here tonight. It's just good to get the first game and keep homefield advantage and Brandon was lights out as usual.''


Limeport  000 000 0 -- 0 5 3

Coplay     011 100 x -- 3 5 0


Stewart, Gerber (4) and B. O'Connor; Leslie and Jeremy Faust. L: Stewart. HR: Bortz (2nd, none on).



keith.groller@mcall.com

610-820-6740

From The Morning Call -- August 1, 2007

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