Black Tigers Bats Come Alive Against Copley

Cuyahoga Falls sophomore pitcher Matt Lawrence’s first start at the varsity level carried the Black Tigers to a 12-2 victory over Copley on Friday.

Lawrence was dominant in his first game, using his knuckleball to strike out three Copley hitters, allowing five hits and two earned runs.

“It’s a a lot different compared to where I was last year at freshman,” Lawrence said.  “They’re definitely better hitters and I have to concentrate more on my spots.”

The Black Tigers trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning when Cuyahoga Falls’ offense broke the game open.

Senior Adam Gammell got Cuyahoga Falls on the scoreboard with a RBI double down the left field line.  Sophomore Kody Meade and senior Alex Overfield followed by knocking in one run each before Copley could record one out.

Junior Tyler Fisher, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, added two runs to the Black Tigers’ lead with a double down the left field line.

With Cuyahoga Falls leading 6-1 and two outs later in the inning, junior center fielder Drew Gardner stepped to the plate.   Gardner hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to put the Black Tigers up seven runs.

Cuyahoga Falls coach Jim Farrell said that Gardner’s performance is an example of his team maturing as the season progresses.

“The last four games, he’s been going 100 percent,” Farrell said.  “I tell them that they can’t cut corners at anything.  Our team is starting to buy into it.”

Copley responded in the top of the fourth when senior Tyler Miller hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run, but Lawrence’s knuckleball forced the Indians to repeatedly ground out for his first career win.

“He threw the ball downhill,” Farrell said.  “He got a lot of groundball outs.  They hit him hard the first couple of innings, and then he kind of got into a groove.”

The Indians looked to extend the game into the seventh inning, but Cuyahoga Falls’ offense gave Copley trouble once again.

The Black Tigers finished the game off in the bottom of the six with back-to-back-to-back RBI singles by senior Kyle Rospert, Fisher and junior Chris Pollard.

Cuyahoga Falls improves its record to 2-5 (0-2), and Farrell is satisfied with his team maturing midway through the season.

The Black Tigers have a lineup that has only four seniors – mostly sophomores and juniors.

Farrell said despite their inexperience, he likes how his team is playing heading into this weekend’s River City Classic.

“We have a good team, it’s just that our kids are young,” Farrell said.  “The experience and confidence will start to grow.”

The Black Tigers will compete against Woodridge, Walsh Jesuit and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy for the tournament championship and bragging rights in Cuyahoga Falls.