Rocky and Groundhogs Shut Down Atoms June 21, 1998
Punxatawney, PA (AP)--In their best day yet this season, the Punxatawney
Groundhogs, led by the phenomenal pitching of Rocky Coppinger and Jon
Lieber, shut out the Riker division leading Springfield Atoms in both ends
of a doubleheader, winning 5-0 and 2-0.
Hogs GM Dan Shapiro knew this would be a big series before it even began.
"We're getting our first crack at these guys after month where we couldn't
catch up. Jonnie (Lieber) was coming back from injury and getting his first
start in weeks. We were coming back home after a long time on the road, our
fans were anxious. We were below .500. Our offense was sputtering and our
pitching wasn't picking up the slack. But I think we're ready to get back
in the saddle now."
However, even Shapiro didn't expect the dominating performance his pitchers
provided--especally Coppinger. But game one was the big day for Jon Lieber.
After weeks of toiling in Roswell, training his arm, throwing simulating
games, and a few scrimmages, the trainers finally decided that Lieber was
ready for the big show again.
So today, in the first game, he took the mound to a standing ovation and
began hurling his entire arsenal at the Atoms, looking like he never missed
a step. Seven innings later, when he stepped off the mound after putting
down the Atoms, Lieber decided to call it a day and put the game in the
hands of his relievers. His performance was nothing less than phenomenal
for a guy coming back from injury. Lieber tossed 7 full frames, scattering
4 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 5. He only threw 87 pitches
as well, 56 of which were strikes.
"I'm 100 percent," said Lieber after the game. "If you don't believe that
after today, maybe I'll go throw a no-hitter next time and you'll believe it
then. I only threw 7 because I'm not stupid, and neither is Shapiro. No
reason to try and put any strain on my arm yet, not when we had a sure win."
The sure win refers to the 5-0 lead he handed to his relievers, supplied
mainly by Ryan Klesko. The big slugger has been having a relatively poor
season compared to last year's phenomenal campaign. Perhaps inspired by
Lieber's return the rotation, Klesko returned to dominance. It was
surprising because most of his hitting came off lefty Jim Deshaies while
Klesko is a far better hitter against righties. However, he went 3-4,
scoring twice and driving in 4 runs with a pair of homers, his 17th and
18th. Jose Valentin, a receiver of honorable mention for player of the
month, also helped, contributing a run, two hits, a stolen base, and an RBI.
Klesko was very pleased after the game. "Deshaies is still a solid pitcher,
he just made a few mistakes today. I was on, the ball seemed like it was
floating up to the plate."
Closing out the game, relievers Scott Aldred and Bobby Munoz each threw a
scoreless, hitless inning and each struck out 1. Munoz has been very solid
this year, but Aldred, who has been rather shaky, was happy to have a solid
inning under his belt.
The win for Lieber improved his record to 2-0 with a 1.73 ERA in 7 starts.
Aldred is still struggling overall, but his 6.26 ERA is slightly lower than
before. But Bobby Munoz has been the setup ace of the pen. He has thrown
28 innings so far in 22 games with an ERA of just 2.25 while he has allowed
less than 1 walk+hit per inning pitched (WHIP).
When the first game was over, the fans lauded praise upon their club. The
win closed the gap to 1.5 games between Springfield and Punxatawney. Lieber
had a win and Klesko had a great offensive game. But the day was far from
over, as the two teams faced off again with youngsters Rocky Coppinger and
Justin Thompson dueling eachother.
Coppinger had remarks for the reporters even before the game. He had just
won the pitcher of the month award for April and wanted to brag. "I have a
clause in my contract--that award will do well for my paycheck too. I'm
feeling great today, my arm is fresh, since I've had an extra day off with
Jon coming back to the rotation. I'm seeing another win for us, no
question."
Though these comments may have angered the Atoms, Coppinger proceded to go
out and back up his words with actions. The young righty achieved a feat
that no other pitcher in the brief history of the PVBL has done. With only
the bottom 4 hitters in the lineup hitting much, Coppinger was only given 2
runs to work with. That ended up being one more than he needed.
Rocky started strong, scattering a few walks over the first 5 innings, but
no hits. He continued to throw his best as Tony Batista went 3-4 and stole
2 bases to create some offense while Roberto Kelly drove in both runs.
After 7 innings, the fans realized that Coppinger was on the verge of making
history, but not one uttered the word which might jinx the youngster. He
plowed through the 8th inning, once again holding Springfield hitless.
The dangerous inning, however, was the 9th inning. Speed merchants Otis
Nixon and George Milligan both were due up, and those two could easily turn
a routine grounder into an infield single. So with the defense primed and
Coppinger still throwing strong as his pitch count climbed into the 120's,
Rocky bared down and retired Nixon and Milligan easily. That left just one
out between Coppinger and the record books. Standing in his way was Atoms
3B Angel Sherid. After running him to a full count and watching Sherid hit
a long foul ball, Coppinger came with his little used changeup, catching
Sherid totally off guard and striking him out to finish the game.
Chaos swiftly ensued. Dan Wilson, who called and caught a phenomenal day
behind the plate, dashed to the mound and celebrated by jumping on his
pitcher. The entire team followed, as did many rowdy fans. When the dust
finally settled, Coppinger had recorded the first, and only no hitter in the
history of the league. He walked 4 and hit one while striking out 5 en
route to the win.
The win was Coppinger's 8th and his first career complete game. So far, he
has an 8-3 record with a 1.55 ERA. His chances for making the all-star team
look fairly good as long as his next two starts are solid.
Rocky was elated after the game. "Didn't Jon say something about a
no-hitter earlier? I took care of that...wow! I didn't think I had that
much in me today."
"Rocky was incredible. I couldn't believe was I was seeing out there, he
looked like a seasoned pro, not a second year pitcher who just got the legal
right to drink!" said GM and coach Shapiro.
With the two wins, the gap between Punxatawney and Springfield closed to 0.5
games. There is one game left in the series tomorrow before Punxatawney
begins a series against Houston and Springfield faces Tampa Bay. If the
Hogs can win twice tomorrow, they will regain the division lead for the
first team in weeks. Even one win could give them the lead back.
Stats 'n stuff:
Mike Hampton has been temporarily demoted to the bullpen with Lieber coming
back. Sean Bergman won a spot in the rotation and Shapiro has decided to go
with Dustin Hermanson in the 5th spot for now. Tomorrow, Bergman will face
Springfield and Thomas will face Houston.
