Ready to roll
Copper Country confident heading into American Legion state tournament
Trending
GLADWIN -- With an opening-round matchup against the defending state champs, Hudson, the Copper Country Flames appear to be the underdog on paper in the American Legion state tournament.
But the Flames aren’t seeing it that way.
"We’re looking forward to the matchup," Flames head coach Ron Stimac said. "We can hit anybody in the state, we’re a strong defensive team and we feel like we can compete with anyone in the state if everyone does their job. The team has swagger and is confident."
The Flames will face Hudson at 9 a.m. Thursday in the first game of the tournament. The winner will face Gaylord at 3 p.m. later that day, while the loser will play Friday at noon.
As of Tuesday, Stimac and his staff were still in the researching process of Hudson. Besides the understanding that Hudson is the defending state champs, knowledge was limited on them.
"They also don’t know us, which is an advantage," Stimac said. "I wouldn’t be surprised to see if they take us for granted and they take a No. 2 or No. 3 pitcher against us. That would be a big mistake."
As for the Flames, Stimac is confident in his top three pitchers: Hans Stimac, Carter Nettell and Logan Fish. Hans was named the MVP of the Zone tournament and earned the win against the Marquette Blues, 5-4, before earning the save in the second-place game against the Menominee Red Waves, 6-4.
"They are the key to us and our success," Ron said. "They can get out there and throw strikes to keep us in games. That will be a key factor in our success and failure."
Nettell managed to keep the Gladstone Indians hitless for three innings with his crafty curveball before Gladstone broke through, while Carter Crouch proved himself to also be a reliable option on the mound after he pitched six innings of relief in a 9-6 win over Menominee and allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four.
"I think we’re deep with our pitching beyond our top three, so scoring runs early and not playing from behind can put you in a position to make good decisions on pitching," Ron said of managing the pitch limit for each player. "If we can take the lead, we can go deeper in our pitching to be successful."
Offensively, it has been a balanced offensive attack with the Flames’ entire lineup displaying the ability to manufacture hits and drive in runs. The Flames recorded 61 hits throughout the five games in the Zone tournament. Hans recorded 11 hits in the tournament to lead the team, and Bailey Ribich managed to record six RBIs in the Flames’ 14-4 win over Escanaba on Saturday to clinch a berth in the state tournament.
Gladstone opens with Menominee in the other opening-round matchup, with the winner set to face Gladwin at 6 p.m. Thursday.