COPLEY, Ohio (March 28, 2024) -- A six-run, sixth-inning rally vaulted the Rocky River Pirates to an 8-4 victory at Copley Thursday. Down 4-2 heading into the penultimate stanza, the Sons of Blackbeard had their first seven batters reach base. RBI hits by senior Thomas Rossi, junior Henry Tovissi, and sophomore Lucas Konopka helped turn the two-run deficit into a four-run lead. Tovissi pitched the final two frames -- the sixth without drama and the seventh with -- to seal the come-from-behind triumph.
Rossi (4-for-5, double, two runs batted in) and Tovissi (3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs) combined for seven of 13 Pirate hits in the non-conference road game.
The Indians (1-2) plated the game's first two runs when they culled together a single, triple, and River error in the bottom of the first inning. The Pirates countered with a solo run in the road half of the second. River got its run on a Matt Gutia RBI single, but the visitors let Copley get off the hook later in the inning by going 0-for-2 with the bases loaded.
After starting pitcher Rees Heigle struck out the side in the Copley second, the Maroon & White leveled the contest at 2-2 in their half of the third. River got that run on a Rossi double and Tovissi single.
The seesaw battle continued when the Indians got two hits and a run in the bottom of the third. Heigle escaped a worse fate by retiring three straight batters with a runner at second base.
River failed to score in the fourth and fifth innings, and Copley, which had reeled in a fourth run in its half of the fifth, took the field in the sixth leading 4-2.
Lucas Konopka lit the fuse on the sixth-inning rally with a leadoff walk. The book entries from there were 2B-BB-BB-1B-1B-1B, and the Maroon & White circuit of the bags was on. When Tovissi, who had relieved Heigle with one out in the fifth, took the mound in the home half of the sixth, he was staked to the 8-4 lead.
He pitched a 1-2-3 sixth. The Pirates made noise in the seventh but did not score. The Indians then made their own racket in the bottom of the seventh.
Back-to-back one-out singles put Copley in business. Tovissi then edged game closer to the finish line by bouncing back from a 2-0 count to whiff the Indians clean-up batter. The home nine then got an infield single to load the bases. The game ended on a fly out to Rossi in right.
Tovissi's line: 2 2/3 scoreless innings, five hits allowed, no walks, and two strikeouts. Heigle yielded four runs (three earned) on five hits in four-and-a-third. He struck out nine without issuing any free passes. The two River hurlers combined to throw 86 of 122 pitches (70.5%) for strikes.
Rocky River (2-0) is scheduled to play at Lorain Saturday. First pitch in the tilt against the Titans is slated for 11 a.m.
by Skip Snow
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