It’s been a torrid start for the Coplay-Fullerton Legion baseball team, staying undefeated through their first 12 games.

However, that winning streak was brought to a close on Sunday when Lower Macungie defeated them by a run, 6-5.

Manager Jim Murphy said that they lost the game on an error. They had been down in the game, but fought back to take the lead. Murphy understands that those things are going to happen during the course of a game.

“That’s just part of baseball,” said Murphy.

They still have a comfortable three-game lead over South Parkland for first place in the Lehigh Valley Legion Baseball League.

Before that loss, they had reeled off wins against Northern Valley, Salisbury and Lower Macungie, scoring 28 runs over those three games.

This week’s schedule has been impacted by the rain, as well as the Fourth of July, said Murphy. That means he won’t have his full roster at his disposal, and with a bunch of games squeezed into a short period of time, it’s going to be a long week. Still, he’s confident that they can still hold onto their lead.

“I think that we can do really well,” said Murphy. “The boys have been playing pretty good baseball all around.”

One of those players is Gianni Sinatore. Sinatore was named Player of the Week for the week ending June 19. Sinatore was 8-15 with four RBIs and four runs scored. Sinatore is currently batting .438 and has scored 12 runs this season.

Murphy also said that Alex Bruneio, Austin Dreisbach, Jose Berrios and Zachary Hamscher are also hitting the ball well. Bruneio is batting .439 with two homers and 13 RBIs. Berrios is hitting .500 with a home run and six RBIs. Dreisbach is batting .364 with four doubles and 11 RBIs, while Hamscher is hitting .459 with five doubles, two triples and seven RBIs.

“We’ve just been getting good, consistent hitting,” said Murphy.

Still, Murphy attributes their strong season to their pitching staff.

“That’s been the key,” said Murphy. “We’ve been getting really good pitching.”

Their staff has a number of players among the leaders in the LVLBL. That’s a testament to the strength of that rotation.

Zach Gilbert still leads the league with a 0.50 ERA, while Bruneio is third at 0.93.

Bruneio and Dakota Schiffer lead the league in wins with three apiece, while Schiffer is fifth among league pitchers in WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) at 1.21. Additionally, Schiffer is third in strikeouts with 19, while Gilbert is fifth with 15.

At their annual all-star game versus Schuylkill-Berks, the LVLBL lost 15-5 at Reading’s FirstEnergy Stadium. Schuylkill-Berks erupted for nine runs in the top of the second to effectively salt the game away.