The combined strength of Coplay and Fullerton made for a perfect mix this summer and helped earn them the regular season title in the Lehigh Valley Legion Baseball League. They clinched the title after defeating South Parkland 6-5 in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday. The suspended game was tied 5-5 in the ninth inning and Coplay-Fullerton scored the go-ahead run on a hit by Austin Dreisbach, scoring Matt Miller. South Parkland failed to deliver in the bottom of the ninth and Coplay-Fullerton won the title.

In doing so, they also earn the top seed in the upcoming postseason tournament which begins July 16.

They finished the season 14-4.

It was a magical ride for manager Jim Murphy. Last season his Coplay squad finished 10th in the standings, while Fullerton wound up eighth.

“From the cellar to first place, it’s been a great comeback,” said Murphy.

Murphy said that his team was peppered with some really good ballplayers and that helped them become champs. That list included Alex Bruneio who was tops in home runs and among the LVLBL leaders in slugging percentage at .806. They also got major contributions from Austin Dreisbach (. 364), Zach Hamscher (. 459), Gianni Sinatore (. 444), Alex Monteverde (. 423) and Alex Berrios (. 500).

Murphy said that this season clicked because they had a good group of talented players who played hard.

“It’s been a pleasure of having the combination of Fullerton to coach; it worked out well,” said Murphy. “I’m very happy for them.”

He also said that they played well together and got along as a team.

They also earned that top spot by getting some outstanding pitching. Zach Gilbert finishes as the league leader in ERA, posting a 0.50 mark. Bruneio was third in that category with a 0.93 mark.

Bruneio and Dakota Schiffer were tied for the league lead in wins with three, while Schiffer was third in strikeouts with 19 and fifth in WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched) at 1.21.

As a reward for clinching, Murphy said that in the second game players were allowed to play positions that they wanted to play all year. They quickly fell behind, surrendering nine runs in the top of the second to fall behind 10-0.

Still, they got some big hits, including Dreisbach’s no-doubt-about-it three-run homer to draw them closer at 11-4. But South Parkland continued to plate runs, eventually winning 14-4.

Murphy knows that his players will be ready. He’s not sure when they’ll play because bad weather may force Tuesday’s play-in game between the Carbon Monarchs and Southern Lehigh to be postponed until Wednesday. That’s the date they were supposed to begin.

“The kids are excited to get going,” he said.