As the Lehigh Valley Legion Baseball League regular season winds down, the area teams will take a break this week for the annual all-star game that features five Coplay ballplayers.

The LVLBL will once again travel to Reading where they’ll play all-stars from the Berks/Schuylkill Legion Baseball League. The 2018 squad features Coplay players Zach Bilder (catcher), Alex Bruneio (1st base), Jake Lisicky (3rd base), Zachary Hamscher (DH), and Jake Paashaus (pitcher). Coplay led the LVLBL all-star squad with five players selected, while Northern Valley, North Parkland and the Carbon Monarchs each placed four on the team. Additionally, Bilder, Bruneio and Lisicky are all listed as starters for the game this week.

The four position players are all batting over .350, with Jake Lisicky’s stellar offensive season leading to Player of the Week honors for June18-24. He batted .636 for the week with seven hits and six RBIs.

The game is scheduled for Monday, July 9, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading. Last year Berks/Schuylkill won 13-4, and the LVLBL all-stars will be looking for a little revenge when they travel south to the home of the Fightin Phils.

Coplay enters this week 8-9. They finished last week 2-2. with wins against West Allentown and Lower Macungie, while dropping games to Carbon Monarchs and South Parkland.

Their offense has been their bread and butter so far this season, leading the league in runs scored to date with 135.

In Saturday’s 16-6 loss to the Trojans at Parkland High School, Coplay got some early offense, but the Trojans put together a big two-out rally to plate three runs in the bottom of the third, and then kept tacking on runs for the victory.

That game also featured some superb defensive play from a couple of Coplay fielders. Zach Hamscher made an outstanding catch at deep short on a mile-high pop fly, fighting the sun as he caught the ball for the second out of the inning. Catcher Jake Lisicky also made a good play on a snap throw to first, picking off the South Parkland baserunner to end the inning.

Coplay got right back in the win column on Sunday with a 10-2 victory over West Allentown. That puts them back at .500 with a 9-9 mark. Salisbury still has a firm grip on first heading into this week, holding a three-game lead over Lower Macungie for the regular season championship.