Division-leading Owls welcome defending champs tonight in Statesville

The first full week of the Southern Collegiate Baseball season isn’t in the books yet, but Statesville Owls first baseman Joe Frabasile said the team is already having fun getting to know each other and becoming comfortable as teammates on the diamond.
“You can tell that we’re going to have a really good summer,” Frabasile said.
At the very least, the Owls are off to a good start, having won their first two games.
Statesville hosts a doubleheader today against the Lake Norman Copperheads of Huntersville. The first of two seven-inning games starts at 5 p.m. The nightcap follows at 7:30 p.m. The East Division rivals will meet four more times this season.
At 2-0, the Owls hold the early lead in the division standings. Lake Norman (1-1) bounced back from Monday night’s 3-2 season-opening loss to Morganton by squaring its record Wednesday with a 9-6 win over Spartanburg.
While they don’t have the same complement of players this season, the Copperheads are the reigning SCBL champions, and that fact isn’t lost on returning Owls players.
“We definitely want to take it to them and play with a little chip on our shoulders,” said Frabasile, who played last season when the team finished second in the division to the Copperheads. “We’ve got them at home this time. It will be a big confidence builder for our whole team.”
The Owls pulled ahead of the Asheville Redbirds with three runs in the top of the eighth inning Wednesday night. They gave one run back in the bottom half, but held on for an 8-6 victory.
Frabasile (Belmont Abbey College), Kyle Brandenburg (Guilford Technical C.C.), Robby Scaggs (Newberry College) and Tripper Crisson (Catawba Valley C.C.) each had two hits for Statesville. Center fielder Kenny Jackson (Hofstra University) drove in two runs.
The Owls spotted Asheville a 2-0 first-inning lead just like they did in Monday’s 5-4 victory over the Carolina Chaos, which was decided in extra innings.
Not that deficits phase the Owls, particularly manageable ones.
“Two runs is nothing, especially in a nine-inning game,” Frabasile said. “We’re all here for a reason: because we can do stuff on the field. Our coaches put us here. Have confidence, play it out and do your best to pull out the win.”