The St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday picked up the contract of Hoosac Valley alumnus Matt Koperniak and added him to the Major League Baseball team's 40-man roster, according to numerous media outlets.
The move came on the eve of MLB's deadline to either sign eligible minor leaguers or leave them eligible to be selected by other organizations in the upcoming "Rule 5 Draft."
The Belleville News-Democrat of Belleville, Ill., called Koperniak "arguably Memphis' MVP last season" after he hit 20 home runs with a .309 batting average and .512 slugging percentage for the Triple-A Redbirds.
"This fall, Koperniak has been playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic for Leones del Escogito, the team managed by Albert Pujols," Jeff Jones wrote in an article published Tuesday afternoon on the News-Democrat's website. "That exposure and valuable opinion no doubt played some role in the team determining that Koperniak could contribute as a depth offensive player in the majors."
Josh Jacobs, on the website "Redbirdrants.com" earlier on Tuesday listed Koperniak as one of, "Three Propsects the Cardinals Need to Protect Before Tonight's Rule 5 Deadline."
"The Cardinals have just six outfielders on their 40-man roster right now, and that's including Brendan Donovan, who may find himself playing infield a lot more in 2025," Jacobs wrote. "Adding Koperniak to the roster makes a lot of sense, and while he wouldn't have a clear path to playing time in St. Louis, he'd likely have a shot at some point."
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Adams Police Takes League Title
By Ben McDonoughFor iBerkshires.com Sports
In a hard-fought three-game championship series, Adams Police saved its best performance for last.
Behind a dominant outing from Lador Lawson and an offense that capitalized on nearly every opportunity, Adams Police defeated Adams Community Bank 10-0 in five innings Saturday to capture the Adams-Cheshire League championship.
Lawson was in command from the opening pitch, retiring the first two batters he faced with a strikeout and a fly ball before working around a two-out double by Maddox Milesi. The right-hander stranded the runner with another strikeout, setting the tone for a championship performance in the circle.
The Police offense answered immediately in the bottom of the first.
Hudson Ziter led off with a single before Lawson drew a walk and stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Avry Decker followed with a two-run hit to open the scoring. Danny Collins added an RBI single later in the inning, and another run came home during an aggressive baserunning sequence as Adams Police built a 5-0 advantage before Adams Community Bank recorded the third out.
Lawson continued to cruise in the second, striking out all three Adams Community Bank batters he faced.
The Police added to their lead in the bottom half of the inning when Ziter collected his second hit of the day. Moments later, Lawson drove a two-run home run to left field, extending the advantage to 7-0. Decker later reached with another base hit, while Adams Community Bank pitcher Mason Kucka settled in to record consecutive strikeouts and prevent further damage.
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