Oxford, AL – Fiser comes through with another strong pitching performance, and Iakopo delivers game-winning hit as Oxford’s Smash It Sports Vipers beat Oklahoma City Spark 4-1.
By Joe Medley
The pitcher-catcher battery of Amber Fiser and Mark Iakopo clearly shares a brain, and their collaborations account for both of the Smash It Sports Vipers’ victories this season.
They also shared responsibility Wednesday.
Fiser struck out nine batters in her second consecutive complete-game performance, and Iokopo drove in in all four runs as the Vipers beat the visiting Oklahoma City Spark 4-1 at Choccolocco Park.
The Vipers recorded their second error-free game in a row and improved to 2-7 in the young Women’s Professional Fastpitch season. Both wins came on the current homestand, which included a three-game set with the Texas Smoke.
“Not only to win at home, but to win as a team and just keep that roll going, it’s huge for us,” Iakopo said. “Just to have our pitchers’ backs, it’s a fun time to be out there.”
Fiser, who pitched in the Vipers’6-0 victory over the Smoke on June 24, brought it again Wednesday, in her next start. The Spark (8-2) scored its lone run came on Michelle Moultrie’s RBI single to tie the game 1-1 in the second inning.
Fiser, a former All-American from the University of Minnesota, split two showdowns with the Spark’s Jocelyn Alo, the 2022 Women’s College World Series MVP from Oklahoma. Fiser walked her in the first inning but struck her out looking in the fifth inning.
“I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know if that’s going to happen again. It’s been a lot of fun,’” Fiser said. “Every pitch, you have to make an adjustment with her.
“She’s the best hitter in the country. She’s a very tough hitter. She’s a smart hitter. Obviously, she has some power, but it’s fun when it’s your friend that you’re throwing to.”
Lefty Sydney Sherrill got three of the Spark’s five hits on Fiser, but Alo, Hayley Lee and Fa Leilua went a combined 0-for-8 with one walk.
“I think her changeup really helped her tonight, especially against Alo and Fa, the big hitters, 3-4-5,” Vipers coach Gerry Glasco said. “She threw some great changeups.”
Iakopo’s four RBIs included her sacrifice fly to plate Brooke Wilmes in the bottom of the first.
When Iakopo came to bat in the bottom of the sixth, the former University of Texas standout saw bases loaded. Wilmes reached on a third-strike wild pitch. Suzy Brookshire and Makena Smith walked.
Iakopo followed Smith with a double to left-center field off of Spark starter Donnie Gobourne.
The game-winning hit was the culmination of a long day, following the Vipers’ 3-0 loss to the Spark on Tuesday, when the Vipers managed four hits off of former Oklahoma standout Keilani Ricketts.
“We just had a lot of preparation today,” Iakopo said. “I was exhausted from a hundred at bats off of the machine, but it worked out in our favor
“We just have to trust the process and trust our coaches.”
