Coppedge Drives in Four as Birmingham Tops Utica, 5-2
September 5th, 2026
UTICA, Mich. – The Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers (24-21) jumped out to an early five-run lead and held off a late Utica Unicorns (27-18) rally to earn a 5-2 victory Friday night at UWM Field. Both teams finished with six hits, but Birmingham did all of its damage in the opening two innings.
The Beavers wasted little time getting its offense going. Chase Rodriguez opened the game with a double before David Coppedge launched a two-run home run, his seventh of the season, to put the Beavers in front. The visitors went on to plate three runs in the first before adding two more in the second to build a 5-0 advantage. Coppedge was responsible for four of Birmingham’s five RBI, while Vicente Feliciano drove in the other.
From there, Birmingham starter Jack Decker took control on the mound. He tossed five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five to earn the win. Miles Garrett followed with two scoreless frames of his own, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Utica’s pitching staff also settled in after the difficult start. After the Beavers scored five times over the first two innings, Edrian Rangel, Ray Ochoa, Dillon Fischer, Calvin Shepherd and Trevor Sharp combined to keep Birmingham scoreless for the remainder of the game, giving the Unicorn’s offense an opportunity to battle back.
They finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth. Four walks helped set up the late rally, with Logan Sanders and Zach Bauers each driving in a run to cut the Beaver’s advantage to 5-2. With the bases loaded and two outs, Birmingham turned to Spencer Smith, who recorded a strikeout to end the threat and earn the save.
Rafael Jackson III led Utica offensively with two hits, while Jack Taulman, Alex Harrell, Lofton and Bauers each added one. Birmingham was paced by two-hit performances from Rodriguez and Tommy Barth, while the team also swiped five bases on the night.