Tom Dorzweiler had a little more pep in his step Wednesday afternoon and rightly so.

For the first time this season, his entire team was present, and the atmosphere at Finch Field seemed to be elevated just a bit. The end result was a 3-1 HiToms win over the Asheboro Copperheads, breathing new life into a club that had started the year 4-12.

“The season starts today,” said Dorzweiler. “Everybody is here now and there are no more excuses. All the horses are here and we are going to saddle them up and ride them as long as we can.”

The Tommies remain well back of Forest City in the first half pennant, but the agenda for now is to get better each day in preparation for the second half.

Starting pitcher Parker Thomas helped guide the team in a new direction, tossing six innings and giving up only one hit to get the win. He struck out six during his tenure on the hill.

“Parker came out and pitched great,” said Dorzweiler. “We told him we are going to run you until you run out of gas.”

Leadoff hitter Tanner Mathis singled to start the game, making his way to third on a passed ball and ground out. Tyler Frederick took care of the final 90 feet, slapping a single to right for a 1-0 good guys lead.

In the fourth, the Tommies went up by two thanks to newcomer Chris Fritts. The Tennessee Volunteer product smashed a solo home run to left in just his second at-bat with the team. He had also doubled down the line in left for his first plate appearance.

Thomas was relieved by Louisiana State’s Jordan Rittiner in the seventh, and was touched for a run by the Copperheads. Brantley Meier reached on a Frederick error at third, then stole second to get in scoring position with two outs. Hunter Ridge then singled to right, setting up a play at the plate. Mathis fired the ball home and the low throw beat the runner, but Meier dove head first around the back of the plate and reached his hand in for the score. Dorzweiler came out to argue the call but the ruling would stand. Rittiner got the next man to fly out and end the inning.

Mathis helped get the run back in the bottom half in similar fashion, reaching on an error at third. He was sacrificed over to second then stole third with two outs. After Frederick was hit by a pitch, Zak Wasserman (another newcomer) singled up the middle to score Mathis.

Brandon Johnson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish off the game and get the save.

Notes: Frederick reached base all four times and collected two hits ... Fritts also added two hits to the cause ... Asheboro skipper Donnie Wilson was tossed in the second inning arguing a call he would later win ... The HiToms travel to Gastonia tonight for a 7:05 start.