Junior pitches in on Senior Night to set up Bulldogs’ final-week playoff push
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Christo Hunsicker liked the way Wilson’s Senior Night ended at Owls Field Saturday but the junior didn’t enjoy watching his brother Tommy and the other seniors being celebrated before the game.
“It was a little sad, because I love playing with all of them,” said Hunsicker, who cracked Wilson’s starting lineup as a freshman. “They teach me a lot and I’m going to miss them when they’re gone. They’re good leaders, every one of them.”
Even with eight seniors on the roster the Bulldogs still have good things ahead of them. Christo Hunsicker and sophomore Jack Gabel showed why in a 10-0, six-inning Berks League crossover victory over Daniel Boone in the finale of the Berks County Showcase.
| Berks I | League | Overall |
| Wilson | 7-2 | 11-5 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 7-2 | 12-2 |
| Muhlenberg | 6-3 | 10-5 |
| Exeter | 3-6 | 8-7 |
| Reading High | 0-9 | 1-13 |
Hunsicker, pitching for the first time in 12 days, threw a three-hitter and Gabel supplied a big chunk of the offense, driving in four runs.
Hunsicker struck out a career-high 11 batters and set up the Bulldogs (7-2 Berks, 11-5) for their biggest week of the season.
Because of Hunsicker Wilson didn’t need to use its top two starters, Matt VanOstenbridge and Ben Kulp, or its top reliever, Gabel. He handled things on the mound with an efficient 79-pitch complete game that didn’t include a walk.
The Blazers (3-6 Berks II, 8-8) had just four baserunners and never had more than one on in an inning. Hunsicker kept traffic to a minimum by attacking the strike zone and by effectively spotting his fastball and curveball low in the strike zone and off the edge of the plate.
“I’m just trying to get it in the strike zone, because I know my team’s going to have my back, defensively,” Hunsicker said. “They all made the plays.”
“What Christo does a really good job with is pounding the zone with his fastball,” said Wilson coach Bill Underwood. “He can move the ball in and out. If you can hit your spots inside and out, that’s really two pitches, and he’s able to do that really well.”
Hunsicker has walked just four batters over 20 innings this season, with 27 strikeouts.
The shorthanded Blazers – missing at least three starters, and five players overall due to injuries – threatened to score only once when Anthony Cizmarik stroked a one-out single in the first, stole second and took third on a balk.
Hunsicker ended the threat by striking out cleanup hitter Maddox Roy, his third strikeout of the inning.
“It was my first game back in a while,” said Hunsicker, who had pitched since starting in a 6-5 win over Gov. Mifflin. “It took me a while to find my rhythm. About halfway through the game I was feeling pretty good and pitching to contact.”
He retired 10 straight batters after allowing Cizmarik’s single. The Blazers got just one more runner in scoring position the rest of the way.
Wilson put things away with a six-run fourth inning that gave them an 8-0 lead. Gabel highlighted the bat-around inning with a three-run double that made it 7-0. He added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Nick Fiorini had RBI singles in the first and sixth innings; the cleanup hitter has driven in 21 runs in 16 games.
The win was key for Wilson for a lot of reasons. It pushed them back into a tie for first place in Berks I with idle Gov. Mifflin and gives them some momentum heading into the final, critical week of the season.
The Bulldogs play at Muhlenberg – just a game behind the Berks I leaders – on Monday and at Mifflin Friday in the regular season finale. If they can win both, along with beating Reading High on Wednesday, they could end up as the No. 1 seed heading into the Berks League playoffs.
They’re also in strong position to earn a first-round bye in the District 3 Class 6A Tournament. They entered play No. 5 in the power rankings; the top four earn first-round byes and quarterfinal home games.
They’re in position to earn a quarterfinal home game in the Berks playoffs, as well. They entered play Saturday with the No. 3 power ranking, behind Mifflin and Berks II leader Twin Valley.
“We have a little revenge against Muhlenberg,” Hunsicker said, “they beat us (4-3 on April 9), and hopefully we can keep it going through the Mifflin game and then into the playoffs. We have a deep pitching staff; we have a lot of kids that can really deal. I’m excited. We’re all excited.”
