Muhls squeeze past Bulldogs, keep Berks I title hopes alive
2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
The late Bob Rentschler, who brought three state championships to Oley Valley, was fond of saying: “If you want to be a bullfighter, you have to fight the bulls.”
Looks like the Muhlenberg Muhls are true bullfighters.
For the second time this season they took a tight game from Wilson, winning 3-2 Monday night at Laureldale to keep their hopes alive for a Berks League Division I title.
| Berks I | League | Overall |
| Gov. Mifflin | 8-2 | 13-2 |
| Muhlenberg | 7-3 | 11-5 |
| Wilson | 7-3 | 11-6 |
| Exeter | 3-7 | 8-8 |
| Reading High | 1-9 | 2-13 |
The Muhls (7-3 Berks I, 11-5) scored a first-inning run on a squeeze bunt, then scored twice in their final at-bat in the sixth to hand Bulldogs ace Matt VanOstenbridge his first loss.
Muhlenberg and Wilson are tied for second in Berks I, one game behind Gov. Mifflin (8-2 Berks I, 13-2), which handed Berks II leader Twin Valley its first league loss Monday.
The Muhls are a combined 3-1 against the Mustangs and Bulldogs this season.
If Muhlenberg wins its final two league games, at Fleetwood on Wednesday and at Reading on Friday; if Mifflin beats Exeter Wednesday; and if Wilson beats Reading Wednesday and wins at Mifflin Friday the teams will end up in a three-way tie for first place. The Muhls own the tiebreaker advantage in that scenario.
“If you want to be considered a playoff team, and play for a county title and beyond, you have to get in there and go toe to toe with the best teams in the league,” said Muhlenberg coach Brian Kopetsky. “These are the type of games you need to win.”
The Muhls had a monumental task facing VanOstenbridge, a Penn State recruit who entered the game with a 3-0 record and league-leading 0.52 ERA.
They scratched across a run in the first when two-time All-Berks pick Cam Burr singled off the glove of third baseman Tommy Hunsicker, stole second, was sacrificed to third and beat the throw home from VanOstenbridge on Gavin Moody’s squeeze bunt.
“Thankfully Cam was on third,” Kopetsky said of his leadoff batter and team’s stolen base leader. “If it had been a slower guy he would’ve been out.”
Kopetsky prepared his guys for a tight game and knew they would have to pull out all the stops to beat the streaking Bulldogs, who had won seven straight league games since a 4-3, eight-inning loss to Muhlenberg on April 9.
“We reached into every bag of tricks known to man,” Kopetsky said. “You know going into a game against a team like Wilson it’s going to be a 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 kind of game. In those type of games you’ve got to maximize every single opportunity you get. Tonight, we maximized pretty much every baserunner we got.”
The Muhls were out-hit 10-4, VanOstenbridge walked just one batter and the Bulldogs didn’t commit an error. Muhlenberg left just one runner on base.
Wilson tied it 1-1 in the second on Ben Kulp’s home run and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on VanOstenbridge’s RBI single.
That stood up until the sixth when Cooper Burr hit a lead off single and Anthony Cipolla sent courtesy runner Joseph Clinese to third with a single. Cam Burr tied the game with an RBI single to right, sending Cipolla to third. Moody brought home the go-ahead run with a one-out sacrifice fly.
Ethan Weiler, who went the distance in a big win at Mifflin earlier this season, earned the win, going six innings. Cole Moody needed just seven pitches to get the final three outs and pick up the save.
Nick Fiorini and C.J. Fernandez each had two hits for Wilson. Cam Burr went 2-for-3 for Muhlenberg.
Muhlenberg last won a division title in 2022, when it played in Berks I. It’s last Berks I title came in 2018.
Regardless of how the Berks I race turns out the eight qualifiers for the Berks League Tournament will be seeded based on District 3 power ratings. Entering play Monday Gov. Mifflin had a lead over Twin Valley, Wilson, and Muhlenberg, which were tightly bunched. All four teams are sure to make the Berks playoff field.