Muhlenberg’s season ends with loss to Lower Dauphin
2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Lower Dauphin took advantage of four Muhlenberg errors and scored four late runs to eliminate the Muhls 5-4 Thursday in a District 3 Class 5A playback game at Gochnauer Field.
The seventh-seeded Muhls (14-9) led 4-1 before the 14th-seeded Falcons scored twice in the fifth and twice in the sixth to take the lead.
Lower Dauphin will play Palmyra, a 3-1 winner over South Western in the other playback semifinal, on Tuesday for fifth place and a PIAA Tournament berth.
It was the Muhls’ third loss in four postseason games. They lost to Fleetwood 1-0 in a Berks quarterfinal, opened districts with a 6-5 win over Manheim Central and lost to Mechanicsburg 9-6 in the quarterfinals.
All-Berks right-hander Cam Burr took the loss, allowing six hits and five runs, two earned, over six innings. Josh Smeltzer pitched a perfect seventh for the Muhls.
Aaden Lopez and Gavin Moody each had two hits and two RBIs for the Muhls.
The Falcons (14-9) effectively limited Muhlenberg’s running game, allowing just one stolen base in two attempts. The Muhls stole 77 bases in their first 22 games.
Ethan Duff earned the win, closing the game with four shutout innings for the Falcons. He allowed just two hits and struck out four.
Burr ends the season with a 4-3 record and 1.58 ERA. He struck out 66 over 48 2/3 innings. He did not allow more than one run in any of his starts until the district tournament, when he allowed 10 runs, six earned, over 12 innings.
It was Muhlenberg’s fifth one-run loss of the season.
