Mifflin’s Detwiler, Exeter’s Kelsey, Wilson’s Fiorini among Berks’ 10 All-State picks
2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by
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Gov. Mifflin capped the greatest season in program history by landing three players on the Pennsylvania Baseball Coaches Association All-State baseball team.
(Jeffrey Shomo photo)
Juniors Bryce Detwiler, Ethan Grim and Travis Jenkins are among eight first-team selections and 10 overall selections from Berks County schools.
A first and second team were selected in each of the six classifications.
Detwiler, Grim and Jenkins, stalwarts on the Mustangs’ first PIAA championship teams, and Exeter’s Alex Kelsey are among 20 players selected for the Class 5A first team.
Wilson’s Nick Fiorini is a first-team choice and Matt VanOstenbridge a second-team pick on the Class 6A team.
Fleetwood’s Liam Hilburt is a first-team pick in Class 4A.
High Point Baptist, the top seed in the District 3 Class 1A Tournament, earned three selections: Pitcher Bradon Howe and infielder Landon Richard, on the first team, and catcher Jacob Davenport on the second team.
For the full All-State teams, click here.
(PhilMarPhoto)
Detwiler, the Berks Player of the Year, batted .453 and led Berks League players with eight home runs, 46 runs scored, 27 stolen bases, 34 RBIs, a .953 slugging percentage and a 1.548 OPS.
The University of Connecticut recruit also went 10-2 with a 1.70 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 70 innings.
Grim went 8-3 with a 1.77 ERA and earned the 2-1 win over Hollidaysburg in the PIAA championship game by striking out 11 over six innings.
He led Berks pitchers with 113 strikeouts over a league-leading 71 1/3 innings and held opposing batters to a .183 batting average, second-best in the league.
Grim also batted .410 with 29 RBIs and a .590 slugging percentage.
Jenkins was a staunch defender behind the plate and proved impossible to strike out: He did not whiff in 110 plate appearances and 86 at-bats over 29 games.
(PhilMarPhoto)
The Mustangs’ cleanup hitter drove in 28 runs, scored 23, had 13 extra-base hits and a .605 slugging percentage. He threw out 45 percent of base-stealers and was charged with just four passed balls.
Kelsey, a senior center fielder committed to play at St. Joseph’s, led the Berks League in batting average (.527) and on-base percentage (.649) and was third in slugging (.781). He scored 27 runs and stole 24 bases, both second in the league, and had a 1.431 OPS, also second in the league.
Fiorini, a senior center fielder committed to play at Elizabethtown, batted .402 in leading the Bulldogs to the BCIAA championship and the PIAA Tournament. He had 30 RBIs, second-most in the league, a .609 slugging percentage and a 1.080 OPS.
Hilburt, a senior pitcher, was the anchor of a Fleetwood team that reached the PIAA semifinals for the first time. He tied for the league lead in wins, going 10-2, and pitched 67 1/3 innings over 13 appearances. He struck out 50 and had a .220 batting average against.
(Jeffrey Shomo photo)
VanOstenbridge, a senior pitcher who will play at Penn State, went 7-1 and pitched the Bulldogs to the BCIAA championship, beating Gov. Mifflin 10-3 for the title. He posted a league-leading 0.82 ERA – more than half a run lower than anyone else – and struck out 80 over 59 1/3 innings.
VanOstenbridge pitched a five-inning no-hitter vs. Exeter with 10 strikeouts and pitched a one-hitter in Wilson’s 2-0 win over North Allegheny in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament. He also picked up the win over Mifflin in the BCIAA title game.
Howe, a sophomore, went 6-1 with a 1.63 ERA. He struck out 63 over 38 2/3 innings and 12 appearances. He also batted .469 with 36 runs scored and 30 RBIs.
Richard, a junior, batted .617 over 19 games with 38 RBIs, 24 runs scored, a .716 on-base percentage and a .914 slugging percentage.
Davenport, a junior, batted .317 with 35 runs scored and 22 stolen bases in 19 games.
