Minick, Mustangs show true grit in holding off Bulldogs

You’d never know it from watching him operate on the mound, where he attacks the strike zone and challenges hitters, but pitching’s not Tyler Minick’s thing.

“I love to play short,” the Gov. Mifflin junior said, “I love hit. Pitching’s just a secondary thing.”

The right-hander has a strong arm and nasty breaker. He also has grit. That, above all else, was vital playing in uncomfortable conditions, with the temperature in the upper 40’s and brisk winds that made it feel much colder Wednesday afternoon at Wilson West Middle School.

“He competes,” Mifflin coach Chris Hole said of Minick after watching him throw five effective innings as the Mustangs ground out a 10-5 Berks League Division I win over the Bulldogs.

“Whether he’s out in the field, on the mound, in the batter’s box, he just competes,” Hole said. “That’s probably the most impressive thing about him. He’s a kid that’s mentally tough and always a guy that you want up, on or the mound, in a key moment.”

Wednesday was one of those key moments as the Mustangs (8-0, 15-0) beat the rival Bulldogs (4-3, 5-7) for the second time and essentially locked up the Berks I race. Mifflin has a three-game edge in the loss column over both Wilson and Exeter with four league games left.

Their first division title since 2016 is just a couple wins away.

The Mustangs are also closing in on a rare perfect regular season. Their 15-0 start is believed to be the best in program history.

Center field Mason Woolwine admits the unbeaten start is “kind of unreal” but he and the Mustangs are just trying to stay grounded. They know their biggest games won’t come until the postseason.

“We just take one game at a time, get better each day at practice and just work for the next game,” said Woolwine. “We just try to keep our heads.”

Wednesday’s harsh conditions made it a mental battle as much as a physical one, and the Mustangs earned high marks in that area, too. Once Wilson ace Cole Leaman departed one out into the fifth inning they remained patient and waited out the Bulldogs’ relievers.

That led to a five-run fifth inning that included six free passes walks, and to a staggering 13 walks over the final three innings.

“Sometimes offense isn’t always hitting the ball,” Hole said, “it’s finding a way to get on base, and we did a good job with that today.”

“Coach Hole teaches us, if you don’t get something to hit, pass it on to the next guy in line,” said Minick, who walked twice, reached base four times and scored twice. “We’ve got a bunch a dangerous hitters. When they walk you, you just hit when you can.”

Woolwine scored three times, Alexander Velez had two hits and scored twice and freshman Bryce Detweiler had a pair of hits and two RBIs.

Neither team played crisply; you can blame the conditions on that. It was difficult to get loose, to hold onto the ball — and to catch it.

The Mustangs jumped on Leaman for a pair of unearned runs in the first when Minick led off by reaching on an error and Woolwine followed with a walk. Each advanced on a wild pitch. Minick scored on Velez’s sacrifice fly and Woolwine on Detweiler’s single.

The Bulldogs got a run back in the third and it was tight heading into the fifth, as was the first meeting, a 3-1 Mifflin win three weeks ago in Shillington.

Minick worked a walk to lead off the fifth — he reached base for the 11th straight time later in the inning — and Woolwine and Velez followed with infield hits to load the bases. Minick scored on Darien Troche’s sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead. That was it for Leaman, who was on a restricted pitch count.

It turns out that was it for the Bulldogs, too, as relievers Owen Geng and Christian Valent issued walks to five of the next six hitters, including three with the bases loaded to extend Mifflin’s lead to 7-1.

Minick seemed unaffected by the conditions, or by the fact that he had pitched just two innings over the last two weeks since leaving a start against Reading High April 13 with back tightness.

He struck out six over five innings, walked just two and pitched out of trouble a couple times, including the first, which Rafael Fernandez opened with a double, and the fourth, when the Bulldogs — trailing just 2-1 — loaded the bases but couldn’t push anyone home.

Minick moved to short after the fifth, his team leading 7-3. Two of the three runs he allowed were unearned. He is 3-0 this season with an 0.91 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 23 innings.

“He did a phenomenal job, phenomenal,” said Hole. “Our defense let him down in some spots today, but he competes.”

“He’s doing his job for us,” Woolwine said, “especially coming back from a back injury (and) pitching, it was very bold for him, and pretty brave, honestly. Him doing his job out there . . . is special.”