Youth has served top-seeded Mustangs well

Ethan Grim admits he was a little nervous the first time Chris Hole handed him the baseball, in Gov. Mifflin’s third game, in late March. The freshman right-hander entered with his team trailing at Hempfield 3-0; the butterflies were present with him on the mound.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” he said. “It was varsity baseball.”

Grim hung up a zero in his first inning. And then another. And then another. Before you knew it the Mustangs had rallied to win and Grim, who went the final four innings, earned the decision.

Even bigger, Tyler Minick, the Mustangs’ University of Connecticut-bound shortstop and driving force, gave him a big thumbs-up after the game. Grim had cleared a big hurdle.

High school coaches always say you win championships with seniors but this Mustangs team may prove to be an exception. The No. 1 seed heading into the Berks Baseball League playoffs Thursday has just three seniors on the roster and two in the starting lineup.

More strikingly they have gotten big contributions from three freshmen: Grim, Travis Jenkins and Bryce Detwiler. Grim is 6-0 and has the lowest ERA on the team at 0.85. Jenkins has been the starting right fielder and has scored 19 runs, third-most on the team, in 20 games. Detwiler starts at third or shortstop, is batting .370 and has a .940 OPS, third-best on the team.

To break into the starting lineup and excel as a freshman is rare in such a strong program. To do it on a team that just completed a 19-1 regular season — matching the best in program history — is remarkable.

“I knew they were going to be special,” said Hole, the Mustangs’ head coach, “but I just didn’t know how quickly they would end up being that way.”

It didn’t take long. Jenkins has played in every game, and has been an outstanding defender in right; he’s also caught a few games. Detwiler started the season opener against McCaskey at shortstop, where he plays when Minick is on the mound; he even had an RBI in his first game. He alternates between third base and short, depending on Minick’s pitching.

“I was a little nervous at first,” Detwiler said, “but moving on in the season the nerves went away; it just (became) a regular baseball game.”

Detwiler is athletic and can play all over the infield; he can pitch, too. He and Grim were top pitchers coming through Mifflin’s feeder system.

Detwiler has hit so well — only Minick and Alexander Velez, among regulars, have better numbers — he’s been moved up to the No. 5 spot in the order.

“He can put the ball in play in those key RBI spots,” Hole said. “He can drive the baseball, hit some gaps. It’s been a natural evolution for him to move up to that spot after what he proved throughout the regular season.”

Jenkins has gotten some big hits out of the No. 9 hole; he had an RBI single to snap a scoreless tie late in a 3-1 win over Wilson early in the season.

“He has one of the quickest bats on the team,” Hole said. “We can always count on him to put the ball in play. He’s a very ‘headsy’ kid. He can do a lot of things well: run, throw, hit, hit for power. He’s a pretty special kid.”

With juniors Velez, Minick and Matt Novotny on the staff Grim wasn’t sure if he’d get much of a chance on the mound — or even crack the varsity roster.

After his debut at Hempfield Hole saw his unflappable nature and ability to consistently throw strikes. He’s become a regular part of the rotation and is second on the team in innings pitched.

“I knew I had a shot (at the beginning of the season),” Grim said, “but I knew there were a lot of good pitchers on this team and I had to work hard.”

Minick has been duly impressed.

“The composure he has as a freshman is just insane,” Minick said after watching Grim throw a one-hitter in a 4-0 win over Fleetwood. “He pumps the strike zone.”

Senior outfielder Michael Marmolejos has been impressed with each of the three freshmen.

“All three of them can pitch, hit and field the ball,” he said. “It’s just great to have them out there.”

“Their confidence has impressed me,” said senior outfielder Mason Woolwine. “Them coming in doing their job, that’s pretty special for them to succeed out here.”

Woolwine, Marmolejos and Carter Sweigart are the only seniors on the roster. They knew the burden was on them to set the tone, especially with such a young squad.

“We knew coming into the season that we needed to guide these freshmen, show them how Mifflin baseball works,” Marmolejos said. “(Let them know) you’ve got to come in here and put in the hard work.”

Mifflin had 13 seniors on its roster last season when it won the Berks League championship. The core of this team is young; in fact, the Mustangs might be the youngest team among the eight Berks playoff qualifiers.

They’ve won three of the last six Berks titles and will be right in there battling for the next several. They’ll graduate just two starters from this team, Woolwine and Marmolejos.

“We have a couple freshmen on the JV level that are also pretty talented,” Hole said. “That class runs pretty deep. Hopefully when all those kids mesh together they can be a pretty special group.”