‘I’ve got this,” says Oley Valley’s Luke Macdonald before shutting down No. 1 Gov. Mifflin

“I’ve got this.”

That’s what Oley Valley right-hander Luke Macdonald told his coach, Jeff Pinder, before taking the mound in the seventh inning Thursday in a Berks League quarterfinal against top-seeded Gov. Mifflin.

Macdonald was quickly approaching the PIAA limit of 100 pitches in a game and Pinder wanted to make the Lynx’s senior ace aware of that fact.

It didn’t matter. Macdonald continued to mow down the Mustangs, completing a 6-1 victory and one of the biggest upsets in Berks Baseball League history.

“To be able to do what we did today is quite something for the kids,” Pinder said. “They were so excited (after the game), so pumped — as they should be.”

The Lynx (12-7) entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and didn’t wrap up a berth until late last week. The Berks I champion Mustangs (19-2), the top-ranked Class 6A team in District 3, won their first 19 games this season and have dominated their competition, winning by a league-high 5.8 runs per game.

None of that mattered to the Berks III runner-up Lynx, who scored three times in the top of the first at Gochnauer Field, then turned it over to Macdonald (5-0), who entered the game having thrown 27 1/3 scoreless innings. He extended that streak to 29 1/3 innings before Tyler Minick connected on a solo home run, cutting Oley’s lead to 5-1.

Macdonald didn’t give up much after the homer to Minick. He finished with a six-hitter, walking just one. He’s not a hard thrower — he struck out just four — but he relies on command.

“He was determined to do it all, and he wanted to finish the game,” Pinder said. “He was just concentrating about what he was doing on the mound.”

The Cougars advance to meet Wilson in a Berks League semifinal Monday at FirstEnergy Stadium at 4:15 in the first game of a doubleheader. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs beat fourth-seeded Twin Valley 3-2 in the second game Thursday at Gochnauer Field.

Gov. Mifflin started freshman Ethan Grim, rather than 7-0 junior Alexander Velez. Grim struggled with his command and lasted just 2 2/3 innings, walking four. He walked Joey Vaccaro to load the bases in the first and then, after Chase Reifsnyder’s sacrifice fly, had a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, allowing another run to score.

That was one of four Mifflin errors, leading to three unearned runs. The Mustangs made five errors in their last game, a 16-10, nine-inning loss to Exeter in the regular season finale.

McDonald’s RBI single capped the three-run first. Ty Yerger had a two-run single in the third to make it 5-0. The Lynx finished with just five hits.

“There was no pressure on us, whatsoever,” Pinder said. “We’re the 8 seed playing the 1 seed, which is a very good ball team. Gov. Mifflin, give ’em a lot of credit. They’re very well coached and a very good ball team.

“Our team just went out and . . . they wanted this game — they wanted to win this game. We just proved that we’re a really good ball team.”

The last No. 1 seed to lose in the Berks quarterfinals was Exeter, it 2013. The victorious No. 8 seed? It was the Cougars, who beat Exeter 4-0 at Gochnauer Field. That team, too, had a dominant pitcher; Andrew Gernert fired a no-hitter in that win.

Macdonald improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.39 over 34 1/3 innings.

The Lynx, in their first season under Pinder, started slowly, losing four of their first six games. They’ve been on a roll lately, winning eight of their last 10.

Oley Valley is currently seeded No. 2 in the District 3 Class 3A power ratings; it won the district title last year.