20-win season left ‘sour taste’ with Mustangs; they’re looking for better finish
Tyler Minick was an offensive dynamo last season, batting .500, slugging 1.018 and leading the Berks League with a .616 on-base percentage.
He went 6-0 on the mound with a league-low 0.93 ERA.
His Gov. Mifflin baseball team won its first 19 games.
And yet it was an unfulfilling season.
“That’s a pretty good stat line,” said the University of Connecticut recruit, “but it comes back to we didn’t win anything. It’s a sour taste, for sure. It’s tough to have those stats, having Player of the Year but not have a county or district championship with it.”
The Mustangs were the best team in the league during the regular season, going 19-1 and winning the Berks I title. When it came to the postseason, they fizzled out.
Minick hurt his arm late in the year and didn’t pitch down the stretch. Then, following a first-round knockout by Oley Valley in the Berks League tournament, he strained his oblique during a scrimmage and was done for the season.
The Mustangs were, too. They lost twice in three District 3 Class 6A playoff games, didn’t make the state tournament and had no hardware to show for such a dominant season.
“What happened last year left a sour taste in our mouths,” said senior captain Darien Troche. “We’re not trying to repeat that. We want to be really down to earth as a team. We’re trying to focus on discipline, focus on doing the right things.”
Hard as it is to believe the Mustangs should be even better this season. They need to replace three starters, including all-division center fielder Mason Woolwine, but what they have back is impressive. Scary, even.
There’s Minick, the Berks Player of the Year.
There’s Alexander Velez, the Berks Pitcher of the Year.
There’s Troche, a catcher and three-year starter who will also pitch this season.
And there are all-division picks Ethan Grim and Bryce Detwiler, who along with outfielder Travis Jenkins formed the best freshman class in the league and front a young group that will keep the Mustangs on top for seasons to come.
“That freshman class,” said Mifflin coach Chris Hole, “has a tremendous amount of depth (beyond those three). There’s a few more that can help us (this season).”
That embarrassment of riches makes the Mustangs the favorite in Berks I, which probably houses four of the top six teams in the league.
That includes Muhlenberg, the defending county champ, which returns to Berks I after winning back-to-back Berks II titles. The Muhls took some big graduation hits but return All-Berks third baseman Cam Burr and three other all-division picks. They’ll be Mifflin’s top competition.
“We did a great job of reloading,” Troche said. “Everyone has worked so hard this offseason.”
The Mustangs and Minick are in better shape heading into the season than they were last years, when they had to replace a dozen seniors from a county championship season. They entered last season with a lot of question marks.
Minick was coming off a strong sophomore season but he’s even stronger now – literally. He didn’t play football in the fall, instead using the time to further strengthen his body. He tacked on about 20 pounds and focused on speed training. Not that he was slow last season: He was good on 11 of 12 stolen base attempts.
“People are going to be shocked at what he looks like,” said Hole. “(He’s added) not only muscle but he’s gotten faster. He’s just an animal. If he does even a fraction of what he’s done in prior years that’s going to help carry us.”
Minick said after offseason training, and after concentrating on a healthier diet, he’s feeling stronger than ever at the plate and that his exit velocity has increased. This after leading the league with six homers.
No wonder he’s getting pro looks.
It would seem opposing teams won’t want to pitch to him, but with the lineup around him they won’t have an easy choice to make. He drew only a couple of intentional walks last season.
“It’s hard (to pitch around me) with the lineup we had last year,” he said, “with Xander hitting behind me, Bryce hitting behind me, Darrien, Mason. We still have a lot of guys that, if I’m on base, can clear me. If I’m on first base I’m usually stealing second or third, so it’s kind of hard to put me on.”
Velez may have had the second-best season in the league last season but was overshadowed by Minick. Not only was he the league’s top pitcher, going 8-0 with a pair of saves in 12 appearances, but he was tremendous with the bat.
He batted .453, second-best in the league, led the league with 32 RBIs and scored 21 runs. He finished among the league’s top 10 hitters in both on-base percentage (.505) and slugging percentage (.640). He had a team-high 10 doubles. He’s committed to play at Division II Bloomsburg.
“He had a monster year for us,” said Hole. “He came into his own, not only as a pitcher but as a hitter. He hits the ball well now to all fields with power. He’s a complete hitter.”
The Mustangs have so much pitching depth – everyone returns from last year’s staff – that Minick will pitch out of the bullpen during the regular season. That’ll save him arm, keep him healthier, and give the Mustangs a critical senior presence in the middle of the infield at shortstop.
Minick pitched the seventh inning Saturday to earn the save in Mifflin’s season-opener, a 6-4 win over Mount Saint Joe’s of Baltimore, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Velez started and pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out five.
Joining Velez in the rotation will be Grim, who went 6-1 with a 1.54 ERA last season, and Troche, who was recruited as both a pitcher and catcher by Division III Cairn University. Detweiler, who batted .339 with a .461 on-base percentage, will also see time on the mound.
“We have some pretty good options there,” Hole said.
Senior Matt Novotny, one of the league’s top relievers last season, will again close games, along with Minick. He wasn’t available Saturday because he qualified for the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships and didn’t make the spring training trip.
“When playoffs come around, I’m more than willing to take the ball when I’m needed,” Minick said. “(Having me) at shortstop might be more important than having me out on the mound (for now). We’ve got a lot of pitching depth.”
Mifflin, playing in Class 5A this season, also figures to compete for a district title. It’ll see plenty of competition there, with Muhlenberg as well as defending champ Manheim Central, 2022 runner-up Ephrata and Warwick, which won the Class 6A title last year.
After last season’s finish the Mustangs have plenty of motivation.
“As a team, it sucks having that record that we had, that streak that we had, come to an end like that,” Minick said. “That injury messed me up mentally. Knowing I let my team down, it was definitely tough, but we’ve gotta come back this year and bounce back.”
Look for team-by-team previews, the top players to watch
and more this week as we preview the Berks baseball season.
