Streaking Fleetwood Tigers on cusp of Berks II baseball championship
The momentum of a big postseason run last year carried into this season for the Fleetwood Tigers, who have won six straight games and are on the cusp of their first division title since 2018.
“The experience we got in districts and playing those games late in the year and going into states gave ’em a lot of confidence, knowing that they can compete with anybody,” said Tigers coach Rolland Green.
The Tigers (5-3, 11-5) have a one-game lead over Twin Valley in Division II of the Berks Baseball League with three league games remaining. They own a pair of head-to-head wins over the Raiders (4-4, 6-8), which gives them the tiebreaker advantage should they end up tied for first place. The division champ earns an automatic berth into the BCIAA Tournament.
The Tigers moved into sole possession of first place in Berks II Thursday with a 5-4 win at Twin Valley. It was their fourth one-run win of the season and second over the Raiders. They also earned one-run crossover wins against Wilson (4-3) and Exeter (5-4).
They advanced to the District 3 Class 4A semifinals last season by winning a string of close games. Half of their 10 wins came by two runs or less. In fact, 10 of their 24 games were decided by two runs or less; six were determined by one run.
Fleetwood went 3-3 in one-run games last season. This year it is 4-0.
“These kids just fight,” said Green. “They don’t give up.”
The Tigers have a slim plus-12 run differential, small for a team with a .688 winning percentage. They’re getting solid pitching, making the plays in the field and hitting better than they did a year ago. The team batting average is .288 and they’re averaging 5.3 runs per game.
Junior infielder/pitcher Liam Hilburt leads the team with a .364 batting average and 11 runs scored, and has a 1.033 OPS. Senior third baseman Zach Dillbeck is batting .356 and leads the team with 13 RBIs and a 1.034 OPS. Senior second baseman Travis Loy is batting .346.
“We’re getting some clutch hits,” Green said. “(Our) defense is pretty solid again, which is nice. And our pitching has been good enough to keep us in games and gives us an opportunity to win.”
Senior shortstop Jake Karnish has again been the team’s No. 1 pitcher. He’s 3-2 with 45 strikeouts over 29 innings, with a 3.13 ERA. Ryan Moser has been a useful weapon at the end of games, as he was during the post season last year. Moser got the save against Twin Valley last week, pitching a scoreless seventh.
Karnish and Moser combined on a two-hitter last year when the ninth-seeded Tigers knocked out top-seeded West Perry 2-0 on its home field in a district quarterfinal.
Most of the starters from that team returned, giving the Tigers hope of improving on last year’s 10-14 finish.
They also came into the season with a lot of momentum after going 22-5 and playing for a district championship in basketball. Four of the Tigers’ first six in basketball – Karnish, Hilbert, Aiden Soumas and Braden Williams – are also key pieces in baseball.
Fleetwood’s basketball run didn’t end until March 10. That may have contributed to a slow start in baseball, as they Tigers opened 1-2. They’re 10-3 since and have won eight of their last nine, the lone loss coming to Berks I-leading Gov. Mifflin.
“We just didn’t jell right away,” Green said. “We’re coming into our own and hopefully we can continue. They’re coming together pretty nice, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence, which is nice to see. They’re having fun.”
Fleetwood plays at Daniel Boone (3-5 Berks II, 9-6) Monday, at Muhlenberg (6-2 Berks I, 8-4) Wednesday and faces Conrad Weiser (3-5 Berks II, 5-10) Thursday. Twin Valley plays at Mifflin (7-1 Berks I, 11-3) Monday, faces Weiser Wednesday and is at Boone Friday.
The Tigers can clinch the division title as early as Monday if they beat Boone and Twin Valley loses to Mifflin.
Fleetwood is also in great shape for districts. It enters the week ranked No. 2 in the Class 4A power ratings, behind Kennard Dale (11-2). Berks Catholic is No. 6.
A year ago the Tigers were 3-9 and trying to shake a six-game losing streak. They didn’t make the Berks playoffs and entered districts with a 7-12 record. They didn’t look like a team headed to the PIAA Tournament.
“I’m proud of the way they compete,” Green said. “Hopefully they’ll stay hungry. I always preach to them: We want to be peaking the last two weeks of the season and still be playing meaningful baseball going into that last week of the season.”
