Gov. Mifflin clinches second straight Berks I title

By Mike Drago Last updated May 4, 2023

Bryce Detwiler allowed one hit over five innings as Gov. Mifflin defeated Exeter 11-1 in six innings Wednesday at Rulon Griffith Field to clinch its second straight Berks League Division I title.

The Mustangs (9-1, 13-3) have a two-game lead over Muhlenberg (8-3, 10-5) in the loss column and a pair of head-to-head wins over the Muhls, which would be the first tiebreaker should they finish tied for first.

Mifflin closes out league play at Wilson Friday and at Reading High Monday; Muhlenberg closes against Reading Friday.

Detwiler, a sophomore, earned his league-leading fifth win. He yielded a run in the first, then finished with four scoreless innings. He struck out five and walked a season-high seven.

Alex Kelsey opened the game with a walk for the Eagles (4-7 Berks I, 9-9) and scored to make it 1-0. He had Exeter’s only hit int he second inning.

Mifflin went ahead with three second-inning runs.

Alexander Velez broke the game open with a bases-loaded single in the fourth which expanded Mifflin’s lead from 3-1 to 6-1; two runs scored on the single, a third on an error on the play.

Travis Jenkins had two hits and a walk, scored two runs and stole a base for Mifflin; Matt Koehler had two hits and a steal, scored a run and drove in one.

Mifflin became the second team in the league to clinch a division title; earlier in the afternoon Oley Valley clinched the Berks III title.

Fleetwood has a narrow lead over Daniel Boone and Twin Valley in Berks II and Brandywine Heights has a one-game lead over Kutztown in Berks III. All but one league game will be completed by week’s end.

The Mustangs figure to again enter the BCIAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed, based on their power rating. Entering play Wednesday they had a league-best .731 rating, about 57 points ahead of Wilson and 79 points ahead of Muhlenberg.

The Bulldogs beat Reading High 15-0 Wednesday and the Muhls beat Fleetwood 8-0.

Mifflin won its first 19 games last season and went into the league tournament with a 19-1 record before losing to eighth-seeded Oley Valley in the opening round.