Muhls get a kick out of Josh Smeltzer’s bat, as well as his glove
Make no mistake about it, Josh Smeltzer was in the Muhlenberg lineup Thursday night for his glove, not his bat.
The 6-2 junior has a knack for scooping low throws out of the dirt, giving his infielders and pitchers a little more peace of mind.
“He’s been a plus defensively for us,” said Muhls coach Brian Kopetsky.
Smeltzer hasn’t hit much since moving into the starting lineup late last month but he delivered the biggest knock of the season for the Muhls, his two-run single keying a five-run sixth inning that carried them past Daniel Boone 6-3 in a Berks Baseball League quarterfinal at Owls Field.
The third-seeded Muhls (13-7) were on the ropes as the sixth-seeded Blazers (12-9) came up with timely hits and solid pitching and played a taught game.
The defending league champs trailed 3-1 and had just two hits to show for its first five frames.
“I thought we played really well for 5 ½ (innings),” said Boone coach Jason McCord, his team looking for its first win over a Berks I opponent this season. “That bottom of the sixth, it just unraveled, and unraveled in a hurry.”
Smeltzer sped up the process. He stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, two outs and a .125 batting average – lowest of anyone in Muhlenberg’s starting lineup.
He decided to crowd the plate, to make Boone left-hander Dylan Schueler “uncomfortable.”
Schueler entered in the fifth and set the Muhls down in order but he began to lose the strike zone in the sixth after one-out singles by Eli Keller and Shane Rosenberry. Sean Patton drew a two-out walk to load the bases and Smeltzer worked the count to 3-1 before muscling a pitch into shallow left, just beyond shortstop Mason Walter.
His two-run single tied the game 3-3 and raised his season RBI total to . . . two.
“Absolutely amazing,” he said of the feeling of contributing in such a big way with his bat.
After Julian Hatt walked to re-load the bases Aaden Lopez sent what looked like an inning-ending grounder to second baseman Nicolas Gualtieri. The ball ricocheted off his glove for an error and two more runs scored. Cam Burr completed the rally with an RBI single to make it 6-3.
“It was a big spot,” McCord said of Smeltzer’s hit. “We fell asleep, didn’t adjust our left fielder and bring him in against a lefty, and they got the bloop base hit to tie it up.”
Right-hander Dalton Follweiler made the five-run rally stand up, retiring the Blazers in order in the seventh to complete a five-hitter. He retired the final eight batters, didn’t allow a hit over the final three innings and completed the job with just 76 pitches.
The comeback sends the Muhls into a Saturday morning semifinal against second-seeded Wilson at FirstEnergy Stadium at 9. It’s the first game of a doubleheader.
The Muhls had rallied earlier this season to erase bigger deficits but they didn’t win any of those games. This time they showed the poise to hang in there until things began to fall their way.
“Usually we get up early,” Follweiler said. “This game, we had to capitalize on their errors. We found that hole and took advantage.”
The Blazers went up 2-1 in the third when Christian Eckstein led off with a triple and scored on Walter’s groundout. They made it 3-1 in the fourth when Eli Rhoads hit a one-out triple and Dylan Gass followed with a sacrifice fly.
The 3-1 lead looked big the way starter Eric Rissmiller was pitching. He allowed just two hits over four innings before being replaced.
“It’s never a big enough lead against them,” McCord said of the Muhls. “They’re so well-coached, they’re so poised, they’re so seasoned. They weren’t going to go away. They could be down to their last strike and they’re gonna fight; they’re just an incredible ballclub.”
| Daniel Boone | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Muhlenberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | x | – | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Blazers | AB | R | H | RBI | Muhls | AB | R | H | RBI | |
| Eckstein, cf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Burr, 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Gualtieri, 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cavanna, rf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Walter, ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Keller, ss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Rissmiller, p/dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Rosenberry, c | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| McGough, c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wilson, 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| E. Rhoads, 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Patton, dh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Gass, rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Follwiler, p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cizmarik, 1b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Smeltzer, 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Schuler, lf/p | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hatt, lf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hughes, p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lopez, cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 25 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
E:Wilson,Gualtieri. 2B: Rosenberry. 3B: Eckstein, Rhoads, Cavanna. SB: Wilson, Lopez. CS: Rosenberry, Lopez. LOB: Daniel Boone 4, Muhlenberg 5.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |||
| Rissmiller | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Follwiler, W (5-1) | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Schueler, L (5-3) | 1 2/3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||
| Hughes | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
