Soumas, Koehler come thru as Berks/LL rallies for Carpenter Cup win
Fleetwood’s Aiden Soumas and Gov. Mifflin’s Matt Koehler contributed hits in a pair of late rallies as Berks/Lancaster-Lebanon came from four runs down to beat Delaware North 8-4 in extra innings Tuesday in its Carpenter Cup opener at FDR Park.
Berks/LL scored twice in the ninth to tie it and four times in the 10th to win it.
Berks/LL will return to FDR Park Friday at 10:30 a.m. to play the winner of the Philadelphia Catholic League vs. Olympic Colonial League game; those teams meet Wednesday morning.
The winner Friday advances to play in the semifinals Monday morning at Citizen’s Bank Park.
Berks/LL tied it 4-4 in the ninth when Soumas had a leadoff double and Ephrata freshman Chase Prange hit a two-run homer.
In the 10th, Ephrata’s Drew Hurst led off with a bunt single and Koehler followed with a single; both scored on a triple by Ephrata’s Coy Schwanger. Schwanger scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-4.
Christo Hunsicker of Wilson made it 8-4 with a sacrifice fly.
Ben Burkey of Ephrata picked up the win, allowing just one hit over three scoreless innings.
Gov. Mifflin’s Ethan Grim started and went three innings, allowing two hits and a run. Exeter’s Gavin Miller followed with two scoreless innings.
Delaware North went ahead 3-1 with a pair of runs in the sixth and 4-1 with a run in the seventh, all of them off Berks Catholic’s Parker Nein.
Berks/LL got a run back in the eighth when Hurst scored on a throwing error on a groundball.
Berks/LL lost its opener last year 5-1 to Delaware South. Berks won its 2021 opener over Philadelphia Public 8-7.
Hurst, Schwanger, and Owen Zimmerman each all had two hits for Berks/LL. Exeter’s Alex Kelsey had a triple. Wilson’s Tommy Hunsicker reached twice on walks. Twin Valley’s Paul Colombo walked and scored a run.
Berks/LL out-hit Delaware North 12-2.
The single-elimination tournament includes teams from Delaware, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania.