Baseball Notebook: Home run derby, pitching depth, tough out and more
Twenty-five years ago the Tulpehocken Trojans etched their name in the national high school record book. Not in a good way, though.
The Trojans were victims of a historic performance by Minersville’s Keith Witkowski, who hit five home runs in a 21-19 victory over the Trojans, tying a national record.
“It’s not a fond memory,” said Dave Voigt, Tulpehocken’s coach in 1998, “but it’s certainly a unique one.”
Witkowski went 6-for-6 and drove in 10 runs in the seven-inning game at Tulpehocken. The Miners had 18 hits, nine of them homers. The Trojans homered twice. (The record for homers by one team in a game is 16.)
Witkowski is one of eight players recognized as sharing the national record by the National Federation of State High School Associations. No five-homer games have been recorded since 2009. It is the only five-homer performance on record in Pennsylvania.
The Trojans’ home field at the time was a bandbox with short fences and wind that often blew out. Think of Wrigley Field in 1976 when the Phillies’ Mike Schmidt homered four times and drove in eight in an 18-16 win.
“Throw in (the dimensions and the wind) with poor pitching and a really good hitter and you have your five-home run hitter,” said Voigt, now the head coach at Wyomissing.
Since it was a non-league game Voigt didn’t have his top pitchers on the mound. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered the way Witkowski was swinging.
“It wasn’t like we had Zack Wheeler or Aaron Nola on the mound,” Voigt said.
Tulpehocken led 7-1 after two innings but Witkowski was relentless. Why, you might wonder, did the Trojans keep pitching to him?
“After he hit three or four I figured: ‘What are the chances this kid continues to hit home runs,’ ” Voigt said, “so I wasn’t going to walk him. I just figured: ‘What the heck, let’s just see what happens.’ ”
What happened was a grand slam in Witkowski’s final at-bat, in the seventh.
The Trojans, by the way, also scored five times in the seventh.
“All we needed was a field goal to pull it out,” Voigt quipped.
Tough out
Conrad Weiser shortstop Evan Rittle is proving to be the toughest out in the Berks League.
The sophomore shortstop has a league-leading .667 on-base percentage, with 18 hits and 24 walks in 63 plate appearances. (That includes just five strikeouts.)
Rittle is batting .462.
He’s tied for second in the league with 21 runs scored and tied for fifth with 10 stolen bases.
Pitching in
Gov. Mifflin’s pitching depth has come in handy for the Berks League Division I leaders.
Alexander Velez, the Berks Pitcher of the Year last season, hasn’t thrown since beating Muhlenberg 15-3 on April 3. He experienced arm soreness and has been used strictly at first base the last several weeks.
Mifflin coach Chris Hole calls it a precautionary measure and said he expects the senior right-hander to throw in a game soon and be ready for the postseason.
Tyler Minick, the Berks Player of the Year last season, has returned to the Mustangs rotation and is gearing up for the postseason.
He pitched four innings in his second start Wednesday, a 3-1 win over Muhlenberg. He figures to be stretched out and in full form when the league playoffs open May 11.
Minick was injured late last season and didn’t pitch in the playoffs, one reason the Mustangs had an early exit.
Sophomores Ethan Grim and Bryce Detwiler have pitched in this season and the Mustangs haven’t missed a beat. Grim is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in five starts; Detwiler is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA in four starts.
Catch me if you can
Gov. Mifflin’s Tyler Minick is known for his power and hitting ability, but he’s also pretty tough on the bases.
The Mustangs leadoff man leads the Berks League in stolen bases and has yet to be caught – he’s 17-for-17.
Exeter leadoff many Alex Kelsey isn’t far behind. The junior center fielder is 15-for-15 and ranks second in the league in stolen bases.
Kelsey led the league with 21 stolen bases as a sophomore; he was thrown out just once.
Mr. No-No
Brandywine Heights’ Nate Fronheiser has pitched a pair of abbreviated no-hitters this season.
The junior went four innings without allowing a hit in a 15-0 win over Antietam on April 3 and pitched three perfect innings in a 15-0 win over Hamburg on April 24. Both games were played at Brandywine.
Fronheiser shares the Berks League lead with four victories and leads the league with an 0.61 ERA over five appearances. He has 28 strikeouts and has allowed 16 hits over 23 innings.
Dominating performance
Antietam has been an easy target for most pitchers this season; the Mounts have scored just 10 runs in 12 games.
Given that, Brandywine Heights’ Aidan Hall recorded a remarkable game last week, striking out 14 batters in a five-inning no-hitter in the Bullets’ 15-0 win. He needed just 69 pitches.
Leaderboard
According to stats on maxpreps.com, Brandywine Heights’ Joe Crist shares the state lead with seven home runs.
The Bullets senior is tied with Marvin Wells of Bodine High School in Philadelphia. Two other players have six homers.
Crist has played 14 games, Wells 12.
Crist is tied for second in District 3 with 22 runs scored.
Exeter’s Deven Sheerin ranks No. 1 in District 3 and No. 7 in Pennsylvania with a 1.124 slugging percentage. Before Monday’s game against Reading High he was tied for ninth among pitchers with 61 strikeouts; that’s tied for first in District 3.
Keury Perez-Checo of Samuel Fels High in Philadelphia has the state’s top batting average, at .739.
