Baseball Notes: Raiders off to slow start, Bulldogs’ pinch-hitter, Cougars streaking
With three all-division picks returning from a winning team, including one of the Berks Baseball League’s most dominating pitchers, Twin Valley looked like the clear favorite in the preseason to win the Division II title.
It’s not so clear right now.
The Raiders are off to a rough start. They have the worst record among the four teams in Berks II and are now without their best pitcher, Kannon Zdimal, who suffered an arm in the season-opener and is restricted to DH duties for the foreseeable future.
“This team absolutely had big expectations,” said coach Corey Schnoke after the Raiders slipped to 2-5 with an 8-7 loss to Berks IV leader Kutztown Tuesday night at Twin Valley. “I know the potential’s there; they know the potential’s there. They’re not playing loose, they’re not playing free, they’re playing really tight, and that’s where the errors come in.”
Schnoke’s scorebook had five Raiders errors against the Cougars; they also failed to make several other defensive plays that didn’t qualify as errors but led to runs.
The Raiders have allowed more unearned runs (29) than earned runs (27). Schnoke thinks they’re pressing because of big preseason expectations.
“Right now, we’re holding on too tight,” he said. “They don’t want to let each other down. It’s hurting (us).”
The biggest problem is the absence of Zdimal on the mound.
He posted a 1.55 ERA last season, ninth-best in the league, and was the Raiders’ staff anchor.
He got most of the big-game assignments against the top teams in Berks I and kept the Raiders in games. He had a deceiving 3-3 record that included a 2-1 loss to league champ Muhlenberg, a 4-1 loss to Berks I champ Gov. Mifflin and a 3-2 loss to Wilson in the Berks quarterfinals.
“He’s a horse,” Schnoke said. “He can eat innings, and he can go and go and go.”
The Raiders don’t have that right now and might not for the rest of the season. Zdimal felt arm pain during his first start against Berks Catholic March 25 and hasn’t thrown since. Schnoke said the injury hasn’t been conclusively diagnosed yet.
Zdimal has the chance to play in college and Schnoke’s not going to hand him the ball until he’s convinced the right right-hander is injury free.
The Raiders are down a couple of other arms as well.
Despite losing Tuesday they showed some good signs, rallying from a 7-2 deficit to tie it in the sixth. Bad as things might look right now they have played just one league game to date and entered play Wednesday half a game behind Berks II co-leaders Daniel Boone and Conrad Weiser. There’s plenty of time left.
“We’re dangerous,” Schnoke said. “People aren’t gonna want to play us, because if we put it together we can beat anybody, but right now we need to get healthy, mentally, because it’s wearing on us emotionally.”
Pinch-hitting for Bulldogs
Bill Underwood, a long-time assistant coach at Wilson, is the Bulldogs’ interim head coach this season.
Long-time head coach Sal Raccuglia stepped away just before the season opened to take what athletic director Drew Kauffman termed “personal time.”
“I felt that was the right step to take,” Underwood said. “I’ve been in the program for 18 years and felt that would be the easiest transition for people.”
Underwood isn’t sure how long he’ll have his new role but said he’s preparing for it to last for the entire season.
Raccuglia was entering his 12th season as Bulldogs coach. His teams have won 142 games in 11 seasons, including the 2021 District 3 Class 6A championship.
The Bulldogs were 5-2 heading into a key Berks I game Wednesday evening at Muhlenberg. They’re in strong position to return to the league playoffs and in much better shape in the race for a district spot than they were last season.
Wilson entered play Wednesday ranked No. 7 in Class 6A. Last season they had to win on the final day of the season to secure the 12th and final seed.
Cougars streaking
Kutztown moved into the No. 1 spot in the District 3 Class 2A power rankings with its 8-7 win at Twin Valley Tuesday night.
It was the Cougars’ sixth straight win, five of them against larger schools. Twin Valley is in Class 5A.
“It’s awesome as a 2A coming out here and playing with the big dogs,” said Kutztown catcher Nick Hugo, who homered and had five RBIs in the win.
Kutztown moved past Newport (6-1) to take over the top spot. If they can hold it they’ll have a home semifinal in the tournament. Just four teams qualify in Class 2A. Only the district champ advances to the PIAA Tournament.
Kutztown dropped two of its first three games. It returns to play Friday at Tulphocken with a 7-2 record and as the only Berks IV team without a loss.
Showcase set
The Berks County High School Showcase at Owl’s Field has expanded to include 13 teams and seven games over four days, April 26-29.
It starts off with a bang on Wednesday, April 26, as the top four teams in Berks I – and arguably the top four teams in the league – are featured in a doubleheader. Exeter plays Wilson at 4:15 and Muhlenberg faces Gov. Mifflin at 7:30.
The Friday, April 28 doubleheader includes a Berks IV matchup between Brandywine Heights and Antietam at 4:15 and a Berks III battle between Oley Valley and Wyomissing at 7:30.
There’s a tripleheader on Saturday: Kutztown meets Schuylkill Valley at noon in a Berks III-IV crossover; Conrad Weiser faces Fleetwood at 3:30 in Berks II play; and Daniel Boone plays Wilson at 7 in the Bulldogs’ Senior Night game.
All games will be played at the friendly confines of Ted Palka Park.