Berks baseball playoff field won’t be settled until Monday’s games are complete

By Mike Drago Last updated May 9, 2023

The playoff qualifiers in the Berks Baseball League won’t be finalized until play concludes Monday and the opening round matchups won’t be determined until just two days before the start of the eight-team BCIAA Tournament, on Thursday.

The four division titles were essentially settled late last week but Daniel Boone and Exeter enter play Monday battling for the second wild card spot — the final open spot in the field.

Gov. Mifflin, Fleetwood, Oley Valley and Kutztown will be the division champs in Berks I, II, III and IV, respectively.

Muhlenberg and Brandywine Heights have earned runner-up spots; Wilson will qualify as the No. 1 wild card.

Their seeds won’t be determined until after Monday’s games, the last that will count for the power ratings which will rank the teams one thru eight and won’t be finalized until the league seeding meeting on Tuesday, when teams can challenge to move up.

Berks I champ Gov. Mifflin has the highest power rating at .721, followed by Wilson (.693) and Muhlenberg (.669). Each play Monday, as do Exeter, Kutztown and Brandywine Heights.

Daniel Boone is idle Monday and has a .618 power rating. Exeter, which is at .596, plays at Susquehanna Township (7-8). With a win the Eagles could move past the Blazers, but they’ll likely need some help – some of their non-league opponents will need to win while some of the Blazers’ non-league opponents will need to lose.

Based on unofficial power ratings published on the District 3 website early Monday here’s how the first-round match-ups would look:

No. 1 Gov. Mifflin vs. No. 8 Brandywine Heights
No. 2 Wilson vs. No. 7 Oley Valley
No. 3 Muhlenberg vs. No. 6 Daniel Boone
No. 4 Kutztown vs. No. 5 Fleetwood

That order could be changed by Monday’s results, and/or by the challenges at the league seeding meeting.

The league quarterfinals are Thursday, with doubleheaders at Owls Field and Gochnauer Field.

The semifinals are Saturday morning at FirstEnergy Stadium, with the championship back at the home of the Reading Fightin Phils Monday.

Gov. Mifflin (9-2, 14-4) completes its league schedule Monday against Reading High. Even with a loss, which would drop it into a tie with Muhlenberg (9-3, 11-6), the Mustangs will win the division based on two head-to-head wins over the Muhls.

Fleetwood (6-5, 12-7) and Twin Valley (6-5, 8-9) tied for first place in Berks II. The Tigers will win the division title after taking a pair of one-run wins over the Raiders.

Oley Valley (10-2, 12-7) won the Berks III title, its three-game lead over second-place Hamburg the largest of any division.

Kutztown (8-3, 13-5) will win the Berks IV title if it finishes with a higher power rating than Brandywine Heights (8-3, 11-6). The Cougars (.636) enter the Monday with a sizable lead over the Bullets (.546). Kutztown plays Conrad Weiser (5-13) Monday; Brandywine plays High Point Baptist (11-5).

Kutztown and Brandywine split their regular season meetings.

Muhlenberg, the Berks I runner-up, earned its spot via a 3-1 win over Berks II runner-up Twin Valley in its Berks I-II crossover.

Brandywine Heights, the presumptive Berks IV runner-up, earned its spot via a 15-0 win over Berks III runner-up Hamburg.