Bulldogs, Mustangs, Tigers positioned to make Berks baseball history
2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Matt VanOstenbridge, Bryce Detwiler and Liam Hilburt helped Berks baseball enjoy a day like no other on the opening day of the PIAA Tournament.
They threw complete games, led their teams – Wilson, Gov. Mifflin and Fleetwood, respectively – to opening-round victories, and made local history.
It was the first time that Berks teams won games in each of the three largest classifications: The Bulldogs in 6A, the Mustangs in 5A and the Tigers in 4A.
The last time three Berks teams won state tournament openers was 2011, when Twin Valley (3A), Oley Valley (2A) and Central Catholic (1A) did it.
(The PIAA expanded from three to four classes for the 2005 season, and to six classifications for the 2017 season.)
Wide success in the state tournament has been rare for Berks teams in recent years. Last year Kutztown was the only Berks team to win a state playoff game; none won in 2022.
Wilson, Mifflin and Fleetwood play state quarterfinals Thursday. You would have to go back to 1988 to find a year in which two Berks teams each won twice and advanced to the semifinals. Wilson, in Class 3A, and Oley Valley, in Class 2A, each won its first three games before losing state championships that season. (There were just two classes at that point.)
It happened only once before that when Reading High won the 1983 championship in 3A and Kutztown won its first two games in 2A.
The PIAA Tournament did not begin until 1977.
With that in mind, here’s a look at Thursday’s quarterfinals
Class 6A
Wilson (20-7) vs. Downingtown West (20-5)
At Villanova Ballpark, Plymouth Meeting, 12
The Bulldogs got a one-hitter from senior lefty Matt VanOstenbridge Monday to beat District 7 champ North Allegheny 2-0. Christo Hunsicker’s two-run single in the seventh snapped a scoreless tie.
The Whippets, the District 1 runner-up, advanced with a six-inning, 11-1 win over District 12 runner-up Central.
Downingtown is led by catcher Jay Slaten, a senior committed to play at Duke.
Junior Stephen Furia went the distance for Downingtown in its opener, meaning ace Drew Turner will be available. He struck out 11 in a 7-5 win over C.B. East in the district semifinals.
VanOstenbridge, a Penn State recruit with 80 strikeouts over 59 2/3 innings and a Berks-low 0.82 ERA, is not eligible to pitch until Friday due to PIAA restrictions. He threw 83 pitches Monday.
Wilson will turn to either sophomore Ben Kulp (5-2, 2.90) or junior Christo Hunsicker (3-1, 2.29).
Wilson has won nine of its last 10 games and is 7-1 in the postseason, its lone loss coming to Ephrata in the district semifinals, 3-2.
Senior center fielder Nick Fiorini is Wilson’s top hitter at .400. He has a team-leading 30 RBIs and a .600 slugging percentage.
Shortstop Jack Gabel is batting .370 with 25 runs scored. Third baseman and leadoff hitter Tommy Hunsicker has scored a team-high 29 runs, is batting .352 and has a .516 on-base percentage.
The Bulldogs are 5-4 overall in PIAA Tournament play. Their win Monday was their first since 2019. They have advanced past the quarterfinals just once, in 1988 when they played for the state championship.
The Whippets had never won a state tournament game until Monday; they lost games in 2016 and 2018.
Class 5A
Gov. Mifflin (21-5) vs. Whitehall (14-9)
At Kutztown Park, 4:30
The Mustangs got a complete game and a home run from Bryce Detwiler to beat Frankford 7-2 in the opening round, the first PIAA Tournament victory in program history.
The Zephyrs advanced with a 5-1 win over Radnor, scoring four times in the first inning and getting five shutout innings from Ryan Lindemuth.
Lindemuth, the staff ace with a 6-2 record and 1.38 ERA, threw 93 pitches and is not eligible to throw again until Friday, according to PIAA pitch restriction guidelines.
Detwiler, who threw 65 pitches Monday, is eligible to throw but will likely begin the game at shortstop with Ethan Grim on the hill.
Grim has struck out a Berks-leading 91 batters over 59 1/3 innings and has a 2.00 ERA. He struck out 10 and allowed three runs, one earned, in his last outing May 28 against Mechanicsburg in the District 3 championship game.
Whitehall got off to a slow start this season, losing six of its first 10 games, but has gone 10-3 since April 18. It knocked off No. 3 Southern Lehigh 5-4 and No. 1 West Pocono 6-2 to win the District 11 Tournament.
Evan Kovalcik, who will play at East Stroudsburg next season, threw in the district championship game for the first time this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery over a year ago. Sophomore Jack Lloyd (3-3, 2.79) will likely get the start for Whitehall Thursday.
Sophomore Seth Hoderewski is the Zephyrs’ top hitter; he’s batting .408 with a team-leading 26 RBIs and a .577 slugging percentage. Junior Connor Strauss is batting .346 and junior Tyler Reichenbach has a .500 on-base percentage. Kovalcik is batting .303 with 16 RBIs.
Whitehall’s win Monday was its first in the tournament since 2017, when it reached the semifinals for the only time. Overall, it is 9-8 in state play.
The Mustangs are closing in on the program record for victories, set in 2002 when they went 23-2. Mifflin also won 22 games in 1999. It has won 20 or more games three times in the last four years.
Class 4A
Fleetwood (16-9) vs. Montour (17-8)
At Governor’s Park, Bellefonte, 4
The Tigers got another outstanding effort from right-hander Liam Hilburt in beating North Catholic 3-2 for their first state tournament win since 2008. He threw his fourth straight complete game in the postseason to improve 9-1 overall.
The District 7 third-place Spartans knocked off District 10 champ Erie Cathedral Prep 5-2, scoring three times in the seventh. They took advantage of six Prep errors, two in the final inning.
Montour is led by Kent State recruit Jake Robinson, who’s batting . 400 with 21 RBIs, four homers, a .541 on-base percentage and an .800 slugging percentage.
Senior Maddox Tarquino is batting .380 with a team-best 22 runs scored, 19 RBIs and a 1.056 OPS.
Robinson, Montour’s top pitcher, will likely get the starting assignment; he’s 4-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 60 strikeouts over 33 innings. He did not throw Monday. Matteo Weber (4-1, 2.17) is also eligible after throwing 66 pitches Monday.
Hilburt needed just 70 pitches to go the distance Monday and is eligible to return but the Tigers will likely start sophomore Wylie Loy. He’s gone 3-2 with a 1.73 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 40 1/3 innings.
Fleetwood hasn’t won 17 games in a season since 2012, when it went 17-6. It is 2-2 all-time in state tournament play, its only win coming against Sun Valley, 1-0 in 2008.
Montour won the PIAA Class 4A championship just two years ago, beating Holy Ghost Prep 10-9. It went out in the opening round last year to Cathedral Prep.