Exeter, Gov. Mifflin looking at tough District 3 opener — against each other (updated)
(Updated with game time changes, and links to brackets.)
So, who’s got the tougher opening-round draw in the District 3 Class 5A Tournament:
Exeter, which opens at second-seeded Gov. Mifflin, the Berks League champ and one of the hardest-hitting teams in the field?
Or Gov. Mifflin, which has to get past one of the top pitchers in the tournament, Exeter’s Deven Sheerin, who has 86 strikeouts over 37 2/3 innings?
The Mustangs and Eagles are among 10 Berks League teams to qualify for the District 3 Tournament, which opens Friday with games in four classifications.
Official pairings will be released Wednesday afternoon.
Mifflin and Exeter are among four Berks teams in the 16-team Class 5A bracket, along with Muhlenberg and Daniel Boone. Wilson is Berks’ lone Class 6A qualifier. Fleetwood and Berks Catholic will be in the Class 4A field, Oley Valley and Brandywine Heights qualified in 3A and Kutztown in 2A.
All games through the semifinals will be played on the home field of the higher-seeded team, and all are scheduled to begin at 4:30, unless otherwise noted on the brackets. Championships will be played at neutral sites.
There are two all-Berks match-ups in the opening round. In Class 3A, No. 5 Brandywine Heights (12-7) opens at No. 4 Oley Valley (13-8) Monday. The Berks IV champion Lynx beat the Bullets 3-2 at Oley on May 5.
The second-seeded Mustangs (18-4) beat the 15th-seeded Eagles (11-9) twice head-to-head in Berks I play, 8-0 at Reiffton on April 14 and 11-1 at Shillington May 3. Sheerin, a senior headed to Mount Saint Mary’s, did not pitch in either game.
The Eagles were held to three hits in the first game, started and won by Ethan Grim, and to one hit in the second, started and won by Bryce Detwiler.
Sheerin has been a difference-maker for Exeter. He’s 6-2 in nine appearances with a 2.23 ERA. He leads the Berks League in strikeouts and has whiffed 54 percent of the batters he’s faced. Opposing batters are batting .109 against him.
In Class 6A, No. 7 Wilson (16-7) opens Friday at home against No. 10 Penn Manor (12-8).
In Class 5A, No. 8 Muhlenberg (13-8) opens Friday at home at noon against No. 9 Manheim Central (14-7), the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 champ. The Barons beat the Muhls 5-4 in the season opener.
No. 13 Daniel Boone (12-9) opens Friday at No. 4 Greencastle-Antrim (14-4).
In Class 4A, No. 4 Fleetwood (13-8) gets an opening-round bye, as do each of the top six seeds. The Tigers open at home Monday against No. 5 East Pennsboro (12-7). No. 9. Berks Catholic (13-7) opens Friday at No. 8 Middletown (11-8).
In Class 2A, No. 2 Kutztown (15-6) opens at home Monday at 6:00 in a semifinal against No. 3 Newport (14-4). The winner advances to the championship game; only the district champ advances in 2A.
In Class 6A and 4A, the top three finishers advance to the PIAA Tournament. In 5A, the top five advance. In 3, the top two advance.
Last year Fleetwood reached the state tournament after finishing third in 4A and Exeter qualified after finishing fifth in 5A.
Twin Valley and Wyomissing narrowly missed qualifying.
The Raiders (10-10) were in 16th position in Class 5A entering this week but needed a win in their final game at Mechanicsburg Monday to make the field. They lost 2-0 and ended up 18th in the power ratings.
The Spartans (8-12) were in the seventh and final qualifying spot in 3A before losing their final game last week at Blue Mountain, 9-6. That, coupled with Annville-Cleona’s win over Upper Dauphin in its final game last week, elevated the Little Dutchmen into the seventh and final qualifying spot.
Wyomissing ended the season with three straight losses and six in its final eight games.
| District 3 openers | ||||
| 6A | (10) Penn Manor | at | (7) Wilson | Friday, 4:30 |
| 5A | (15) Exeter | at | (2) Gov. Mifflin | Friday, 4:30 |
| 5A | (9) Manheim Central | at | (8) Muhlenberg | Friday, 12:00 |
| 5A | (13) Daniel Boone | at | (4) Greencastle-Antrim | Friday, 4:30 |
| 4A | (5) East Pennsboro | at | (4) Fleetwood | Monday, 4:30 |
| 4A | (9) Berks Catholic | at | (8) Middletown | Friday, 4:30 |
| 3A | (5) Brandywine Heights | at | (4) Oley Valley | Monday, 4:30 |
| 2A | (3) Newport | at | (2) Kutztown | Monday, 6:00 |