Fleetwood beats Conrad Weiser, clinches Berks II title

By Mike Drago Last updated May 5, 2023

Liam Hilburt and Ryan Moser combined on a seven-hitter as Fleetwood edged visiting Conrad Weiser 4-2 Thursday to clinch the Berks Baseball League Division II title. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Tigers.

The Tigers (6-5, 12-7) are the third team to clinch a division title. Gov. Mifflin clinched the Berks I title and Oley Valley clinched the Berks III title with wins Wednesday. Only the Berks IV title, where Brandywine Heights holds a half-game lead over Kutztown, remains to be decided.

It is Fleetwood’s first division title since 2018. The Tigers finished 3-8 in league play last season.

Twin Valley (5-5, 7-9) can tie Fleetwood for first place by closing league play with a win at Daniel Boone Friday. However, the Tigers hold the tiebreaker advantage and will earn the automatic berth for the BCIAA Tournament by virtue of a pair of head-to-head wins over the Raiders, 2-1 and 5-4.

Hilburt went the first 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win; he allowed seven hits and two runs and struck out three. Moser came on to record the final five outs to pick up the save; he didn’t allow a baserunner.

Hilburt also doubled and scored for the Tigers, who went ahead 3-2 with three third-inning runs. Carson Brey tripled and scored for the Tigers. Dalton Young had an RBI single and scored in the Tigers’ go-ahead inning.

Riley Civiello had a pair of singles and drove in two runs for the Scouts (3-7, 5-12).

Fleetwood has completed its regular season schedule. It’s next game will be in the BCIAA quarterfinals May 11, unless it adds a game to the schedule.

Fleetwood’s Dalton Young. (PhilMarPhoto)

Daniel Boone may have cost itself the division title with a 4-1 loss to Reading High in an April 3 crossover game. The Red Knights have gone 1-10 since; that was their lone league win.

Had Boone tied Fleetwood for first place it held the tiebreaker advantage, having beaten the Tigers 5-0 and 10-5 in their league meetings.

Brandywine Heights concludes league play Friday at Oley Valley. With a win the Bullets (7-2, 10-4) will win the division title. With a loss they’ll slip into a tie with Kutztown (7-3, 12-5), which has concluded league play. The teams split their regular season games, which means a tie will be resolved by District 3 power rating.

According to unofficial numbers posted on the District 3 website late Thursday Kutztown (.621) held a significant advantage over Brandywine (.582).