Gavin Miller up to the challenge of being Eagles’ new ace, beating Muhls
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As a sophomore Gavin Miller pitched in the shadow of Exeter’s ace, Deven Sheerin. The Mount Saint Mary’s recruit took the lion’s share of the big assignments for the Eagles.
Still, Miller was exposed to big moments and tough situations. He came on to get the final two outs of the Eagles’ 4-1 District 3 playoff win over second-seeded Gov Mifflin, then started and pitched a gem in a district quarterfinal against Warwick.
He looked forward to getting on the mound Friday at Muhlenberg in a Berks League Division I opener, even with the polar-like conditions and against a playoff-tested opponent.
“I like challenges,” Miller said. “I think it really brings out the best in people.”
It did for Miller, who matched Muhls ace Cam Burr pitch for pitch in a taut battle and was still standing at the end, after pinch-hitter Chase Blew delivered the go-ahead single in the seventh for a thrilling 2-1 victory at Gochenauer Field.
Miller allowed four hits, and none after the fourth inning. He struck out nine. And he got only stronger at the end, retiring the final seven batters and striking out six over the final three innings.
“We were riding him to the end, as long as we could,” said Exeter coach Justin Freeze. “When he came off after the sixth he said he felt really strong and he had three more in him.”
It looked like the Eagles (3-1) and Muhls (1-2) might play well into the night the way Burr, who struck out 10, and Miller were hanging up zeroes.
“That’s Berks I baseball,” said Muhls coach Brian Kopetsky. “This is what you’ve gotta expect (every time out).”
Each team scored in the first inning, as each pitcher struggled to get comfortable in the low 40-degree conditions, then it became a pitcher’s duel. Burr gave up a single to leadoff batter Alex Kelsey in the first – a wicked liner than glanced off the pitcher’s hand – then tossed five hitless innings before yielding a leadoff single to Brandon Weller in the seventh.
After allowing an unearned run in the first it looked like Burr would never give up another run; he was constantly ahead of hitters, didn’t give up his only walk until the fifth and kept the Eagles off-balance with a nasty slider.
“I thought he pitched fantastic,” said Kopetsky.
Miller remained confident, even as the game remained tied.
“I wasn’t worried,” he said. “We practice hard. We’re swinging all the time. I knew we were gonna come through. It’s a tough mental battle (pitching in this weather), but you’ve just got to stay strong, keep your head in it, have a short memory and just trust your team behind you.”
Miller’s faith was rewarded in the seventh when his freshman catcher, Weller, lined a leadoff single to left, knocking Burr out of the game.
One out after pinch-runner Braden Oxenreider was sacrificed to second Blew was called on to pinch hit.
Despite remaining idle for nearly two hours on the bench he made the most of his chance, lining a sharp single to center – his first hit of the season – to give Exeter the lead.
“I just had to come in there and do my job, and I did,” he said. “It felt amazing; I haven’t had a base hit like that in a long time.”
Earlier in the day Blew played in a JV game to get some swings in; it paid off.
“Chase came up with a huge a hit in that opportunity,” Freese said.
Miller made that run stand up, ending the game with a pair of strikeouts and his third win in three appearances. His last outing, in a 10-8 win over Boyertown, wasn’t exactly a gem. He allowed seven earned runs and walked five over 5 2/3 innings. He was anxious to get back on the mound to erase that bad memory.
“(My) first two games I was losing control (of the plate),” Miller said. “I was in my head a little bit. I got the confidence back and I’m feeling good.”
He walked just two against Muhlenberg and otherwise ran no three-ball counts.
“Getting ahead of guys is super-important,” Miller said, “and trusting Coach (Carl) Solarek’s pitch calls and trusting Weller behind the plate.”
Freese certainly trusted his new ace. He wasn’t about to take the ball out of his hand.
“He’s done very well in big situations,” Freese said. “(He) said he wanted to finish the job. His mindset is: ‘If I’m starting the game, I’m gonna finish.’ That’s what his goal is. With a one-run game like that we were gonna just try to ride him till it ended.”
The win, over a Muhlenberg team expected to compete for a Berks playoff spot, makes the Berks I race all the more interesting. The Eagles are the youngest team in the division but showed Friday they can compete.
“I think we were underdogs coming into the season,” Miller said. “We’re proving people wrong. Everyone’s coming through when they need to.”
| Exeter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Muhlenberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Eagles | AB | R | H | RBI | Muhls | AB | R | H | RBI | |
| Kelsye, cf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Ca. Burr, p/2b | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Giering, 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Keller, ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ummarino, 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Rosenberry, c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Hafer, dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rodriguez, 2b/3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Weller, c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Smeltzer, 1b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Oxendreider, cr | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Lopez, rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Franek, ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | G. Moody, cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Feathers, 3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Co. Burr, 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Barker, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Weiler, p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Redding, rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cipolla, lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Blew, ph | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Youse, lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 25 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
E: Ca. Burr 3, Co. Burr. SB: Ca. Burr 3, Keller. CS: Kelsy. S: Franek. SF: Rosenberry.
LOB: Exeter 4, Muhlenberg 4.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |||
| Miller, W 3-0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Burr, L 0-1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| Weiler | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
