Hamburg on brink of Berks III title after win over Berks Catholic
Nate Gilbert’s two-run single in the seventh inning helped push visiting Hamburg past Berks Catholic 4-1 Monday and to the brink of the Berks League Division III title.
The division-leading Hawks (8-3, 12-4) can officially clinch the title with a win Wednesday at Schuylkill Valley in their league finale, though they likely won’t need that.
| Berks III | Remaining league games | |
| Hamburg | 8-3 | Schuylkill Valley |
| Oley Valley | 7-3 | Berks Catholic, @ Sch. Valley |
| Berks Catholic | 6-4 | @ Oley Valley, Wyomissing |
| Wyomissing | 6-4 | Brandywine, @ Berks Catholic |
| Schuylkill Valley | 5-5 | @ Hamburg, Oley Valley |
They have the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over second-place Oley Valley (7-3 Berks III, 9-6) and a significant power ranking advantage over the Lynx, Berks Catholic (6-4, 11-7) and Wyomissing (6-4, 8-8), should the division ended up tied.
If teams are tied for first and split their two regular season meetings, power rating will determine the division champ.
At this point, any of the four teams could finish in at least a tie for first.
“I told (the kids) that it looks good,” Hawks coach Nick Evangelista said of the division title. “Of course, we’re gonna go out and try to win Wednesday to solidify it.”
The Hawks and Saints were locked in a 1-1 tie until the seventh when Scottie Dunleavy singled and Luke Bensinger walked. Both came home on Gilbert’s single to right, Dunleavy scoring on the hit and Bensinger when the throw from the outfield skipped past the catcher for an error. Gilbert reached third on the play and scored to make it 4-1 on Tristan Baer’s sacrifice fly.
Baer, as usual, came through with a big performance on the mound. He struck out eight and allowed two hits before being removed with one out in the seventh due to surpassing the PIAA pitch limit. Braden Fetherolf retired the final two batters for the save.
Baer improved to 7-1 in eight starts and lowered his ERA to 0.72; the run he allowed was unearned.
“It takes our confidence to another level (when he’s on the mound),” Evangelista said. “They know he’s going to compete, he’s not going to get hit around and he’s going to throw strikes. His numbers (this season) are unbelievable.”
Baer has 69 strikeouts over 48 innings and has allowed just 21 hits.
The Hawks were the preseason favorite in a relatively young division but haven’t exactly cruised to the title. They lost back-to-back games to Berks Catholic and Schuylkill Valley April 8 and 11 to drop out of first place, then lost back-to-back games last weekend, to Chambersburg and Wyomissing. The loss to the Spartans put their first-place lead in jeopardy.
“It’s been a little bit of a battle,” Evangelista said of the division race. “We hit a bit of a funk offensively (last week), but we’ll be alright come playoff time.”
Oley Valley, Wyomissing and Berks Catholic, each with two league games left, remain in a tight battle for second place and the potential Berks League playoff spot that will go with it. Oley and Berks Catholic each have the tiebreaker advantage for that spot over Brandywine Heights, having beaten the Bullets in the regular season. Wyomissing plays Brandywine Wednesday.
Oley closes league play against Berks Catholic Wednesday and at Schuylkill Valley Friday. The Saints close with the Lynx and against Wyomissing Friday.
Oley has the tiebreaker advantage over Wyomissing, by virtue of two head-to-head wins.