If the Berks League baseball playoffs began today . . .
2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by
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Gov. Mifflin and Wilson loomed as the Berks League’s two best baseball teams when the season opened some six weeks ago and little has changed since.
The Mustangs and Bulldogs meet Friday to decide the Berks I championship; 10 days later they could be clashing again in the league championship game at FirstEnergy Stadium.
If the eight-team BCIAA Tournament opened today the Mustangs (13-2) would be the No. 1 seed and favored to repeat as champs. And the Bulldogs, who likely will enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed, are right there with them.
Each has a deep pitching staff with a dominant No. 1 at the front and a deep lineup that produces tons of runs. They’re experienced, battle-tested squads which met in last year’s championship game, the Mustangs taking home the title with a 6-3 win.
Entering play Friday, it’s unlikely anyone can surpass Gov. Mifflin (.769), which has the highest power rating. Twin Valley (.722), which won it’s first eight league games — including four against Berks I teams — is No. 2. Wilson (.709) isn’t far behind and could pass the Raiders with a win over Mifflin.
The Berks I title is the last thing to be decided but that won’t affect the Berks playoff pairings too much, if at all. The eight qualifiers will be seeded based on power ratings.
Twin Valley in Division II, Berks Catholic in Division III and Kutztown in Division IV have clinched division titles. It is the Raiders’ first title since 2016. The Saints clinched their first title since 2018 with a win Wednesday at Oley. The Cougars have won three straight Berks IV titles and are division champs for the fourth time in five years.
The Berks I runner-up, either Mifflin or Wilson, will claim the Berks I/II runner-up spot. Each has beaten Berks II runner-up Fleetwood.
Oley Valley secured the Division III/IV runner-up spot Thursday by beating Brandywine Heights 8-2. The Lynx finished second in Berks III, the Bullets second in Berks IV.
The two remaining wild card spots will likely go to Muhlenberg (.673) and Fleetwood (.641), which have the highest power ratings among the remaining teams.
The Muhls have three games remaining ahead of Monday’s power ratings cutoff date: at Reading High on Friday, vs. Cedar Cliff on Saturday and vs. Southern Lehigh on Monday. The Tigers have completed their regular season schedule.
Exeter (.578) has one remaining games left before the cutoff deadline, Friday at Conrad Weiser, and likely can’t make up enough ground to snag one of those wild card spots.
The same goes for Daniel Boone (.572), which plays just one game before the deadline, Monday at Twin Valley.
After its win Thursday over Upper Dauphin, Berks Catholic (.637) is just a few points behind Fleetwood (.642) for the No. 5 spot, according to the (unofficial) power ratings posted on the District 3 site Thursday evening. The Saints, with games Friday vs. Schuylkill Valley and Monday against Executive Education could pass the Tigers if they win their two remaining games.
If all the current power ratings hold up, the quarterfinal match-ups will be:
| Projected pairings | ||||
| No. 1 | Gov. Mifflin | vs. | No. 8 | Kutztown |
| No. 4 | Muhlenberg | vs. | No. 5 | Fleetwood |
| No. 3 | Wilson | vs. | No. 6 | Berks Catholic |
| No. 2 | Twin Valley | vs. | No. 7 | Oley Valley |
Mifflin, as the No. 1 seed last year, claimed its record 15th league championship by beating Brandywine Heights 12-0, Fleetwood 9-7, and Wilson 6-3.
A year earlier the Mustangs were the No. 1 seed but were bumped off in the quarterfinals by No. 8 Oley Valley. Muhlenberg won its 13th league title by beating Kutztown 9-4, Exeter 10-7, and Oley 11-3.
Mifflin has won twice in the last three years and has taken four of the last eight titles. Muhlenberg and Wilson each won two titles in that span.
A team from Berks III or IV hasn’t won the title since 2013, when Oley Valley beat Kutztown in the championship game.
Over the last 20 years Mifflin has won eight championships and reached the title game 10 times, more than any other school. Wilson has five championships and eight title-game appearances in that span.
