Kutztown Cougars ready for whatever Halifax Wildcats throw at them
Tim Mertz put together a schedule that would have his Kutztown Cougars ready for postseason play.
Heading into Thursday’s District 3 Class 2A championship game they have played 11 games against district qualifiers, including Northwestern Lehigh and Schuylkill Haven, which have reached District 11 semifinals.
“We did not play a soft schedule and we did not see soft pitching,” said Mertz. “We’ve seen some really good pitching. We got the No. 1’s from Hamburg, Berks Catholic, Oley, Brandywine, Fleetwood, Delone; everybody we saw.”
| District 3 championships | |
| Chambersburg | 10 |
| Oley Valley | 8 |
| Camp Hill | 6 |
| Kutztown | 5 |
| Greencastle | 4 |
| Lancaster Catholic | 4 |
| Wyomissing | 4 |
The second-seeded Cougars (16-6) won’t see Halifax’s No. 1 Thursday when they meet at Fredericksburg at noon but they’ll see a strong pitcher nonetheless: Senior Briar Campbell and sophomore Brandon Schell have gone a combined 8-1, each with ERAs under 2.00; they’ve combined for more than a strikeout per inning.
The Cougars have hit just about everyone they’ve faced; they’ve been held below three runs once and below four twice.
They’re averaging nearly nine runs per game, with a team batting average of .345. Their regular lineup includes seven players batting over .313 and two, All-Berks outfielder Dalton Furst and all-division third baseman Kole Schuler, batting over .400.
Mertz, who has coached Kutztown for 24 seasons, says this well may be the best-hitting lineup he’s ever put out there.
Furst has 12 doubles, 24 RBIs, a .692 slugging percentage and a 1.210 OPS. All-division shortstop Matt Remick has batted .367 with a team-leading 33 runs scored, a team-best .573 on-base percentage and a 1.090 OPS.
All-Division catcher Nick Hugo has four homers, a team-leading 27 RBIs and a 1.000 OPS. First baseman Bryce Schafer (.381, 26 RBIs) and Schuler (.408, 33 runs) were also all-division picks.
They have scored 10 or more runs 10 times, including Monday in an 11-2 win over third-seeded Newport in the semifinals.
While the Cougars were winning in a romp the top-seeded Wildcats (20-2-1) were locked in a tight game. They scored in the bottom of the seventh to beat fourth-seeded Delone Catholic 1-0. (Kutztown beat Delone 9-1, for what it’s worth.)
Halifax had its ace, senior Judah Miller, on the mound for that one. He went the distance, allowing six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. He threw 98 pitches, which means he won’t be eligible to pitch under PIAA guidelines.
Miller, who’s committed to play at Bloomsburg, has gone 9-1 with a 1.48 ERA and 86 strikeouts over 66 innings.
Kutztown’s Colten Mathias got the win over Newport but he pitched just five innings and threw 72 pitches, which means he’s eligible to throw Thursday. Mathias leads Kutztown with a 5-2 record, 1.62 ERA and 43 innings pitched.
Schafer was expected to be the No. 1 pitcher heading into the season. He was shut down in early April with arm issues but resumed throwing earlier this month. He’s gone 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA and could get the start in the championship game.
Schafer and Furst are committed to play at Kutztown University next season.
Whichever pitcher gets the ball for the Cougars will face a tough lineup. The Wildcats are batting .341 as a team and are averaging 8.9 runs per game. Their lineup includes seven .300 hitter.
Miller leads the way with a .481 batting average, 13 extra-base hits, 30 RBIs and a .746 slugging percentage.
Seeing Kutztown play for another district championship is hardly a surprise. It graduated just two starters from a team that was beaten by eventual champ Camp Hill 2-1 in the semifinals last season. Furst, Remick and Hugo were each all-division picks as juniors.
Mertz felt he had a team worthy of a district championship last season and said not getting it motivated his players to work harder than ever in the offseason.
“The kids really dedicated themselves to wanting to get back to this point,” he said. “They play with a lot of maturity. They’re a very tight group. They bought into fall and winter workouts and they brought in the younger kids, and they have really stepped up and played a key part in the success.”
Kutztown is seeking its sixth District 3 championship and fourth under Mertz. They won in 2019, 2007 and 2006 under Mertz and in 1983 and 1995 before he was head coach.
