Mifflin closing in on division title, but bigger goals await
Gov. Mifflin is a couple wins away from its first Berks League baseball title in five years and five wins away from a perfect season, but senior center fielder Mason Woolwine says the Mustangs are focused only on their next game, Friday at Daniel Boone.
“If you would’ve told me (before the season) we’d be 15-0, I wouldn’t believe you,” Woolwine said Wednesday after scoring three runs in a 10-5 win over Berks I rival Wilson. “Now we just take one game at a time, get better each day at practice and just work for the next game.”
| Power ratings* | |
| Gov. Mifflin | .810 |
| Muhlenberg | .764 |
| Exeter | .687 |
| Twin Valley | .666 |
| Hamburg | .660 |
| Berks Catholic | .618 |
| Wilson | .598 |
| Daniel Boone | .587 |
| Kutztown | .570 |
| Oley Valley | .529 |
| Wyomissing | .483 |
The win kept the Mustangs perfect at 15-0 and pushed their Berks I lead to three full games over both Wilson and Daniel Boone with four league games to play.
The Mustangs are off to the best start in program history and on the verge of something special but head coach Chris Hole says a 20-0 regular season finish is not a subject of conversation.
“Inside our dugout, we’re not focused on a streak, or being unbeaten,” he said after the Mustangs swept the regular season series from the Bulldogs, “we just come out every day and try to play to the best of our ability, and so far that’s served us well.
“We can’t take being unbeaten to heart. There’s a lot of things we’ve gotta clean up.”
The Mustangs (8-0, 15-0) are in position to be the No. 1 seed in the BCIAA Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal double-headers May 12 at Owl’s Field and a second yet-to-be announced site.
The four division champs, two second-place finishers and two wild card entries with the highest power rating will qualify for the eight-team tournament, with semifinals set for May 16 and the championship May 18. The final two rounds will be played at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Mifflin can clinch the Berks I title with wins over Daniel Boone and Monday at Twin Valley, or with one win and another loss by Exeter. The Mustangs hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Wilson; they have played Exeter just once, a 6-3 win April 4 at Reiffton.
Muhlenberg (7-1, 11-1) will clinch the Berks II title with its next league win, or the next league loss by second-place Twin Valley (4-4, 9-4). The Muhls won the Berks II title last season, and the Berks I title in 2018 and 2016. They return to Division I next season.
Exeter (5-3, 10-4), Wilson (4-3, 5-7) or Daniel Boone (4-4, 7-7) will qualify for the Berks playoffs if they finish second in Berks I. Each has a head-to-head win over Twin Valley, giving it the tiebreaker advantage for the Berks I-II runner-up spot.
Hamburg (7-2, 11-2) leads a tightly bunched Berks III race. Berks Catholic (6-2, 11-4), Oley Valley (5-3, 7-6) and Wyomissing (5-3, 6-6) each remain in contention with less than two weeks to go.
The Hawks or Saints will qualify for the Berks playoffs if they finish second; they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over both Berks IV leader Kutztown and second-place Brandywine Heights. The Lynx have beaten the Bullets and play Kutztown Friday. The Spartans lost to the Cougars and play the Bullets May 4.
Kutztown (5-2, 8-4) is two games up on Brandywine Heights (4-4, 5-6) in the loss column in Berks IV. The Cougars won the first meeting 4-2 in Kutztown; they meet again Monday at Mertztown. The Bullets won the division title last season.
Even if it doesn’t finish second in Berks I Exeter is in strong position to qualify for the Berks playoffs via the wild card route. The Eagles have the third-highest power rating (.687), behind only Gov. Mifflin (.810) and Muhlenberg (.764).
Twin Valley (.666) is in strong position as well, with the fourth-highest power rating.
Hamburg (.660), Berks Catholic (.618), Wilson (.598) and Daniel Boone (.587) are also in contention for one of the two wild card spots if they don’t finish second in their respective divisions.