Mustangs, Bulldogs ready to make their pitch for another Berks baseball crown
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Look for stories on the Top Players to Watch in Berks baseball,
along with team-by-team preview capsules for Berks I,
Berks II, Berks III and Berks IV, in the coming days.
Little has changed in the Berks Baseball League since last season: Gov. Mifflin and Wilson remain at the top and each is pitching-rich.
The defending champion Mustangs boast perhaps the league’s best one-two pitching punch in juniors Ethan Grim and Bryce Detwiler. They combined to go 13-3 last season and provided the bulk of the innings for the county champs.
The Bulldogs, who reached the league title game for the second time in three seasons, have the league’s most dominant pitcher in lefty Matt VanOstenbridge, a Penn State recruit. They may also have the deepest staff, with Ben Kulp, Christo Hunsicker and some other promising arms following “V-O” in the rotation.
Even after graduating two-time Berks Player of the Year Tyler Minick and Alexander Velez, the 2022 Berks Pitcher of the Year, the Mustangs remain loaded for another title run with the return of all-division catcher Travis Jenkins and third baseman/pitcher Matt Koehler, along with Grim and Detwiler, a University of Connecticut recruit.
Mifflin has won 59 games over the past three seasons, the best three-year run in program history, and there are plenty more wins on the way. Its top four returning players are each juniors; R.J. Weaver, a big right-hander, is part of a deep sophomore class that should keep the Mustangs near the top for a few more seasons.
Weaver is one of several candidates to pick up the innings that last year’s seniors – Minick, Velez and Matt Novotny –provided. Exactly who steps into those key slots behind Grim and Detwiler is uncertain as the Mustangs head south today for a spring training trip to South Carolina.
“That’s the golden question,” said Mifflin coach Chris Hole, whose team won the Berks I title and went 18-5 last season. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Right now it’s a big, big question mark: ‘Who do we have that’s going to do the job (on the mound)?’ We have options there but nobody is really proven. That’s something we’ve gotta figure out.”
The Mustangs are one of five teams — along with Berks Catholic, Exeter, Oley Valley, and Wilson — headed for an extended spring training weekend in Florida or South Carolina with baseball season in Pennsylvania set to officially open Friday.
Antietam, Brandywine Heights, and Daniel Boone are scheduled for games on Opening Day; Tulpehocken opens Saturday. Mifflin plays its official opener Sunday in Myrtle Beach against Trinity (of Camp Hill).
With the season’s first pitch about to be thrown, Mifflin, Wilson, and Muhlenberg – the only Berks League champs over the past nine years – are the frontrunners again.
Like at every other level of the game pitching will ultimately determine that championship, as well as the respective division titles.
That’s what makes Wilson, with Van Ostenbridge, so dangerous. He won six games, saved two others, and struck out 91 over a league-leading 70 1/3 innings for a Bulldogs team that went 19-9 and reached league and district title games last season.
“It’s nice (having him on the mound) because you know that every time he goes out there we have a chance to get a ‘W,’ ” said Wilson coach Bill Underwood. “If we score three runs, we’re gonna win, because he can keep people down.”
Twin Valley, coming off a disappointing season, is the team to beat in Berks II. The Raiders were the pick this time last year but injury problems got in the way and they finished 10-10. With all-division pick Owen Rhoads (2.18 ERA, 54 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings) and Jon Oxendine (2.18 ERA, 51 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings), back on the mound the Raiders will be in good hands.
Oley Valley, with the return of All-Berks shortstop Paul Peterson and all-division pitchers Chase Kegerise and Gryffin Cappellano, will be tough to unseat in Berks III, though Berks Catholic and Hamburg figure to give chase. The Lynx went 10-2 last year to win the division.
The Saints, despite a rough offseason that saw several key players transfer out, have a strong pitching duo in all-division pick Parker Nein and Trey Stricker, plus all-division catcher Denny Rodriguez and all-division infielder/pitcher Dillon Walls. Nein posted a 2.28 ERA with 39 punchouts; Stricker’s 1.78 ERA with sixth-best in the league.
The Hawks feature one of the league’s best mound duos in senior Braden Fetherolf and junior Tyler Shuey. Shuey was an all-division pick after posting a 1.69 ERA, second-best in the league. Fetherolf struck out 55 in 45 innings. If anyone manages to get a bat on the ball, all-division center fielder Scottie Dunleavy, one of the league’s top leadoff batters, will track it down.
Among the Hawks’ biggest losses is coach Nick Evangelista, who resigned after 13 seasons. Hamburg is one of four programs with new coaches.
Jon Chwatek takes over at Fleetwood for Rolland Green, who resigned after 22 seasons and 226 wins with the Tigers.
Chris Cole returns to Brandywine Heights after a two-year absence. He won a state championship and 230 games over 19 seasons in his last stint. He replaces Ron Schaeffer Jr.
Mark Dietrich, who coached at Schuylkill Valley the past five seasons, moves across the division to take the job at Hamburg. The Panthers’ new coach is Taylor Grim, their boys basketball coach the past 12 years.
Tim Mertz at Kutztown remains the winningest coach in the league, with 350 victories over 24 seasons. Even after graduating five starters – including All-Berks pick Dalton Furst and three other all-division picks – Mertz’s team is again head-and-shoulders above the competition in Berks IV.
The defending District 3 Class 2A champs have an ace in Colten Mathias, who went 6-2 and posted the league’s second-best ERA (1.52). They also return two of their better hitters in all-division third baseman Kole Schuler and right fielder Colin Diehl.
Detwiler, VanOstenbridge, and Petersen are among five returning All-Berks picks.
They’re joined by Exeter’s Alex Kelsey, a St. Joseph’s University recruit, and Muhlenberg’s Cam Burr, a two-time pick.
Kelsey is back in center field and at the top of the Eagles’ order; he’s already considered one of the best players in program history after batting .410 with a .566 on-base percentage – third-best in the league – and .672 slugging average – seventh-best.
Burr, a senior second baseman and pitcher, was part of the Muhls’ 2022 championship run and is one of the centerpieces of another strong group positioned to make another run. He led the league with 22 steals and second 24 runs.
He’s joined by two-time all-division catcher Shane Rosenberry, a Wilmington recruit, and pitchers Josh Smeltzer and Aaden Lopez. They’ll all be battle-tested come playoff time.
“Being in Berks I, there’s no room for mistakes,” said Exeter coach Justin Freese. “You’ll get pounded quick. Mifflin’s loaded, Wilson’s loaded, and Muhlenberg’s very good.”
