Raiders end Berks playoff drought by walking it off against Lynx
2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
An inning after his Twin Valley teammates scored twice to tie the score against Oley Valley in a back-and-forth Berks League quarterfinal Thursday, Jon Oxendine gave the lead right back.
The right-hander wasn’t worried even though it came late in the game.
“I trust my guys, and they trust me,” the senior pitcher said. “Not once did I think we were out of the game.”
The second-seeded Raiders came up with a run in the seventh to send the game into extra innings, then won it 5-4 on Owen Rhoads’ bases-loaded walk in the ninth at Gochnauer Field.
Twin Valley (15-4) trailed 3-1 in the fourth against Oley Valley ace Paul Petersen, one of the league’s top pitchers, but battled back to make their way to the semifinals for the first time since 2019. It will face third-seeded Wilson at Owls Field at 4:30 in the first half of a semifinals doubleheader.
“We haven’t quit all year,” said Raiders coach Corey Schnoke, who saw his team tie it with two out in the seventh when Kevin Eden scored from third on a wild pitch.
The Raiders loaded the bases with one out in the eighth against reliever Chase Kegerise but couldn’t break through.
Finally in the ninth they did as Kooper Zdimal led off with a single, speedy Roman Cieless beat out a bunt for a single and Ben Vaughn was walked intentionally to load the bases, setting up a force out at home.
Kegerise, who hadn’t pitched in 11 days, couldn’t find the strike zone after that. He walked Rhoads on four pitches – his sixth walk in his three-plus innings of work.
“Being down was tough,” said Zdimal, who had three hits, “but we battled, we never lost sight of the game, and we were fortunate to come back and win.”
Oxendine was a key. He entered in the fifth, his team trailing 3-1. He gave up an unearned run in the sixth but otherwise was exceptional. He struck out eight over five innings, allowed just two hits and got stronger the deeper he went; he ended the game with three hitless innings and by retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced.
“He shut the door on them,” Zdimal said.
Oxendine lowered his ERA to 2.72; he’s now struck out 54 batters over 36 innings.
“Once I get warm and get my feet under it, I have confidence and my adrenaline takes over,” said Oxendine, “and I just go out there and throw.”
The Lynx took the lead with a three-run fourth, getting an RBI single from Kegerise and a run-scoring groundout by Nathan Firek. A third run came home on an error by first baseman Logan Crunkleton.
The Lynx returned the favor several times, with a pair of run-scoring wild pitches and then the free pass to end the game.
“The way we scored was ugly,” Schnoke admitted.
No matter. The Raiders survived and advanced which is all that’s required in tournament play.
“It was a long game, we had to fight, but we pulled it out,” Zdimal said. “We haven’t had a playoff win in a little bit, so it’s nice to get one.”
| Oley Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Twin Valley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Lynx | AB | R | H | RBI | Raiders | AB | R | H | RBI | |
| Fries, cf | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cieless, lf | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Cappellano, ss/3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Vaughn, ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| P. Petersen, p/ss | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Rhoads, cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Peifer, cr | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Colombo,dh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hoffman, lf/1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Oxendine, rf/p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kegerise, 1b/p | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Lord, 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Firek, dh | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Majewski, cr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Auge, c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Eden, p/rf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| McClusky, 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Wagner, c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Palmiotti, lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Raines, cr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Remmell, rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Crunkleton, 1b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| L. Petersen, 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Zdimal, 2b | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Moser, cr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
E: McClusky 2; Lord, Crunkleton. 2B: Cappellano;. SB: Raines, Crunkleton, Zdmial. CS: Cieless. S: Hoffman, Colombo. LOB: Oley Valley 6, Twin Valley 10.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |||
| P. Petersen | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Eden | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kegerise, L (2-2) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | Oxendine, W (2-0) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
WP: P.Petersen, Kegerise 3. HBP: Cappellano (by Eden).
