Will Bulldogs’ ‘home field advantage’ be enough to top Mustangs for title?
Wilson will have a distinct home field advantage when it meets Gov. Mifflin for the BCIAA baseball championship Monday.
Tommy and Christo Hunsicker, key cogs at the top of the Bulldogs’ lineup, literally grew up at FirstEnergy Stadium, site of the title game, which begins at 6:05.
As toddlers they’d sit behind home plate wearing Phillies uniforms, watching minor leaguers such as Darin Ruf and Rhys Hospkins blast the ball out of the park. As they got older they’d run around the outfield after games. They’d have a catch or play whiffle ball on the same historic turf where future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Ryne Sandberg and Scott Rolen once roamed.
“I always dreamed of playing here,” said Christo, a sophomore first baseman and pitcher. “I watched games when I was younger, and saw the minor leaguers play here. I always wanted to be like them.”
Their dad, Scott, is general manager of the Reading Fightin Phils. That the boys grew up loving baseball – and football and basketball – is no surprise. Nor is the fact that they spent a lot of time at the ballpark.
“It’s like a second home to me,” said Tommy, a junior third baseman and the Bulldogs’ leadoff hitter.
Related to the boss or not, it’s a thrill for any high school player to get the chance to play at such a storied venue and on such an immaculate playing surface. Not that anyone needs more incentive to go deep into the league playoffs but if you reach the semifinals or championship game you’ll get the chance to play at FirstEnergy Stadium just like so many future big leaguers have.
“The field’s amazing,” said Tommy.
The second-seeded Bulldogs (15-6) will need any kind of advantage, real or perceived, going against the top-seeded Mustangs (17-4), who own the league’s best record, deepest pitching staff and top player, Tyler Minick.
Minick, the Berks Player of the Year as a junior, put on a show in the semifinals with a pair of homers, a single, walk, two stolen bases and four runs scored. Oh, and a save. With Fleetwood pressing the whole day Minick came on in the seventh to protect a 9-7 lead. He was overpowering, striking out two in a perfect inning.
The Bulldogs are not without their own game-changer. Junior Matt VanOstenbridge has been one of the league’s most dominant pitchers. He’s vying with Exeter’s Devin Sheerin for Pitcher of the Year honors.
The left-hander is 4-2 with a 1.91 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 47 2/3 innings. He pitched six shutout innings over Oley Valley in the opening round of the playoffs and he started each of Wilson’s two Berks I wins over Gov. Mifflin.
VanOstenbridge pitched a shutout in the most recent encounter, a 1-0 win on May 5. He allowed two hits and struck out eight. He didn’t get the decision in the first meeting, April 17, which saw the Bulldogs score three times in the seventh for a 6-3 win.
He’s the only Berks pitcher to throw a seven-inning shutout against Mifflin over the last three seasons.
Following a 6-3 win over Muhlenberg Saturday Wilson coach Bill Underwood was non-committal about his starting pitcher for the championship game. VanOstenbridge threw 83 pitches against Oley and is eligible, by PIAA pitching limits, to pitch. Underwood’s concern is that VanOstenbridge has not started on three day’s rest this season. Not that he can’t.
“If we go in that direction we know we’ll get a good performance out of him,” Underwood said.
Having VanOstenbridge on the mound gives the Bulldogs their best chance to win a championship since they beat Hamburg for the title in 2019.
“That’s what we want,” said Minick, assuming the Bulldogs will make their No. 1 available. “He beat us twice, so we want to show what we can do. Props to him, he’s a great pitcher. We’ve got to come out and get ready for him.”
The Bulldogs come in on an eight-game winning streak. They were hoovering above .500 at midseason before Underwood juggled his lineup and the Bulldogs changed their approach at the plate. They’ve cut down on their swings and concentrated on putting the ball in play. It’s worked, obviously. They’re averaging 8.2 runs per game in the second half of the season, as opposed to 4.9 before.
Senior catcher Jordan Shutter is their leading hitter at .391. Christo Hunsicker is batting .370 with a .945 OPS that’s second on the team. Junior Nick Fiorini is batting .333 and leads the team with 17 RBIs and a .993 OPS.
One problem the Bulldogs have had lately is fielding the ball: They committed four errors in the 6-0 win over Oley Valley and four against Muhlenberg.
That hasn’t been a problem for the Mustangs. They’ve committed fewer errors than any team in the league. They haven’t made one in their two playoff games.
They’re the best in the league at run-prevention. They’re allowing 2.2 runs per game; Fleetwood was the first team to score more than six runs against them this season. They have seven shutouts and have allowed one run five other times.
Mifflin coach Chris Hole has plenty of pitching options, though not as many as he might’ve hoped for. Bryce Detwiler, the league’s top winner, can’t pitch after starting Saturday. Neither can top reliever Matt Novotny, who threw more than 50 pitches in his two innings work Saturday. Alexander Velez, the Berks Pitcher of the Year as a junior, has not thrown for a month due to arm soreness.
That likely means sophomore Ethan Grim will get the start. He’s 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 35 strikeouts over a team-leading 37 innings.
Minick will be there to finish up, if needed. He has three saves, 25 strikeouts over 17 innings and was firing 94 mph fastballs at the end Saturday. He’s on a mission to get a championship the Mustangs thought they should have had last year.
“(This is) the match-up that I think most people probably expected,” Hole said. “Hopefully both teams show up to play and put on a good show.”
