Wilson opens District 3 Tournament with championship-caliber test

By Mike Drago Last updated May 20, 2024

Wilson Bulldogs celebrate Berks championship. (PhilMarPhoto)

2024 Berks baseball coverage presented by

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Seven days after winning the Berks League title the Wilson Bulldogs face another championship test.

The fourth-seeded Bulldogs open the District 3 Class 6A Tournament Monday against No. 5 Manheim Township, the Lancaster-Lebanon League champion.

The Blue Streaks advanced with an 11-1 opening-round win over No. 12 Cedar Crest; Wilson drew an opening-round bye. That will give the Bulldogs an advantage when they meet at 4:30 at Wilson West.

Manheim Township used its No. 1 starter, Braden Leed, a Division I prospect, in Friday’s win over Cedar Crest. Wilson, meanwhile, can turn to Penn State recruit Matt VanOstenbridge, who’s on full rest. He last pitched Monday in the 10-3 championship win over Gov. Mifflin.

Wilson (16-6) will be among seven Berks teams to play Monday as the tournament swings into full gear. Play opened Friday with games in Class 5A.; Gov. Mifflin and Muhlenberg advanced with one-run victories; third-seeded Twin Valley was eliminated.

The top-seeded Mustangs (18-4), who opened with a 1-0 win over No. 16 Garden Spot, are home again Monday and play No. 9 Palmyra at 4:30. Palmyra advanced with a 7-3 win at No. 8 Hershey.

The seventh-seeded Muhls (14-7), who beat No. 10 Manheim Central 6-5 in nine innings, play No. 2 Mechanicsburg (16-3-1) at Memorial Park at 4:30. Mechanicsburg beat No. 15 Elizabethtown 6-0.

Mifflin and Muhlenberg can clinch PIAA berths by winning; if they lose, they head to the playback bracket to fight for the No. 5 seed.

Monday in Class 4A, No. 5 Berks Catholic (16-4) and No. 6 Fleetwood (13-8) ), each of which earned first-round byes, open on the road. The Saints will play at No. 4 James Buchanan (13-6); the Tigers will play at No. 3 Northern Lebanon (18-3).

The winners are assured of at least two more games; the losers are eliminated. The top three 4A teams advance to states.

In Class 3A, No. 7 Oley Valley (11-8) plays a quarterfinal at No. 2 Trinity (13-7) at 4:30. The Lynx need to win their first two games to reach the PIAA Tournament

Wilson’s Matt VanOstenbridge. (PhilMarPhoto)

In Class 2A, No. 4 Kutztown (11-10), the defending champ, plays No. 1 Halifax (18-2) in a semifinal at Halifax Memorial Park at 4:30. The Cougars beat Halifax 5-0 in last year’s championship game. Only the 2A champ advances to the state tournament.

Wilson fell to 4-3 in early April after an eight-inning loss at Muhlenberg but heads into the district tournament full of momentum. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 15 – including three wins over Gov. Mifflin. They have won five straight, including three in a row in the Berks playoffs: They beat Berks III champ Berks Catholic 7-2, Berks II champ Twin Valley 6-3 and Gov. Mifflin 10-3.

The Bulldogs used three different starting pitchers in those three league playoff wins, with VanOstenbridge getting the win in the championship game.

VanOstenbridge is 4-1 with a save in nine appearances. He has struck out 57 over 40 2/3 innings, allowing just 21 hits. He has a staff-leading 1.03 ERA.

All-Berks center fielder Nick Fiorini leads a hard-hitting Wilson attack that hits .304 and averages nearly seven runs per game. Five different regulars bat .300 or better, including all-division picks Jack Gabel (.389), Tommy Hunsicker (.350) and Christo Hunsicker (.324).

Fiorini has been a run-producing machine from his cleanup spot. He’s batting a team-best .444 and driven in 28 runs in 22 games. He has a .518 on-base percentage, a team-best .694 slugging percentage and a 1.212 OPS.

The hits will be tough to come by against a pitching-rich Manheim Township (18-6) team. The Blue Streaks have a 2.16 staff ERA and are just as deep in the pitching department as Wilson. They could use Trey Eckman, who has a 1.58 ERA and 42 strikeouts over 40 innings, or Tyler Shirk, who has a 1.76 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 39 2/3 innings.

Wilson beat Township 4-2 last year in a district semifinal at Wilson West. The Bulldogs lost in the championship game to Cedar Cliff, 7-1.

Wilson owns three district titles, winning it 1988, 2019, and 2021.