Bulldogs squeeze into District 3 field, will have chance for 3rd straight title
After losing its first four games Wilson has been playing catch-up all season in its bid to return to the District 3 baseball tournament. Despite not being above .500 a single day all the season the Bulldogs got in under the wire Wednesday, beating Boyertown 4-2 to grab the 12th and final spot in the Class 6A field.
Wilson is among 10 Berks teams to qualify for the tournament, which begins Friday in Class 2A and starts in full Monday with games in all six classifications.
| PIAA qualifiers | |
| 6A | 3 |
| 5A | 5 |
| 4A | 3 |
| 3A | 2 |
| 2A | 1* |
| 1A | 2 |
the District 9 runner-up
in a PIAA play-in game.
Gov. Mifflin, in Class 6A, and Muhlenberg, in 5A, will enter as No. 1 seeds.
Exeter and Twin Valley qualified in Class 5A, Hamburg and Fleetwood in 4A, Oley Valley and Berks Catholic in 3A and Kutztown in 2A.
All but Wilson, Twin Valley and Fleetwood will open at home.
All games will be played on the home field of the higher-seeded team, through the semifinals; the championship games will be played at neutral sites.
There’s one all-Berks match-up: No. 12 Twin Valley (12-8) will play at No. 5 Exeter (15-6) in a Class 5A opener. The Eagles beat the Raiders 3-1 in a Berks League crosser at Reiffton April 8. Deven Sheerin started for Exeter in that one and likely will again in the district opener.
Wilson (10-10) has won the last two Class 6A tournaments. It beat Hempfield 11-2 in the 2019 championship game and Gov. Mifflin 11-0 for the 2021 title. There was no tournament in 2020, due to COVID-19.
The Mustangs (19-2) are seeking their first district championship in baseball. They have played for the title in 2016, 2017 and 2021. They’ll open at home May 26 against the winner of the 8/9 game between Cedar Cliff and Hempfield. They beat Hempfield 21-3 on March 29.
The Muhls (19-2), coming off a Berks League championship, open Monday night at Gochnauer Field against No. 16 Gettysburg (12-7). They’ll need to win four straight games to claim their first district title since 2008, when they won in Class 3A. They also won championships in 1980 and 1982; head coach Brian Kopetsky played shortstop on the ’82 team.
Oley Valley (13-8), the No. 2 seed in Class 2A, is looking for its third straight district championship. The Lynx beat Biglerville 9-0 for the 2019 title and Trinity 5-1 last year. They have an opening-round bye, then play a semifinal against either No. 3 Trinity (12-8) or No. 6 Annville-Cleona (9-10) May 26.
Oley Valley has played in five straight district championship games, winning three.
Wyomissing (.4765) was bumped out of the 10th and final spot in Class 4A by Big Spring (.4775).
Wilson is among five returning district champs to make the field, along with Red Land (5A), Oley Valley (3A), Camp Hill (2A) and Greenwood (1A). Only Elco, which beat Wyomissing in 4A, did not qualify.
District 3 brackets
Berks match-ups
| Class | ||||
| 6A | (1) Gov. Mifflin | BYE | Open May 26 | |
| 6A | (12) Wilson | at | (5) Dallastown | Monday, 4:30 |
| 5A | (16) Gettysburg | at | (1) Muhlenberg | Monday, 7:00 |
| 5A | (12) Twin Valley | at | (5) Exeter | Monday, 4:30 |
| 4A | (5) Littlestown | at | (4) Hamburg | May 26, 4:30 |
| 4A | (9) Fleetwood | at | (8) Octorara | Monday, 4:30 |
| 3A | (2) Oley Valley | BYE | Open May 26 | |
| 3A | (5) Bermudian Springs | at | (4) Berks Catholic | Monday, 4:30 |
| 2A | (5) Newport | at | (4) Kutztown | Friday, 6:00 |