Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Travis Jenkins is known for his work behind the plate. On Saturday, the All-State catcher was needed on the mound and he delivered. The Canisius commit fired four hitless innings of relief as Gov. Mifflin held off Twin Valley 9-5 in eight innings. “If I have to pitch, I’ll pitch but catching is more my thing,” said Jenkins. He also came through offensively with a two-out, two-run single to left field in the top of the 8th. “I was trying to stay back. I was getting pull happy so just try to stay back,” he explained. Jenkins is a right-handed pitcher, but a lefty hitter. He was 1-for-3 with two walks and picked up the 100th RBI of his career. The (15-0) Mustangs put two runs on the scoreboard in the 1st inning at Elverson. Branson Adams drove in Bryce Detwiler with a double to left-center. Adams then scored on a wild pitch by Nolan Cromwell. The senior was making his first appearance of the season. He allowed four runs, three earned, over four innings. Cromwell gave up three hits and walked four. The (6-5) Raiders got one run back in the bottom of the 1st. Grant Moser, who reached on an error, was thrown out at home on Brody Majeski’s double to left-center. Majeski, one of three sophomores in the lineup, scored on an infield single by Logan Crunkleton. The senior first baseman entered the day with a .355 batting average and a team-high five doubles. Matt Koehler made it 3-1 in the 4th with a solo homer to center field. “He was due. He’s been getting robbed a lot, not finding holes. I’m proud of him,” replied Jenkins. Koehler, who’s committed to Juniata, went 2-for-5 with a double. Twin Valley went in front 4-3 with three runs in the bottom of the 4th. “They’re a really good team. They really battled,” stated Jenkins. After an RBI groundout by Kooper Zdimal with the bases loaded, Moser provided a two-run single to left field. Gov. Mifflin coach Chris Hole, who reached 200 career wins early this season, decided to use junior Joe Murray as a pinch-hitter in the 5th. In just his second at-bat of the year, the left-handed hitting Murray ripped a solo home run to right field. That ended Cromwell’s afternoon and tied it at 4-4. Southpaw Nate Sedgwick walked Detwiler and Jenkins before Ethan Grim smashed a RBI single to left. Grim, one of the top pitchers in the state, is headed to Virginia Tech. He was 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Jenkins took over on the mound for Evan Glucksnis with two men on and nobody out in the bottom of the 5th. Glucksnis, a junior righty, was charged with five runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out three in four frames. Nate DiRocco evened the game at 5-5 with a RBI groundout to second in the 5th. DiRocco and Majeski, both sophomores, had two hits apiece. Junior designated hitter Cam Zurawski led off the 8th with a walk. Lefty Jayce Oliver, another sophomore, then hit Billy Angstadt. After Murray got down a sacrifice bunt, the Raiders intentionally walked Detwiler to load the bases. The UConn commit finished with a single, three walks, three runs, and four stolen bases. “Teams like to pitch around him. No matter what, he finds a way on. He keeps his head up,” noted Jenkins. Oliver struck out Adams for the second out of the inning. Jenkins broke the tie with a clutch opposite field single to left. Grim followed with a long two-run single that hit the left field fence. Oliver permitted four runs on three hits in 2.1 innings. Jenkins got a pair of strikeouts and a pop-up to shortstop in the bottom of the 8th. He threw 45 pitches in just his second appearance of the season. The unbeaten Mustangs finished with eight hits and the Raiders ended up with nine. Gov. Mifflin drew eight walks. “We know we’re (15-0), but we haven’t won anything yet. We just go to practice, work hard, and have fun,” said Jenkins.