Brandon Shurr-Berks Catholic

It all started with a one-out single by No. 6 hitter Victor Mejia. When the 7th inning rally was over, Berks Catholic had put six runs on the board and taken a 11-6 lead over rival Wyomissing at FirstEnergy Stadium. That would be the final score as the seventh-seeded Saints advanced to the BCIAA Championship for the first time since 2014. “This team has been getting better throughout the year…We kind of figured some things out as a team to put us in a good spot. They’re really executing right now at the right time,” said head coach Brandon Shurr. After Heriel Ramirez reached on an error, sophomore Cole Harter delivered a RBI single to right field to tie it up in the 7th. “Cole had a great hit. Sometimes the bottom of our lineup struggles a little bit, but today they came through,” noted Shurr. No. 9 hitter Brock Shrawder got down a safety squeeze bunt which scored Henry Pflomm for a 7-6 advantage. “We saw that Wyo. wasn’t really up. They weren’t really attacking the baseball. Lefty on the mound, we’re thinking Brock puts a good bunt down. If we execute our part, really hard play to defend,” explained Shurr. Spartans’ relief pitcher Ryan Graham opted to come home with the throw which was late. Trey Stricker, who’s committed to West Chester, followed with a RBI single to make it 8-6. After Mikey Fidler was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Dennys Rodriguez knocked in a run with an infield single. The Shepherd commit went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. A sacrifice fly to left field by Owen Schalk put Berks Catholic on top 10-6. Aidan Curley drew his third walk of the afternoon which loaded the bases again. Mejia was then hit by a pitch to force in the final run. Wyomissing was attempting to reach the Berks League Final for the first time since 1994. The sixth-seeded Spartans were in front 6-4 after Birkley Ziegler’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 5th. Wyomissing finished with nine hits and left nine men on base. The Saints had seven hits and stranded ten runners. Each team committed three errors. Rodriguez launched a two-run homer to right in the 1st. In the bottom of the inning, Zander Westwood lofted a fly ball down the right field line. Mejia lost it in the sun which allowed three runs to score for the Spartans. Parker LaFerriere made it 4-2 with a sacrifice fly in the 2nd. A single through the left side by Rodriguez allowed Fidler to score all the way from first base in the 3rd. Wyomissing answered with a run in the bottom half. Westwood’s single drove in Teddy White who had tripled. Berks Catholic trailed 5-3 after three innings. A two-out error by the Spartans in the top of the 4th got the Saints within 5-4. Fidler’s RBI groundout to second base in the 6th made it 6-5. Four of Berks Catholic’s seven hits came in the 7th. Wyomissing committed a pair of errors in that inning. Graham allowed six runs, three earned, on four hits over 1.2 innings. The junior walked three and hit two batters. Chase Bailey, another junior, gave up five runs, four earned, on three hits in five innings. He walked seven and also hit two batters. Fidler got the start for the (15-6) Saints, but only lasted two innings. He was charged with five runs, one earned, on six hits and two walks. Shrawder limited the (14-7) Spartans to one run on three hits in three innings of relief. The senior righty struck out three and walked two. Pflomm came through in the clutch for Berks Catholic. The junior tossed two hitless innings to pick up the win. “Those were our two quickest innings. Henry threw a ton of strikes…Henry was great, much needed at the end of that game,” said Shurr. The Saints will battle top-seeded Gov. Mifflin in the BCIAA Championship. Weather permitting, that game is scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday at Owls Field in West Lawn. Berks Catholic is searching for its first county title in baseball.