Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Only four Berks County baseball teams are still standing in the District 3 playoffs. The season can come to an end quickly this time of year. Wilson and Exeter both suffered gut-wrenching losses in the quarterfinals on Monday. The (14-8) Bulldogs were one out away from advancing to the Class 6A semifinals and clinching a berth in the state tournament. They led Ephrata 4-3 in the 7th, but a close call at first base didn’t go their way. The Mounts ended up with three runs in the final inning and a 6-4 victory. Exeter was on top of Conestoga Valley 5-0 after six innings in a Class 5A matchup. The Buckskins rallied to beat the (16-8) Eagles 7-6 in eight innings.
Weather permitting, four teams from the Berks League will be in action on Thursday. However, the forecast doesn’t look great. Gov. Mifflin hosts Ephrata at 4:30pm in a District 3-6A semifinal. UConn commit Bryce Detwiler and Millersville commit Camryn Simes are expected to be on the mound. Detwiler (8-0, 0.60) has 42 strikeouts and just seven walks in 46 innings. Simes (10-0, 1.58) has piled up 93 strikeouts over 62 innings. The junior righty has only allowed 37 hits. The top-seeded Mustangs are (23-1). The fifth-seeded Mounts come in at (18-7). Gov. Mifflin won the BCIAA championship, while Ephrata was the Lancaster-Lebanon League runner-up.
Fleetwood travels to East Pennsboro for a District 3-4A semifinal at 4:30pm. The Panthers are the #1 seed. They’ve won three straight District 3 titles. The fourth-seeded Tigers are (14-6). The top three teams in Class 4A qualify for the PIAA tournament.
Berks Catholic and Wyomissing have made it to the District 3-3A semifinals. The third-seeded Saints visit second-seeded Trinity. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30pm. Wyomissing, the #4 seed, will make the trip to #1 seed Bermudian Springs at 4:30pm. The season will be over for the losers of these semifinals. Only two teams in Class 3A move on to the state playoffs.