Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
When you have two senior pitchers committed to PSAC colleges on the mound, you expect a low-scoring game. Wilson’s Ben Kulp and Exeter’s Kamren Martin didn’t disappoint on Friday afternoon at Owls Field. The top-seeded Bulldogs got past the fourth-seeded Eagles 1-0 in the BCIAA semifinals. The game included just six hits, four by Wilson. Kulp, who’s headed to West Chester, went the distance with nine strikeouts and two walks. The 6’2, 215-pound righty is (7-1) this season with 82 strikeouts over 49 innings. He’s only allowed 30 hits. “The slider was the key part today for keeping hitters off-balance,” noted Kulp.
The (16-6) Bulldogs won their first two meetings with Exeter by a combined score of 30-11. Martin, a Shippensburg commit, made sure that this wasn’t going to be another rout. The 6’4, 230-pound righty limited Wilson to one run on three hits in 5.1 innings. Martin struck out six and walked two. “He’s legit. He’s got a firm fastball and a snappy curveball. He keeps you on your toes,” said Kulp. Martin didn’t give up a hit until Ryan Marmolejos’ double to left field in the bottom of the fourth. He reached third base with one out, but was stranded there. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the fifth. Marmolejos flew out to center to end the threat.
Freshman Pat Lengle started the bottom of the sixth with a grounder to first base. Jake Hafer made a diving stop, however, Martin dropped the toss while running to the bag. It was ruled a single for Lengle. Kulp then hit a ground ball to third and the (15-7) Eagles tried to turn a double play. They got an out at second base, but the throw to first got away which let Kulp reach second. Martin exited at that point after throwing 89 pitches. He had only pitched ten innings this spring prior to Friday. Mason Goodhart took over on the hill and Tim Lengle greeted him with a ground-rule double that bounced over the fence in right field. “That was awesome. As soon as we got the one run, we were three outs away,” replied Kulp. Sophomore Landon Kostelac, a courtesy runner, scored the lone run of the game.
Brenton Feathers hit a one-out single down the third base line in the top of the seventh. Goodhart grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end it. Kulp finished with 93 pitches. Wilson made two errors and Exeter committed one.
The Bulldogs are looking for their 14th Berks County title. They will take on third-seeded Muhlenberg on Monday. The county championship is set for 6:05pm at FirstEnergy Stadium. “The atmosphere is elite, top of the line. You get big crowds out there,” said Kulp.