Brad Coley-Muhlenberg

Due to an injury last year, Brad Coley only made five appearances for the Muhls. He had a 1.14 ERA over just 12.1 innings. The senior southpaw is happy to be back on the mound and healthy again. Coley said, “The bond here is so tight and to finally be back out there with my guys is amazing.” The Alvernia commit had everything working on Wednesday night in Laureldale. He threw five hitless innings with nine strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Twin Valley. Coley, who features an 85-87 mph fastball, was taken out after 91 pitches and five walks. He hasn’t allowed a hit in three of his four starts this season! He also tossed five hitless frames against Stroudsburg and Daniel Boone. Sophomore catcher Shane Rosenberry helped Coley settle down with a 2-run double to left field in the second inning. Those were the only runs that Raiders’ junior Kannon Zdimal would give up over six innings. The right-hander piled up eight strikeouts with four walks. Rosenberry and Kenay Rodriguez each went 2-for-3. Dalton Follweiler came out of Muhlenberg’s bullpen after Derek Wilson walked the first two batters in the top of the sixth. Paul Colombo’s RBI single got Twin Valley on the board. That was the Raiders’ lone hit. Owen Rhoads followed with a dribbler to first base. Sam Martinez threw home and caught Jaydon Goebel in a rundown. Goebel made things interesting, but was eventually called out for running out of the baseline near home plate. Follweiler struck out Roman Cieless with men on second and third to end Twin Valley’s threat. The junior righty got three groundouts in the seventh to earn the save. Coley knew that the (6-2, 1-2) Raiders weren’t going to go down without a fight. Twin Valley only has one senior in its starting lineup. Gio Cavanna made a perfect throw home in the fifth to nail freshman Ben Vaughan at the plate. Vaughan was trying to tag up and score on a fly ball to right field, but Cavanna was up to the challenge. The (6-0, 3-0) Muhls are on top of Division 2. Coley believes it will be a competitive division. He loves playing at night at Gochnauer Field. I asked him who are the funniest, fastest, strongest, and smartest players on his team. We also discussed the Phillies and Clayton Kershaw, who Coley admired as a kid. Coley noted that he wouldn’t have taken Kershaw out after 80 pitches in a perfect game. Finally, Coley explained why he picked Alvernia.