Brian Kopetsky-Muhlenberg

Sometimes the first inning can be the most important. Momentum certainly shifted in the first frame of the Berks County championship at FirstEnergy Stadium. Brad Coley walked a batter, hit another, and allowed a single to eighth-seeded Oley Valley. The Lynx couldn’t take advantage, however, as Coley struck out Ty Yerger to end the threat with the bases loaded. Muhlenberg raced out to a 2-0 advantage in the first on a sacrifice fly by Luis Beato and an RBI single to left by Jacob Rodriguez. The second-seeded Muhls would never look back. They cruised past Oley Valley 11-3 for their 13th county title. Longtime head coach Brian Kopetsky told me about their approach against Luke Macdonald. The ace of the Lynx pitching staff lasted just one inning. Entering Wednesday night, Macdonald had held opponents to two earned runs over 38 innings. The crafty senior earned the win in the county quarterfinals and picked up the save in the semifinals. Yerger took over for Macdonald, but he didn’t fare any better. Muhlenberg added five runs in the second and two more in the third and fourth innings. Seven different players had at least one RBI. Kopetsky, who was surprised that Macdonald came out so early, emphasized that depth has been a big key for the (19-2) Muhls. He mentioned how competitive their practices have been all season. Sophomore Cam Burr was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs. His RBI single in the third put Muhlenberg on top 8-2. Kopetsky knows that Burr has a bright future. He got the win and drove in three runs in the Muhls’ 10-7 semifinal victory over Exeter on Tuesday. Beato’s 2-run single in the second made it 5-0. He finished with 3RBI. Sean Levan and Jacob Rodriguez each went 1-for-1 with 2RBI. Sophomore catcher Shane Rosenberry was 2-for-2 with a walk out of the No. 8 spot. Meanwhile, Coley settled in and limited Oley Valley to two runs on three hits over five innings. The Alvernia commit struck out six and walked three. His fastball reached 88 mph. Coley (4-0) has only given up twelve hits in 39 innings this season. Levan threw the final two innings. The (13-8) Lynx got an unearned run in the seventh on three Muhlenberg errors. Oley Valley, which was searching for its first county championship since 2013, produced just four hits. The Muhls have won nine of their last ten contests. Kopetsky said the chemistry is fantastic among the players. We also discussed the baseball tradition at Muhlenberg. This is the Muhls’ second county title since 2018. They’ll be the #1 seed in the District 3-5A playoffs. Kopetsky has 324 career wins over 23 seasons.