Brian Kopetsky-Muhlenberg

Muhlenberg and Manheim Central are very familiar with each other. They’ve met in the District 3 playoffs three times in the past four years. They also squared off in the 2024 season opener with the Barons winning 4-3. Brian Kopetsky, who’s in his 25th year as the Muhls’ head coach, expected a tight game and that’s exactly what he got. Eli Keller sprinted home with the winning run on a wild pitch in the 9th for a 6-5 victory. “Keller is one of our best baserunners, he’s aggressive. There was no hesitation, there was no flinch. He was gone as soon as he saw the ball hit the dirt,” noted Kopetsky. Muhlenberg advanced to the District 3-5A quarterfinals at second-seeded Mechanicsburg on Monday at 4:30pm. Manheim Central finished (13-9). The seventh-seeded Muhls scored three runs on three hits and an error in the second frame. Sophomore Gavin Moody hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Lincoln High and Cam Burr followed with RBI singles. Burr, a two-time All-County selection, got the start on the mound. The Kutztown University commit allowed a three-run homer to left by Mount St. Mary’s commit Nolan Book in the 3rd. Muhlenberg responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Aaden Lopez crushed a RBI double to center. He stole third base and scored on a bunt by Josh Smeltzer with two outs. The tenth-seeded Barons got one run back on a two-out error by High at third base. A sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Carter Kyle tied it at 5-5 in the 6th. Smeltzer tossed three scoreless innings of relief. The senior southpaw gave up just one hit with two strikeouts. “His fastball has a lot of tail on it…You get a lot of fly balls out of Smeltzer,” said Kopetsky. Book walked Keller and Shane Rosenberry to begin the bottom of the 9th. Those were the only free passes issued by Manheim Central’s four pitchers. Kevin Rodriguez hit a bloop single to load the bases with nobody out. Keller then raced home to end the tense first round matchup. Rodriguez, who missed about two weeks with a broken hand, had four of the Muhls’ twelve hits. Smeltzer and High contributed two hits apiece. Barons’ starter Chase Travitz was charged with five runs, three earned, on six hits over three innings. Kyle Mylin fired 2.1 innings of shutout relief and Trevor Lowe got two key outs in the 6th. Book took over on the hill in the seventh frame. Muhlenberg got the leadoff hitter on base in the 7th and 8th innings, but couldn’t score. Book struck out three. Burr allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits over six innings. The Muhls’ seniors may have arrived at prom a little late on Friday, but they kept their season alive. “It does show a lot about their character that they’re willing to fight and battle all the way to the end,” stated Kopetsky.