Bryce Detwiler-Gov. Mifflin

Bryce Detwiler can beat you on the mound and at the plate. The 6’2, 215-pound junior homered and tossed a complete game in the opening round of the PIAA-5A playoffs. Detwiler was more pleased with his pitching performance in a 7-2 victory over Frankford at Shillington. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out eight. Both runs against him were unearned. Detwiler hammered his eighth homer of the season to left field in the 6th inning. “I had to make an adjustment and stay back. It was a fastball middle-in and I put a good swing on it,” explained Detwiler. He drew a walk from Enmanuel Roman in the first frame and then stole second base. Ethan Grim knocked in Detwiler with an infield single to shortstop. Dante Casantini’s RBI triple down the right field line gave the (21-5) Mustangs a 2-0 edge in the 2nd inning. Casantini scored on a wild pitch. The Alvernia commit doubled down the left field line in the 4th. Bryce Wunderlich drove in Casantini with a single through the middle for a 4-0 advantage. Gov. Mifflin, the District 3 runner-up, added two more runs in the 5th inning. Travis Jenkins launched a towering RBI triple to right-center. Courtesy runner Reese Hohl raced home on a wild pitch to make it 6-0. Gabriel Perez then replaced Roman on the mound. Roman was charged with six runs on eight hits over four frames. The Mustangs’ lineup didn’t have a single strikeout. The Pioneers scored a pair of runs in the 6th on three hits and an error. Alexis Zhagui led off with a single. Detwiler then threw low to second base after a bunt back to the mound. Jose Rivera and Yuniel Ramirez followed with consecutive RBI singles. Detwiler retired the side in order in the 7th. Frankford, the #2 seed from District 12, finished (14-5). Casantini went 2-for-2 with two runs out of the No. 8 spot in the order. “He’s definitely turned it on these past couple of games. It’s amazing having someone like that at the bottom of your order to flip it over to the top,” said Detwiler. Gov. Mifflin piled up ten hits. The Mustangs will face District 11 champion Whitehall in the state quarterfinals on Thursday. Detwiler will follow in the footsteps of Tyler Minick and head to UConn after his high school career. Minick was voted the Berks County Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023. Detwiler earned that honor this season. He discussed his decision to commit to the Huskies. “I fell in love with where it’s at and how good their facilities are to develop me as a player. The coaches treated me like family,” noted Detwiler.