Burr leads Muhls over Eagles

Cam Burr had only thrown 16.2 innings all season entering Tuesday. Brian Kopetsky, Muhlenberg’s longtime head coach, gave the ball to the sophomore right-hander in the Berks County semifinals at FirstEnergy Stadium. Burr made his manager look very good with a solid outing against an Exeter ball club that had won five straight. The second-seeded Muhls outlasted the third-seeded Eagles 10-7. Burr limited Exeter to three runs on five hits over 5.1 innings. He improved to (4-0). Burr helped himself with two hits and 3RBI, including a 2-run single to left in the bottom of the fifth that put Muhlenberg on top 7-2. The (18-2) Muhls got on the scoreboard first with two runs on one hit and three errors in the bottom of the first. Sam Martinez’s fly ball to right field should have been caught, but it dropped for an RBI double. Kenay Rodriguez followed with a sacrifice fly. The (15-6) Eagles tied it at 2-2 in the second on a sacrifice fly by Owen Wisner and a passed ball. Muhlenberg responded with three runs in the bottom of the second for a 5-2 edge. No. 9 hitter Gio Cavanna ripped an RBI double to left before Burr and Levan delivered RBI singles. Deven Sheerin only made it through three innings. The 6’5 junior was charged with five runs, three earned, on seven hits. He struck out four and walked one. Luke Weller replaced Sheerin. He gave up five runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. The Muhls tacked on three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Brad Coley blooped an RBI single to right field for one of his three hits. Exeter’s bats came alive in the seventh when lefty Drew Fidler took over on the mound for Dalton Follweiler. Exeter scored four runs on five hits and two Muhlenberg errors. An RBI double by Mike Greenawalt got the Eagles within 10-7. Sean Levan struck out Ian Dobraniecki with the bases loaded to end the drama. When it was finally over, there were 17 total runs, 23 hits (13 by the Muhls), and 7 errors (five by the Eagles). Muhlenberg showed why it’s averaging 7.5 runs. Seven different Muhls drove in at least one run. Cavanna finished 3-for-3. He scored two runs and knocked in another. Muhlenberg has won eight of its last nine games. The Muhls defeated Exeter 10-2 on April 29th. The Eagles were trying to reach the Berks County championship game for the first time since 2016. Sheerin was on base all four times. He had a pair of singles and was hit twice. Sophomore Alex Kelsey was 1-for-2 with a walk and 2RBI. Nick Sydor went 2-for-4 with a couple of singles. Muhlenberg will meet #8 seed Oley Valley in Wednesday’s BCIAA championship. First pitch is at 6pm. The Muhls are trying to claim their first title since 2018. Thanks to the effort by Burr, Muhlenberg was able to give Coley another day of rest. The Alvernia commit is (3-0) with a 2.06 ERA. Coley has piled up 64 strikeouts in 34 innings. The Lynx upset Gov. Mifflin and Wilson in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.