Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Almost every sports fan has probably heard the phrase that it’s tough to beat a team three times. Wilson found that out in the BCIAA Championship at FirstEnergy Stadium. Top-seeded Gov. Mifflin defeated the second-seeded Bulldogs 6-3 for its 15th Berks County title. Wilson won both of their regular season meetings this year. “It feels good to win a championship no matter what. Doing it against our rival I think is always extra special. We have a ton of respect for that program,” said Mustangs’ head coach Chris Hole. Each team had five hits, but Gov. Mifflin made fewer mistakes and snapped the Bulldogs’ eight-game winning streak. A two-out RBI single to right field by sophomore Travis Jenkins got the (18-4) Mustangs on the board in the first frame. Jenkins was 2-for-3 out of the cleanup spot. Bryce Detwiler, another talented sophomore, scored after reaching on an error. The Mustangs tacked on two runs on an odd play with two outs in the 2nd inning. Xander Velez struck out, but the pitch got away from catcher Jordan Shutter and rolled towards the Gov. Mifflin dugout. UConn commit Tyler Minick scored all the way from second base to make it 3-0. “I’m literally out of words to describe him. He’s always going 110% no matter what he’s doing,” remarked Hole. The (15-7) Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out in the 3rd. Sophomore right-hander Ethan Grim limited the damage to one run on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Sekulski. Left fielder Jon Radwanski made a very nice sliding catch. A walk and an error by shortstop Trevor Bilodeau put runners on second and third for the Mustangs with one out in the 3rd inning. Grim knocked in a run with a ground ball to second base. Bryce Wunderlich drove in another run with a ground out to third. Gov. Mifflin moved ahead 5-1 after three frames. Grim helped himself with a RBI single to right in the 5th. Hole handed the ball to Minick after Grim hit two batters to begin the 6th. The 2022 Berks County Player of the Year recorded three straight outs to keep the Mustangs’ advantage at 6-1. Minick was 3-for-3 with two home runs in the semifinals against Fleetwood. Nick Fiorini ripped a 2-run triple to right in the 7th. Minick then struck out Rafael Fernandez to end it. Grim got the win by limiting Wilson to one unearned run on three hits over five innings. He struck out seven batters and hit four. Matt VanOstenbridge took the loss, however, five of the six runs that he gave up were unearned. The junior southpaw had seven strikeouts and three walks. VanOstenbridge entered Monday with a 2.18 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. He was the starting pitcher for both of the Bulldogs’ victories against Gov. Mifflin this season. The Mustangs claimed their second BCIAA title in the last three years. Hole replied, “We’re still on top. This is our goal every year. We want to set the standard and I’m really proud of these boys to uphold that.”