Drew Fidler-Muhlenberg

Don’t be fooled by Drew Fidler’s 5’9, 150-pound frame. The junior lefty knows how to pitch. He’s an extremely valuable arm out of the Muhlenberg bullpen. Fidler proved that again Saturday night against Wilson at Owls Field in West Lawn. The southpaw tossed 2.1 innings of hitless relief with five strikeouts and one walk. The (10-0, 6-0) Muhls beat the (4-6, 3-2) Bulldogs 6-5 on Wilson’s “Senior Night.” Fidler told me that all of his pitches felt great in the bullpen, including his curveball. He struck out the side in the seventh inning which sparked a Muhlenberg celebration. Fidler mentioned that he had a ton of confidence because his teammates trusted him. He enjoyed playing under the lights in front of a big crowd. Luis Beato opened the scoring in the top of the first on a passed ball. The Muhls’ all-division center fielder reached on a 2-out, infield single off of Rueben Livingston. The Bulldogs answered with three runs on one hit in the bottom of the first. Brad Coley started the frame with two walks before hitting Livingston. Lucas Gensemer hit an RBI single to left, one of just two hits for Wilson on the night. Ryan Sekulski knocked in a run on a 4-6-3 double play. The final run of the inning came across on a wild pitch. Coley, a left-hander who’s headed to Alvernia, allowed five runs over 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts and six walks. Muhlenberg tied it at 3-3 in the fourth. Gio Cavanna and Cameron Burr provided 2-out, RBI singles. Cavanna went 1-for-1 with 3RBI out of the No. 9 spot. The right fielder also made a great catch up against the fence in foul territory. Burr finished 2-for-5. The Muhls loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth. Livingston nearly worked out of the jam, but a wild pitch with two outs gave Muhlenberg a 4-3 advantage. After a walk, the Kent State commit was replaced by Jake Kope who immediately hit Cavanna to force in a run. Livingston was charged with five runs, one earned, on seven hits and three walks. The 6’3, 225-pound righty struck out four. Livingston has only given up one earned run in 19 innings this year. The Bulldogs committed three errors on Saturday. Wilson responded with two runs in the bottom of the 5th. Livingston increased his batting average to a team-high .348 with a double. Freshman Christo Hunsicker contributed with an RBI groundout. The Bulldogs knotted the score at 5-5 on an error by Kenay Rodriguez. The Muhls’ senior shortstop bounced back with a leadoff double to left in the seventh. He was 2-for-4 with two runs. After a walk and sacrifice bunt, Cavanna delivered a sacrifice fly to put Muhlenberg back on top 6-5. Fidler shut the door in the bottom of the seventh. He’s (4-0) with a save. Kope took the loss after allowing one run on two hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Although the Muhls have won ten in a row, Fidler knows there’s always room for improvement. They’re an experienced ball club that’s taking it one game at a time. Fidler said, “Everybody contributes. That’s what I love about our lineup; I trust every guy.” I asked him which teammates would be the toughest for him to face. Fidler emphasized that Muhlenberg has a deep pitching staff to go along with very solid defense. We discussed Monday’s highly anticipated matchup with Gov. Mifflin. The Mustangs are on top of Division 1 at (13-0). They’ll square off with the Muhls at 4pm in Shillington. As for the Bulldogs, they’re still searching for ways to produce runs. Wilson is hitting .173 as a team. The Bulldogs are averaging 4.4 runs. They put up eight runs per game last season when they went (22-3) and captured the District 3-6A championship. Wilson lost twelve seniors and four Division I players from the 2021 squad.