Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Wilson senior catcher Gabe Spohn had never seen anything like what the Bulldogs did in the bottom of the first inning on Monday afternoon. They put up twelve runs on seven hits and seven walks. Wilson cruised to a 16-6 victory over Exeter in six innings. “All nine guys are hitting pretty well. We have confidence in every guy in the lineup and every guy on our bench,” remarked Spohn. The (12-3, 8-0) Bulldogs extended their winning streak to eleven in a row. They’re hitting .352 as a team this season.
The (10-4) Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Jake Hafer, an East Stroudsburg commit, ripped a double down the right field line and Jake Franek followed with a triple to right. Franek scored on Brandon Weller’s hard ground ball to shortstop. Hafer, Franek, and Matt Woram had two hits apiece. The rest of Exeter’s lineup produced just one hit. Wilson piled up 13 hits. Eight players had at least one hit for the Bulldogs. Aidan Incledon went 3-for-4 with a walk and four runs. The speedy senior outfielder was struggling in the classroom last year and got cut from the team. Incledon is now hitting second in Wilson’s lineup and has a .500 batting average. Freshman Pat Lengle was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs. He’s also hitting .500 this spring. Spohn, Ben Kulp, and Ryan Marmolejos added two hits apiece against the Eagles. Spohn, who’s hitting .404, drove in four runs in the first frame. Kulp, a West Chester commit, knocked in three runs and scored two more.
Hafer entered the game with a (4-0) record and a 1.94 ERA. The southpaw only managed to get two outs. Hafer allowed seven runs on three hits and four walks. Jack Gabel and Incledon walked to begin the bottom of the first inning. Kulp lofted a bloop single to right to make it 2-1. Spohn’s two-run double down the third base line put the Bulldogs in front 3-2. “We’ve seen some good pitchers this year. He’s a great pitcher, but we have guys who can really hit. We were confident at the plate and good things happened,” explained Spohn. A two-run single to left field by Marmolejos gave Wilson a 5-2 edge. After a walk to No. 9 hitter Zach Troutman, Hafer was replaced by sophomore Balin Mann. Gabel’s bloop single to right made it 6-2. Incledon followed with a RBI single and Kulp delivered a two-run single through the left side for a 9-2 advantage. Matt Mallis walked with the bases loaded before Spohn hit a two-run single through the right side for a 12-2 cushion. Mann was taken out and junior Ethan Ramos got the final out of the first inning. Mann was charged with five runs on four hits and a pair of walks. Ramos limited the Bulldogs to one run on three hits over 3.1 innings.
A RBI double to center by Tim Lengle put Wilson on top 13-2 in the second. Exeter responded with four runs in the third. Woram dropped a RBI single into left field and a wild pitch by Gabel made it 13-4. The Eagles tacked on two runs on Mason Goodhart’s grounder to shortstop. The Bulldogs made two throwing errors on the play. Gabel gave up six runs, four earned, on seven hits in five innings. The West Chester commit had six strikeouts to surpass 100 for his career. Gabel, who reached base three times on Monday, is hitting .408 this season.
Marmolejos drilled a triple to right-center and scored on a wild pitch by Ben Ruppert in the fifth. Wilson ended the contest with two runs in the sixth. Mallis hit a long fly ball to right field for a RBI single and a 16-6 margin. The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 30-to-11 in two matchups this year. Exeter had won four straight and eight of its previous nine games coming into the week.
Wilson ended up (14-8) a season ago. The Bulldogs lost in the BCIAA quarterfinals and the District 3-6A quarterfinals. “I know as a senior and a captain that we had to turn things around. Last year, we didn’t have a great result and we came in super hungry. This is my last baseball season. I’m trying to leave everything out there,” said Spohn.
