Jack Gabel-Wilson

Wilson has a nice one-two punch at the top of its rotation. Ben Kulp and Jack Gabel are both committed to West Chester. Kulp has a 1.95 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 14.1 innings this season. The 6’2, 215-pound senior has only allowed seven hits and three walks. Gabel took his turn on Wednesday afternoon and shut down rival Gov. Mifflin. The senior righty limited the Mustangs to two hits in 6.2 innings before reaching the 100 pitch limit. The Bulldogs scored six runs in the sixth of a 8-1 victory. Gabel racked up nine strikeouts while handing out just one walk. “He’s always in the zone. He has a really good knack of throwing his fastball either side of the plate and he throws his curveball for a strike. When you can do that in high school, throw two pitches for a strike, you’re gonna be pretty effective,” said head coach Bill Underwood. Gabel lowered his ERA to 1.45 with 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. Underwood added, “He’s got good velocity. He’s a bulldog on the mound.”

Gov. Mifflin went (50-7) over the previous two years with a state championship in 2024 and a District 3 title a season ago. However, the Mustangs lost eight starters to graduation including five All-State selections. Two of Wilson’s first three batters reached via errors. After Evan Glucksnis hit Kulp, Tim Lengle ripped a single down the first base line. RJ Weaver, a Juniata commit, made a diving attempt, but the ball bounced off his glove and two runs came home. Lengle went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI. “He’s been swinging it great all year. He’s just been hitting it right at people which happens. He’s got it in him and we know he’s gonna get hot,” noted Gabel.

Gov. Mifflin’s first hit didn’t come until the top of the fourth. It was a single to center by shortstop Aden Reiter. The (3-3) Bulldogs threatened in the bottom of the frame. Gabe Spohn and Matt Mallis drew back-to-back walks. Wilson had runners on second and third with nobody out, but Glucksnis got out of the jam. Ryan Marmolejos lined out sharply to left field with the bases loaded to end the threat. Glucksnis, who’s headed to Gettysburg College, kept the (3-4) Mustangs in the game. The 6’2, 200-pound righty gave up three runs, one earned, on two hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out six and walked six. Cam Zurawski got them on the scoreboard in the fifth. The Lebanon Valley commit provided an opposite field RBI single to left with two outs.

Spohn, who’s hitting .444 this year, worked another walk to begin the bottom of the sixth. Glucksnis had to come out after throwing 104 pitches. Charlie Ainge, who’s going to Penn State Altoona, took over on the mound with one out and a runner on second base. Following Gov. Mifflin’s third error, sophomore Logan Pettit delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to center. A bloop single to right by Gabel brought in two more runs to make it 5-1. The shortstop went 2-for-3 with a walk to increase his batting average to .381. Ainge wasn’t able to record an out. Owen Miller came out of the bullpen and walked Kulp with the bases loaded. Kulp has a team-high .500 average and 11 RBI through six games. Lengle gave the Bulldogs a 8-1 cushion with a two-run single to center. Wilson is hitting .337 as a team and averaging nine runs per game. “Going into the season, we thought pitching was gonna be our strong suit and hitting was gonna have to come around. Coming out of the gate, we’ve been putting up like 10-15 hits a game and putting runs up,” said Gabel.

Ainge was charged with five runs, four earned, on three hits and a walk. The Bulldogs ended up with six hits and eight walks. They didn’t make any errors. Kulp retired the final batter with a strikeout. The Mustangs earned their 16th BCIAA championship last year. There seems to be a lot more parity in Berks County this season. “Everybody can compete with everybody this year, but I think we’re the team to beat,” stated Gabel.