Jay Oliver-Twin Valley

If you weren’t at Rulon Griffith Field on Wednesday night, you probably wouldn’t believe what happened. Twin Valley scored six runs on one hit in the seventh inning and stunned Gov. Mifflin 8-7 in Shillington. “I don’t know if you can put a word into that game other than a team just not giving up. We’ve seen our team this year give up in moments, but today they didn’t give up. It was gritty and I’m proud of the guys,” said first-year head coach Jay Oliver. The (6-6, 3-4) Mustangs had won three of their previous four games. They committed seven errors in the top of the seventh on senior night. “Mysterious things happen when you put the ball in play. That’s a cliche, but you see what happens. People get nervous, put a little pressure on. We’ve been on both sides of the coin,” noted Oliver. The (5-5, 4-2) Raiders are in first place in Division 2 of the Berks League.

The seventh frame began with a soft line drive single down the third base line by freshman Blaise Rigg. The throw into second base got away and rolled past the right fielder allowing Rigg to advance all the way to third. That was the first in a series of miscues by the defending county champions. Rigg came home on a wild pitch to make it 7-3. After Nate Lord walked, Evan Glucksnis was replaced on the mound by senior righty Owen Miller. Glucksnis allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits. The Gettysburg commit finished with five strikeouts and five walks. He entered the contest with a 1.59 ERA.

Grant Moser was the first batter to face Miller. Moser missed Twin Valley’s first nine games due to an injury. He drew a walk before Miller struck out Jayce Oliver. Luke Raines then hit a ground ball to Jesse Angstadt at second who opted to flip the ball to shortstop Aden Reiter. The late toss was dropped which loaded the bases for Nate Sedgwick. He hit a grounder to shortstop and Reiter’s throw to first base was low. Two runs scored and suddenly the Raiders were within 7-5 with one out. Tyler Rhode followed with a ground ball to shortstop. This one went under Reiter’s glove for another error. The throw came home and catcher Nick Montgomery tried to get a runner at third base. However, his throw sailed into left field and a second run scored on the play. With the game even at 7-7, Brody Majeski flew out to center for the second out. Pinch-runner Cole Devine stole third base and Montgomery’s low throw went into left field, giving Twin Valley the go-ahead run.

Chase Reilly retired Gov. Mifflin in order in the bottom of the seventh. The junior right-hander was charged with two runs, both unearned, over two innings. Reilly struck out three and didn’t give up a hit. Kutztown commit Nate Lord allowed a dozen hits and five runs in five innings. The All-County selection from last season had five strikeouts and one walk. The Raiders won despite getting outhit 12-to-6. Lord and Rigg provided two hits apiece. The difference was in the field. Twin Valley committed two errors compared to eight for the Mustangs. Miller took the loss, but all four of the runs that he gave up were unearned. Angstadt and RJ Weaver each had three hits for Gov. Mifflin. Charlie Ainge went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs. The Mustangs lost eight starters and five All-State picks to graduation. They were (26-2) last spring and claimed their first District 3 title.

The Raiders grabbed a 2-0 edge with a couple of runs in the first inning. A RBI single to shallow right field by Raines was followed by a wild pitch which scored Oliver. He walked three times on Wednesday. Gov. Mifflin got one run back in the bottom of the frame with a two-out RBI single through the right side by Ainge. A two-out RBI double to center from Ryan Lehman tied it at 2-2 in the second inning. The Mustangs tacked on three runs with four hits in the fifth. Cam Zurawski ripped a RBI double down the first base line. Joe Murray brought in another run with a groundout. A bloop single to left by Weaver gave Gov. Mifflin a 5-2 cushion. The Mustangs extended their advantage to 7-2 in the sixth. They added two runs without a hit. An error and a walk got things going. Ainge then hit a grounder to first base, but the throw home was late. Angstadt delivered a RBI groundout to second as Gov. Mifflin played small ball.

Twin Valley had gone scoreless for five straight innings before things got crazy in the seventh. The Raiders are without talented junior Nate DiRocco. He’s out for the season with a knee injury. Oliver still likes the talent on his roster. “We have not played even baseball at all this entire year due to injuries and other things, but we’ve got the guys. Hopefully, this kind of propels us into next week,” he replied.