Matt Kramer-Wyomissing

Matt Kramer is certainly no stranger to big games. The 210-pound junior helped Wyomissing win the District 3-3A football championship back in November. The outside linebacker piled up a team-high eleven tackles in the state final against Central Valley. On Friday night in West Lawn, Kramer came through again, but this time it was on a baseball diamond. He tossed 6.1 scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory over Hamburg. Kramer told me that it’s a privilege to play at Owls Field. He struck out nine and walked two while limiting the Hawks to four hits. Hamburg loaded the bases with one out in the top of the third inning. Kramer got No. 3 hitter Luke Bensinger on a strikeout and Nate Gilbert on a popup to third. Kramer reached on an infield single in the first inning. He scored on an RBI single to center by Ryker Jones. Kramer believes that the sophomore third baseman has a ton of potential. Jones went 2-for-4 with a triple and 2 RBI. Dom Colon knocked in a run with a bloop single to right field in the third. Colon finished 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBI. Kramer mentioned that Colon has stepped up on the mound and at shortstop. The (8-6, 6-3) Spartans got some breathing room with four unearned runs on two hits in the sixth inning. Two of the Hawks’ three errors came in that frame. Hamburg allowed five unearned runs overall. Kramer discussed his relationship with senior catcher Nate Koenig. They’ve been playing together since they were little kids. Koenig had two of Wyomissing’s ten hits, including a triple. Jay Wolf drove in a run with a groundout in the sixth. The senior infielder took over on the hill for Kramer and got the final two outs of the game. Austin Miller gave up four runs, one earned, on seven hits in 5.1 innings. The Albright commit struck out three and walked two. Sophomore Braden Fetherolf was charged with two unearned runs on three hits. Freshman Tyler Shuey had two of Hamburg’s five hits. His older brother, Hunter, is pitching now for UNC-Greensboro. The (11-4, 7-3) Hawks had won seven of their previous eight contests. Four teams in Division 3 are separated by a-half game! Berks Catholic (6-2) and Oley Valley (6-3) are also in the mix for a division title. Kramer explained what it’s going to take to come out on top. We talked about his expectations for this ball club before the season. He had a feeling that they would start slow after losing nine seniors to graduation. The Spartans were the District 3-4A runner-up in 2021. They made their first appearance in the Berks County playoffs since 2006. It was Wyomissing’s first winning season since 2002. However, Jimmy Nunez, Aidan Cirulli, Darren Brunner, Harry Weiss, Ryan Latourelle, and Luke Terefenko have all moved on. Kramer and company are getting hot at the right time. The Spartans’ winning streak is up to five. I asked Kramer if he’s better at baseball or football. He also revealed the smartest, funniest, strongest, and fastest players on this year’s team. He said they love playing basketball for fun. Kramer is still confident in the 76ers despite Joel Embiid’s injury. Finally, he told me about his favorite classes and teachers at Wyomissing.