Paul Petersen-Oley Valley

There was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel at Berks Catholic on a chilly Wednesday afternoon. No runs crossed the plate through five innings. Junior shortstop Paul Petersen ripped a 2-run double down the left field line in the 6th and the Lynx went on to win 5-2. “I was just trying to get the run in, do whatever I could to put us up. Obviously, it worked out a little bit better than that,” said Petersen. The (11-7, 9-2) Lynx clinched the Division 3 championship. They’ve won four of their last five games. Lefty Chase Kegerise tossed a five-hitter with six strikeouts and one walk. The freshman threw 92 pitches, 61 of them for strikes. “He’s gonna feel great moving forward. That’s probably one of the biggest games we’ve played this season. He threw great,” remarked Petersen. Tyler Drobek, one of only two seniors on the roster, hit a leadoff single in the top of the 6th inning. Chase Reifsnyder followed with a sacrifice bunt that Trey Stricker threw over Parker Nein’s head at first base. That set the stage for Petersen who was an all-division pick last year. He’s hitting .397 this season with a team-high 20 RBI. Kegerise helped himself with a RBI single to center field that gave Oley Valley a 3-0 edge. He has a .377 batting average. Gryffin Cappellano, another freshman, and Reifsnyder had two hits apiece. Reifsnyder leads the Lynx with a .440 average and 22 runs. The (13-6, 6-5) Saints got a pair of runs in the bottom of the 6th. Nein provided a RBI groundout to second and sophomore catcher Denny Rodriguez slapped a RBI single to right field. Oley Valley responded with two insurance runs in the 7th. Cappellano’s two-out RBI double made it 4-2. Matt Sterner replaced Stricker on the mound and allowed a RBI single to left by Sean Hoffman. Stricker used a good curveball to keep the Lynx off-balance for most of the day. The sophomore was charged with five runs, three earned, on eight hits. He struck out two and walked two. Seven players had at least one hit for Oley Valley. Freshman third baseman Aidan Curley went 2-for-3 for Berks Catholic. The Saints started four sophomores and two freshmen. They’re part of a three-way tie for second place in Division 3 with Hamburg and Wyomissing. Only one league game remains for each team. Meanwhile, the Lynx are guaranteed a spot in the county playoffs. “Berks playoffs are one of the biggest things for us. Nobody ever really thinks we have a chance. We’re a smaller school, but it’s what we work for,” stated Petersen. He explained why Giancarlo Stanton is his favorite MLB player. Petersen also had fun talking about his favorite rapper and postgame meal.