RJ Emrich-Berks Catholic

The 2021 season wasn’t a fun one for the Berks Catholic baseball team. The Saints started five freshman and a sophomore, and finished the year with just five wins. They went (2-10) in league play. RJ Emrich told me that the lopsided losses from a season ago resulted in the Saints playing with an edge in 2022. Berks Catholic has transformed from a (5-15) ball club to one that’s headed to the District 3 playoffs. Emrich gave credit to the younger players for improving. The 5’10, 205-pound senior added that a trip to Myrtle Beach in late March really helped the team’s chemistry. Emrich is hitting .373 with five doubles and 16 RBI. The all-division selection from last year has an OPS of .888. The (12-8, 7-5) Saints ended the regular season with an 8-0 victory over rival Wyomissing. Parker Nein threw a 3-hitter with four strikeouts and no walks. Emrich believes the 6’1 sophomore will be even better next season. Nein, who also plays basketball, is (5-0) with a sparkling 1.08 ERA. He’s allowed 27 hits in 39 innings. Berks Catholic has a handful of underclassmen in the starting lineup. Emrich is extremely impressed with Dennys Rodriguez. The freshman is batting .367 with a .483 on-base percentage. He homered against the Spartans on Monday. Rodriguez has knocked in 18 runs, second-most on the squad. Emrich said, “BC will be in good hands after I leave. That kid is a freak of nature.” Emrich is one of four seniors on the Saints’ roster along with Chris Avram. The speedy right fielder is hitting .375 with a team-high 23 runs. We talked about the competition in Division 3 of the Berks League. Hamburg, Oley Valley, Berks Catholic, and Wyomissing ended up within two games of each other. The Hawks earned the division title with the Lynx finishing second in the standings. Emrich is confident that the Saints can make a deep run in the District 3-3A tournament. He explained why he decided to become a catcher and why he committed to Alvernia. Emrich is hitting .444 with RISP. As a junior, he had a .400 batting average and a lofty 1.012 OPS. Finally, we discussed his favorite teachers and classes at Berks Catholic.