“Roberts Rankings”-Baseball

Gov. Mifflin and Wilson have squared off in the past two Berks League championship games. The Bulldogs captured their 13th county title last year by beating the Mustangs 10-3. Will it be Wilson vs. Gov. Mifflin in the county final for a third consecutive season? The consensus around the league is that those two teams are a notch above the competition, but there’s a logjam of contenders waiting in the wings. Berks County has several quality baseball programs which should make for an exciting 2025 campaign.

The Mustangs have picked up right where they left off. After winning the PIAA-5A championship for the first time last spring, Gov. Mifflin is off to a perfect (10-0) start. The Mustangs returned three first team All-State selections. Bryce Detwiler (UConn), Ethan Grim (Virginia Tech), and Travis Jenkins (Canisius) are all committed to Division I colleges. Gov. Mifflin already has quality wins over Wilson, Exeter, Muhlenberg, Fleetwood, Ephrata, and Elizabethtown. Detwiler tossed a complete game shutout against the Bulldogs. Evan Glucksnis, a junior, threw 6.1 scoreless frames at Fleetwood on Friday.

Wilson has a very challenging non-league schedule. The Bulldogs fell to North Penn 8-1 and still have upcoming matchups with Parkland and Liberty. They will battle the Hurricanes on April 26th at FirstEnergy Stadium. Christo Hunsicker (2-1, 2.05) and Ben Kulp (1-1, 0.98) give Wilson two experienced starting pitchers. Kulp is a 6’2, 215-pound junior with a fastball in the low-90s. Hunsicker is a great all-around athlete who will continue his baseball career at Millersville.

Twin Valley has shown that it can compete with some of the top ball clubs in District 3. The Raiders came up short at Ephrata 5-4 and lost to Mechanicsburg 7-5. The Mounts were the District 3-6A runner-up in 2024, and the Wildcats won the District 3-5A crown for the second straight year. Kooper Zdimal (3-0, 0.81) is staying in Berks County to play college baseball. The Kutztown University commit has allowed ten hits over 17.1 innings.

Exeter’s only losses this season have come against Gov. Mifflin and Wilson. Jake Hafer (2-0, 0.88) is red hot on the mound and at the plate. The junior is batting .440 with two doubles and a pair of triples. Kamren Martin, another junior, has won both of his decisions with a 0.93 ERA. Martin has given up just six hits over 15 innings with 15 strikeouts. Carter Redding, who also plays football and basketball, is 10-for-17 so far. Keep in mind, the Eagles only had two seniors in the starting lineup last year.

Muhlenberg and Exeter were scheduled to meet on Friday, but the weather didn’t cooperate. They will try again on Tuesday in Reiffton. The Muhls have a date with Wilson tomorrow, if the rain holds off. After getting thumped by Gov. Mifflin 11-1, Muhlenberg bounced back with a 4-3 victory over Ephrata. Junior Cole Moody has limited opponents to one run in nine frames with 15 strikeouts. Aaden Lopez (1-0, 1.62) is a big key to the Muhls’ rotation. The hard-throwing senior has 15 strikeouts and 13 walks over 8.2 innings. Head coach Brian Kopetsky has 358 career wins. This is his 26th season as the skipper in Laureldale.

Fleetwood lost a very talented group to graduation, but don’t sleep on the Tigers this spring. Wylie Loy opened eyes as a sophomore last year. Nick Noll fired six shutout innings against Gov. Mifflin on Friday. The senior will change speeds and his delivery which makes things tricky for hitters. Fleetwood knocked off Berks Catholic 4-3 in eight innings late last month.

The Saints earned the Division 3 championship and qualified for the BCIAA playoffs in 2024. It was their first appearance in the Berks County tournament since 2018. Trey Stricker is the ace of Berks Catholic’s rotation. The West Chester commit hasn’t allowed an earned run in a dozen innings. Stricker is (1-0) with 18 strikeouts. He’s also doing damage at the dish with a .542 batting average. The Saints are hitting .385 as a team. Since dropping their opener to Twin Valley 3-1 in Myrtle Beach, Berks Catholic has won six of its past seven contests. They defeated rival Wyomissing 7-1 on Friday with Stricker on the hill.

Seth Brizek is back at Oley Valley. The 1992 graduate took over as head coach after Jeff Pinder stepped down following three seasons. Brizek is the school’s all-time leader in hits, home runs, RBI, wins, and ERA. He went on to become an All-American at Clemson. Brizek was inducted into the Berks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame two years ago. The Lynx already have wins over Fleetwood and Kutztown on their resume. They outlasted the Tigers 4-3 in eight innings, and got by the Cougars 3-1. Gryffin Cappellano, Chase Kegerise, Tim Fries, and Wyatt McCluskey all started as sophomores a season ago. Fries (3-0, 0.88) has 29 strikeouts and five walks in 24 innings. Cappellano has a lofty .481 batting average.

Kutztown is once again a team to keep an eye on. The Cougars reached the District 3-2A championship game last spring with only two seniors in the lineup. Tim Mertz’s squad is always fundamentally sound and willing to play small ball. Mertz, a Kutztown graduate, is in his 25th year as the Cougars’ head coach. He has the most victories in school history, including four District 3 titles.

Without further ado, here are my high school baseball rankings for the Berks League. The records that you see below are from last year. Remember that no matter where your favorite team is ranked, the sun will come out tomorrow!

“The Great 8”

1.Gov. Mifflin (24-5)

2.Wilson (19-8)

3.Twin Valley (15-7)

4.Exeter (11-9)

5.Muhlenberg (14-9)

6.Fleetwood (17-10)

7.Berks Catholic (16-5)

8.Oley Valley (11-10)