Ryan Moser-Fleetwood

The bases were loaded in the 5th inning and nobody was out, but Fleetwood senior Ryan Moser was unfazed. The southpaw sandwiched a pop out between two strikeouts to escape the jam unscathed. “I’ve been so good at handling pressure. That’s been my job to come in tight situations like that and get out of it. It’s nothing new,” said Moser. The fifth-seeded Tigers held off fourth-seeded Kutztown 5-2 in the BCIAA quarterfinals at Muhlenberg. Moser tossed three hitless frames with two punch outs. The Elizabethtown commit walked two and hit a batter. Moser took over after Jake Karnish walked the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 5th. Karnish, who’s headed to King’s College for basketball, allowed a pair of runs on four hits and five walks in 4+ innings. Fleetwood scored all five of its runs in the 2nd inning. Junior outfielder Carson Brey crushed a 2-run triple to center field. “That was huge for us. That really got our momentum going. That got the bench going,” remarked Moser. A wild pitch by senior right-hander Bryce Schafer made it 3-0. Karnish and Zach Dilbeck then drew bases loaded walks. Schafer was charged with five runs on three hits and five walks over 1.2 innings. Sophomore Colten Mathias did an excellent job in relief for the (15-6) Cougars. The tall righty limited the (13-7) Tigers to three hits in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts. Kutztown got on the board in the 2nd thanks to a double steal, but they left the bases juiced. A RBI bunt single by sophomore Ashton Dunn got the Cougars within 5-2 in the 4th. Dunn also threw out a runner at home plate from center field earlier in that inning. Moser retired the Cougars in order in the 7th to snap their 6-game winning streak. Kutztown left nine men on base. Meanwhile, Fleetwood has won eight of its last ten contests. The Division 2 champions will meet #1 seed Gov. Mifflin in the Berks County semifinals on Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium. “It’s such an honor. It feels great. We can compete with anybody,” stated Moser.