Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Bryce Schafer tossed a complete game 5-hitter in Kutztown’s win over Halifax in the District 3-2A championship. The senior right-hander was back at work in the state quarterfinals on Thursday night at Pine Grove. Schafer threw six scoreless innings in a 9-0 victory over District 4 runner-up South Williamsport. The Kutztown University commit allowed just three hits and struck out five. 60 of his 88 pitches were strikes. Schafer also went 1-for-4 and drove in three runs. The (19-6) Cougars scored twice in the first inning which included a double by all-division catcher Nick Hugo. Kutztown blew it open with six runs in the 5th to go up 9-0. Dalton Furst provided three of the Cougars’ nine hits. The all-county selection scored a pair of runs. No. 9 hitter Ashton Dunn went 2-for-3. The sophomore outfielder had 2 RBI. Shortstop Matt Remick was 1-for-3 with a walk and three runs out of the leadoff spot. Noah Turner took the loss for the (15-6) Mountaineers. The junior entered the day with a 3.08 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 59 innings. He gave up six runs, five earned, on seven hits over 4.1 innings. Turner ends the season with a record of (8-2). Senior Alex Neidig came into the contest hitting .423. He was 1-for-2 with a walk. Neidig replaced Turner on the mound and was charged with three runs, one earned. He allowed a hit and two walks while getting just one out. The Mounties committed two errors. South Williamsport head coach Casey Waller has ties to Berks County. He was an 11th round draft pick by the Phillies in 1989. Waller played for AA Reading from 1990-93. He got as high as AAA in the Phillies’ minor league system. Waller led Loyalsock to a state championship and also coached at Hughesville. Meanwhile, Kutztown is headed to the Class 2A state semifinals. The Cougars will take on District 6 runner-up Mount Union on Monday.