The Berks League semifinals will take place on Monday, May 12th at FirstEnergy Stadium. The first game will begin at 3:30pm. The championship has been moved to Owls Field in West Lawn on Tuesday, May 13th. First pitch is currently scheduled for 7pm. However, that time could change due to the weather.

The first quarterfinal at Owls Field in West Lawn wasn’t nearly as dramatic. Top-seeded Gov. Mifflin defeated Division 4 champion Kutztown 10-2. The Mustangs went with #3 starter Evan Glucksnis and it paid off. The junior right-hander held the Cougars to two runs, one earned, on seven hits over six innings. Glucksnis piled up seven strikeouts. Matt Koehler, a Juniata commit, made it 4-0 with a 3-run double in the bottom of the 3rd. Kutztown strung together four consecutive singles with one out in the 4th. Glucksnis got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat. A two-run single by Canisius commit Travis Jenkins put Gov. Mifflin on top 9-2 in the 6th. He had two hits and 3 RBI. Koehler was responsible for three of his team’s nine hits. He drove in four runs. The Mustangs improved to (20-1) while saving Ethan Grim or Bryce Detwiler for the semifinals. Colin Diehl suffered the loss for the (12-8) Cougars. He gave up five runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Colten Mathias and Elliot Knutsen had two hits apiece. Kutztown finished with eight hits.

The nightcap at Owls Field between Fleetwood and Exeter was suspended due to rain. The (13-5) Tigers and (14-6) Eagles were scoreless in the 2nd inning.

The quarterfinal featuring Wilson and Berks Catholic didn’t even make it to the 2nd. The (13-6) Bulldogs and (13-6) Saints are scoreless in the top of the 1st. Wilson is the defending county champion.

Fleetwood and Exeter will resume their game at 5:30pm on Friday at Owls Field. The Wilson versus Berks Catholic matchup will follow in West Lawn. The Bulldogs are the #2 seed. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Berks County quarterfinals will be held on Thursday, May 8th at Muhlenberg and Owls Field in West Lawn. The semifinals are set for Saturday, May 10th at FirstEnergy Stadium. The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader will start at 1pm. The championship game begins at 6:05pm on Monday, May 12th at FirstEnergy Stadium. Here are the seeds and quarterfinal matchups for Thursday.

#1 Gov. Mifflin vs. #8 Kutztown at 4pm at Owls Field.

#4 Fleetwood vs. #5 Exeter in the nightcap at Owls Field.

#3 Twin Valley vs. #6 Wyomissing at 4pm at Muhlenberg.

#2 Wilson vs. #7 Berks Catholic in the second game at Muhlenberg.

The Spartans got an unearned run in the top of the 1st after the Saints started the game with consecutive errors on ground balls. Noah Rauenzahn provided a RBI groundout to third base to help himself. The junior allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. Mikey Fidler also did a terrific job on the mound. The senior limited Wyomissing to one unearned run on three hits in six innings. Fidler (2-0, 1.88) struck out five, walked three, and hit a batter. The Spartans entered the day with a lofty .364 team batting average. Trey Stricker led off the bottom of the 1st with a triple to right-center. The West Chester commit and standout pitcher is hitting a team-high .468 this season. A sacrifice fly to center by Fidler made it 1-1. Victor Mejia put Berks Catholic in front 2-1 with a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the 2nd. Aidan Curley, who had doubled to left, came in to score. The Saints, however, were shutout for the last six innings. Wyomissing had a chance to tie the game in the top of the 6th. Cole Sensenig, who’s committed to Eastern University, hit a two-out single through the middle. Berks Catholic junior center fielder Dom Valent threw out a runner at the plate to keep the Saints on top. Henry Pflomm took over on the mound for Berks Catholic in the 7th. Fidler, who threw 87 pitches, gave up two hits and a walk in the 6th. After a single by Macrina, sophomore Parker LaFerriere ripped a RBI double to deep left field to even things up at 2-2. “He has a really good swing and he’s really dedicated to the game of baseball. He’s got a lot of guts and he’s not afraid,” noted Macrina who scored the tying run. LaFerriere has a .455 batting average this year with seven doubles. Sophomores Teddy White and Zander Westwood opened the top of the 8th with singles. Brock Shrawder replaced Pflomm on the hill for the Saints. He walked Sensenig to load the bases with nobody out. Dan Noey, the No. 8 hitter, was then hit in the face by a pitch which brought in the go-ahead run. Macrina followed with a two-run bloop single down the right field line. “He jammed me a little bit. I got a little bit lucky. The game gives and takes and I got lucky,” he replied. Shrawder struck out three of the next four batters as the Spartans left the bases loaded. Ryan Graham got the win in relief. The junior southpaw tossed two hitless innings with two strikeouts and no walks. Graham lowered his ERA to 3.36 over 16.2 innings with 17 strikeouts. He went 1-for-3 at the plate and was intentionally walked twice. Graham leads the club with a .524 batting average. Macrina and White had two hits apiece. Wyomissing finished with eight hits and one error. The Saints managed just four hits and committed four errors. Pflomm was charged with three runs on four hits and a walk in 1+ innings. Meanwhile, the Spartans extended their winning streak to four under first-year head coach Nick Wojciechowski. “All season we’ve had that drive to never quit…Sometimes it’s not great to start slow, but as long as you finish and get the job done, that’s all that matters,” said Macrina.

In order to be eligible for the Berks/L-L team, players must complete a registration form and attend a tryout on Saturday, May 17th at Gov. Mifflin’s Rulon Griffith Field. The tryout gets underway at 9am. For more information, contact head coach and general manager Jason McCord at jason.mccord@dboone.org

There are a few changes to the Carpenter Cup baseball tournament this year. Games have been reduced from nine innings to seven. A designated hitter will not be used. In addition, rosters will be limited to 21 players instead of 25. The Berks/L-L team will face Delaware County in its first game. That matchup is scheduled for Monday, June 9th at noon. The championship is set for June 17th.

Wilson held off Fleetwood 2-1. Jack Gabel allowed one run on four hits in 5.2 innings. The junior struck out seven. Gabel recently committed to West Chester University. Wylie Loy was the tough luck losing pitcher. The Bulldogs scored twice in the first inning and were blanked the rest of the way. Loy held Wilson to three hits over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts.

Twin Valley shut down Conrad Weiser 8-0. Kooper Zdimal limited the Scouts to two hits in five frames. The Kutztown University commit struck out six as the Raiders bounced back from an extra inning loss to Gov. Mifflin on Saturday.

Kutztown defeated Wyomissing 4-1. The Spartans managed just a pair of hits off Colin Diehl in 6.1 innings. Diehl finished with six strikeouts.

Brandywine Heights rolled over Oley Valley 9-0. Matt Sterner went the distance. He piled up a dozen strikeouts, including the 100th of his career. Sterner only gave up one hit and one walk.

Reading scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to top Daniel Boone 12-11. David Garcia allowed five runs in four innings, but only one of those runs was earned. He held the Blazers to two hits.