Brad – Berks Sports Report

Brad Auge-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Tue, 23 May 2023 00:32:00 +0000

Postseason baseball is about limiting your mistakes and capitalizing on your opponent’s miscues. #4 seed Oley Valley took advantage of five early errors by #5 Brandywine Heights in an 8-2 victory in the District 3-3A quarterfinals. Paul Petersen held the (12-8) Bullets to two runs on six hits over six innings. The All-County selection struck out six and walked two. “He did an amazing job…hit all of his spots,” said junior catcher Brad Auge. The (14-8) Lynx finished with a dozen hits and only one error. They’ve won six of their last seven games. Brandywine Heights lost to Oley Valley 3-2 on May 5th. East Stroudsburg commit Carson Renner got the start on Monday afternoon. His brother, Chase, is a pitcher at Penn State. Carson Renner was unable to handle a throw back from the catcher in the bottom of the 1st inning. Chase Reifsnyder scored as the ball rolled away from the mound. Reifsnyder had reached on an error. Freshman Gryffin Cappellano raced home on a wild pitch to put the Lynx on top 2-1. The Bullets committed three errors in the first frame. Oley Valley tacked on three runs in the 3rd inning. Nate Firek put down a sacrifice bunt with two runners on. Second baseman Connor Frisch dropped the throw to first base and Sean Hoffman scored. Tyler Drobek’s RBI single made it 4-1. Drobek went 3-for-4 out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup. A ground out by Reifsnyder gave the Lynx a 5-1 advantage. Renner, who entered with a 1.75 ERA, lasted 4.1 innings. The senior right-hander was charged with five runs on six hits and four walks. He also hit three batters. Aidan Hall struggled in the 6th inning. The tall righty allowed three runs. Colin Remmel knocked in a run with a single through the left side. Auge doubled to right-center field for a 7-2 lead. Reifsnyder followed with a RBI single down the left field line. Reifsnyder, Auge, and Firek had two hits apiece. Freshman southpaw Chase Kegerise tossed a scoreless 7th inning for Oley Valley. Head coach Jeff Pinder only has two seniors on his roster. Auge noted that their team gets along very well. “The chemistry is really, really good. There’s a lot of good connections,” he replied. Meanwhile, the eleven seniors on Brandywine Heights’ squad saw their careers come to an end. All-County pick Joe Crist ripped a pair of doubles and scored on a wild pitch by Petersen in the opening inning. Junior Nate Fronheiser was 2-for-3. The Bullets had seven hits. They qualified for the BCIAA and District 3 tournaments after missing out on both a season ago. The Lynx get back to work on Thursday in the District 3-3A semifinals. They visit top-seeded Camp Hill at 4:30pm. “It feels great, can’t wait for [the] next game,” stated Auge.

Brad Coley-Muhlenberg

Paul Roberts — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 23:36:00 +0000

Due to an injury last year, Brad Coley only made five appearances for the Muhls. He had a 1.14 ERA over just 12.1 innings. The senior southpaw is happy to be back on the mound and healthy again. Coley said, “The bond here is so tight and to finally be back out there with my guys is amazing.” The Alvernia commit had everything working on Wednesday night in Laureldale. He threw five hitless innings with nine strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Twin Valley. Coley, who features an 85-87 mph fastball, was taken out after 91 pitches and five walks. He hasn’t allowed a hit in three of his four starts this season! He also tossed five hitless frames against Stroudsburg and Daniel Boone. Sophomore catcher Shane Rosenberry helped Coley settle down with a 2-run double to left field in the second inning. Those were the only runs that Raiders’ junior Kannon Zdimal would give up over six innings. The right-hander piled up eight strikeouts with four walks. Rosenberry and Kenay Rodriguez each went 2-for-3. Dalton Follweiler came out of Muhlenberg’s bullpen after Derek Wilson walked the first two batters in the top of the sixth. Paul Colombo’s RBI single got Twin Valley on the board. That was the Raiders’ lone hit. Owen Rhoads followed with a dribbler to first base. Sam Martinez threw home and caught Jaydon Goebel in a rundown. Goebel made things interesting, but was eventually called out for running out of the baseline near home plate. Follweiler struck out Roman Cieless with men on second and third to end Twin Valley’s threat. The junior righty got three groundouts in the seventh to earn the save. Coley knew that the (6-2, 1-2) Raiders weren’t going to go down without a fight. Twin Valley only has one senior in its starting lineup. Gio Cavanna made a perfect throw home in the fifth to nail freshman Ben Vaughan at the plate. Vaughan was trying to tag up and score on a fly ball to right field, but Cavanna was up to the challenge. The (6-0, 3-0) Muhls are on top of Division 2. Coley believes it will be a competitive division. He loves playing at night at Gochnauer Field. I asked him who are the funniest, fastest, strongest, and smartest players on his team. We also discussed the Phillies and Clayton Kershaw, who Coley admired as a kid. Coley noted that he wouldn’t have taken Kershaw out after 80 pitches in a perfect game. Finally, Coley explained why he picked Alvernia.

Brad Hoffman-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 22:49:00 +0000

It’s not easy to accomplish something that no one else has at an established program like Wilson. Brad Hoffman made history by becoming the first Bulldogs’ quarterback to run for 1,000 yards in a single season. The Berks Catholic transfer reached that milestone with an impressive performance at Central York in the District 3-6A semifinals. Hoffman ran for 167 yards and a TD on 29 carries. Wilson knocked off the previously unbeaten Panthers 14-11. Hoffman described the feeling of beating one of the best teams in the state. The 6’2, 205-pound QB is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He has 1,038 rushing yards and 12TD. The Bulldogs have only attempted 26 passes in their last four games. Hoffman told me that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. He’s thrown for 776 yards with 11TD and 9INT. Wilson has won seven straight after struggling early on. Hoffman talked about what it would mean to win a District 3 championship after that rough start. He believes the offensive line has been dominant late in the season. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs travel to (11-1) Harrisburg on Saturday at 1pm. Wilson is looking for its 8th District 3 title and first since 2016. The Bulldogs own the state record with 46 consecutive winning seasons! Finally, Hoffman had some fun discussing Coach Dahms’ beard. He said, “He’s as close to Santa as anyone I know.” Doug Dahms has been Wilson’s head coach for 16 years. He started as an assistant there in 1976.

Brad Hoffman-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 22:18:00 +0000

The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to five with a (21-14) victory over Manheim Township in West Lawn. Wilson clinched the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 championship outright with the win over the Blue Streaks. Senior quarterback Brad Hoffman ran for 148 yards and 2TD on 25 carries. His 2-yard score with eight minutes left put the Bulldogs up for good. Hoffman threw a 21-yard TD pass to Cam Jones to get Wilson on the board with 15 seconds left in the first half. The 6’2, 205-pound transfer from Berks Catholic said all of the team’s hard work in the offseason paid off tonight. Hoffman gave credit to his offensive line, as well as 6’4 senior wide receiver Sean Dendall who made an incredible 32-yard catch on the go-ahead TD drive! Hoffman told me that the Bulldogs have overcome a lot of adversity. Wilson is headed to the District 3-6A playoffs with a record of (7-3).