brandon – Berks Sports Report

Brandon Shurr-Berks Catholic

Paul Roberts — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 16:15:00 +0000

Berks Catholic got production up and down its batting order in a 12-8 win over Kutztown. The Saints piled up 15 hits in a battle of division leaders on Monday. Head coach Brandon Shurr likes the depth in his lineup. “I think it’s one of our strengths as a team. We don’t have a big drop off,” he emphasized. Outfielders Michael Bradley and Mikey Fidler combined for six hits, four runs, and 3RBI. They hit seventh and ninth respectively. The Cougars scored twice in the opening frame thanks to a sacrifice fly and a passed ball. Berks Catholic responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Third baseman Aidan Curley stroked a line drive single to center to get the Saints on the board. Bradley then walked with the bases loaded. He’s hitting .455 with a team-high 13 runs this season. Berks Catholic exploded for seven runs in the 3rd inning. Curley, Maxx Mace, Fidler, and Dillon Walls provided RBI singles. Dennys Rodriguez drew a walk with the bases full to make it 7-2. Parker Nein followed with a grounder to shortstop. Kutztown got one out, but couldn’t turn the double play. Walls came around from second base to give the Saints two runs on the play. “He really bothers teams when he’s on the bases. He runs the bases really well,” noted Shurr. Walls went 2-for-5 and knocked in two runs. The sophomore middle infielder leads the club with a .500 batting average. Nein added three hits and drove in a couple of runs. The Penn State Harrisburg commit is hitting .483 with a team-high 13RBI. “He’s really our emotional leader. When he has a good game, the other guys attach to him and go with him,” said Shurr. The (7-7, 5-2) Cougars got a run in the 4th when Ashton Dunn stole third and scored on a throwing error. Dunn’s RBI single to right field in the 5th pulled Kutztown within 9-4. Nein hit a double down the third base line in the bottom of that inning to put Berks Catholic on top 10-4. Fidler and Walls gave the Saints some insurance runs in the 6th with RBI singles. Trey Stricker improved to (3-0, 3.71). The junior righty allowed six runs, five earned, on ten hits over six innings. Stricker struck out nine and walked only one. He has 22 strikeouts in 17 innings. Colten Mathias took the loss. The junior was charged with five runs, four earned, in just two innings. Mathias gave up five hits and walked three. Sophomore Chris Bergstrom allowed three runs on three hits without getting an out. Kole Schuler then took over on the mound. The senior limited Berks Catholic to two runs over three innings. Colin Hamm finished with four of the Cougars’ twelve hits. He had a two-run single off Mace in the 7th. Leadoff hitter Colin Diehl was 3-for-3 with a walk. Kutztown had won seven of its previous ten games. The Cougars remain atop the Division 4 standings. They captured their sixth District 3 championship and reached the PIAA-2A semifinals last year. Meanwhile, the (8-2, 6-1) Saints are trying to win the Division 3 crown and qualify for the BCIAA playoffs for the first time since 2018. “It means a lot to be one of our initial goals,” said Shurr.

Brandon Shurr-Berks Catholic

Paul Roberts — Wed, 11 May 2022 22:48:00 +0000

Experience is a great teacher. Berks Catholic only had two seniors on its baseball roster last year. Head coach Brandon Shurr started five freshman and a sophomore. While the 2021 season was a difficult one for the Saints, that experience is now paying dividends. Berks Catholic has gone from (5-15, 2-10) to (12-8, 7-5). The Saints put together a 6-game winning streak in April. They defeated Hamburg and Oley Valley earlier this season. Shurr told me that this year has been much more enjoyable. He’s glad to see his seniors, including RJ Emrich and Chris Avram, having success. Shurr said that they bring stability to the lineup. Emrich is hitting .373 with five doubles and 16 RBI. The all-division catcher has an OPS of .888. Emrich is committed to Alvernia. Avram has increased his batting average by 77 points. The speedy right fielder is hitting .375 with a team-high 23 runs. Shurr added that Kevin Lawlor is having a terrific season. The junior second baseman leads Berks Catholic with a .406 average and 19 RBI. Lawlor has also scored 19 runs. The Saints averaged 4.3 runs last year. Their run production is up to 6.5 per game in 2022. Berks Catholic is hitting .294 as a team. The Saints still have a young squad. Shurr is utilizing a handful of underclassmen including Dennys Rodriguez. The promising freshman is a very advanced hitter for his age. He’ll take over for Emrich behind the plate next season. Rodriguez is batting .367 with a .483 on-base percentage and 18 RBI. His average with RISP is an eye-popping .500. Rodriguez homered in Monday’s 8-0 victory over rival Wyomissing. Shurr mentioned that the regular season finale versus the Spartans was significant for several reasons. Parker Nein limited Wyomissing to three hits in a complete game effort. The 6’1 sophomore is (5-0) with a save and a 1.08 ERA over 39 innings. Opponents are hitting .196 off of Nein. Shurr likes how he pitches to contact and keeps batters off-balance. Nein has allowed just 27 hits with 37 strikeouts. We talked about the intense playoff race in Division 3. Hamburg and Oley Valley qualified for the BCIAA tournament as the division champion and runner-up respectively. Berks Catholic and Wyomissing were only two games behind. Shurr explained how he’s trying to keep his players sharp during this break. The Saints’ District 3-3A playoff opener isn’t until Monday, May 23rd. They’re currently the #3 seed. The top six teams qualify in Class 3A. Finally, we had some fun discussing fantasy football.

Brandon Strausser-Gov. Mifflin

Admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 20:09:06 +0000

Senior LB Brandon Strausser has been a tackling machine for ⁦ @GMSDAthletics ⁩ for the past three seasons. The FB had 2TD runs in a 62-7 victory over Berks Catholic for the Section 1 championship in the Berks Football League. ⁦ @GovMifflinSD ⁩
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