Chris – Berks Sports Report

Chris Bergstrom-Kutztown

Paul Roberts — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 21:37:57 +0000

Kutztown and Reading combined for 16 runs when they met in the winner’s bracket final of the Berks County Legion playoffs on Saturday. The second-seeded Cougars and top-seeded Groundhogs squared off again on Monday for the championship, but this time runs were at a premium. Chris Bergstrom’s two-out, RBI single in the 8th gave Kutztown a dramatic 1-0 victory over Reading. “Something I haven’t felt before, it was awesome. It was a great feeling to bring the [championship] home to Kutztown,” said Bergstrom. Colin Hamm was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the 8th inning. A sacrifice bunt by Ashton Dunn moved courtesy runner Corey Gilbert to second. After a pop out to second base, the Groundhogs opted to intentionally walk Colin Diehl. The leadoff hitter was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Bergstrom was grateful for the opportunity. “That motivated me. I was smiling. I was ready,” he said. The rising junior hit a ground ball between shortstop and third base. Gilbert scored easily from second to kickoff a celebration on the infield. Bergstrom was mobbed by his teammates. He mentioned that he was sitting on a fastball and that’s what he got. The Cougars went (5-0) in the double-elimination tournament. Southpaw Ashton Dunn and Reading’s Joelian Zapata both went the distance. Zapata allowed four hits and walked three. He struck out six. Dunn tossed a one-hitter with seven strikeouts and three walks. “Ashton Dunn pitched a hell of a game…they didn’t know what he was throwing. He was mixing in all of his pitches,” noted Bergstrom. The Groundhogs left the bases loaded in the top of the 2nd frame. Nestor Rosario hit a line drive to center that was caught by Kaden Kerecz and turned into a double play. Reading had another chance to get on the board in the 5th inning, but Zapata flew out with a runner on third to end the threat. Franllis Santos’ single in the 5th was the lone hit for the Groundhogs. Kutztown committed three errors. The Cougars still managed to hoist the trophy in their first season back in the Berks League. Kutztown and Reading qualified for the Region 2 tournament which begins on Saturday at Lower Macungie.

Chris Gallo Resigns at Wilson

Paul Roberts — Wed, 08 May 2024 21:45:00 +0000

I’ve confirmed that Wilson girls basketball coach Chris Gallo submitted his letter of resignation today. Gallo spent four years as the Bulldogs’ head coach and finished with a record of (65-30). Wilson went (24-5) this season while starting four sophomores.

The Bulldogs won the Division 1 title and reached the BCIAA championship game. They lost to Wyomissing 45-36 at Santander Arena. The Spartans were unbeaten at the time. Second-seeded Wilson advanced to the District 3-6A semifinals. Central Dauphin, the eventual District 3 champion, escaped West Lawn with a 42-41 victory. The Bulldogs fell to Conestoga 45-29 in the first round of the PIAA tournament.

Before taking over at Wilson, Gallo served as the head coach of the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team for 15 years. He guided the Panthers to 203 wins and seven division titles. Gallo was named the Berks County Coach of the Year three times. Wilson will begin its search for a new coach immediately. Gallo didn’t want to comment at this time.

Chris Gallo-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:20:00 +0000

Chris Gallo won 203 games and seven Division championships over 15 years with the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team. That resume makes his statement about sophomore guard Laila Jones even more noteworthy. “She’s as good as any guy I’ve ever coached on my Schuylkill Valley teams; the way she sees the floor and the way she handles the ball,” said Gallo. Jones had 18 points in a 44-33 victory over tenth-seeded York High in the District 3-6A quarterfinals. The second-seeded Bulldogs led 9-3 after the first eight minutes. The (15-9) Bearcats opened the second quarter with a 7-to-1 run. Kailani Hardy provided a spark off Wilson’s bench. The promising 5’8 freshman had five points, including a 3-pointer, as the Bulldogs scored the last nine points of the first half. “She goes hard, she listens, and she’s a really nice young lady,” replied Gallo. Wilson was on top 19-10 at the break despite committing eleven turnovers. York came out of the locker room strong. The Bearcats scored ten straight points to take a 20-19 edge. A’Shyia Smith banked in a pair of treys. The 5’5 senior hit four triples to finish with twelve points. Smith entered the night with just seven 3-pointers all season. Jones responded in the third period with eight points, including two shots from beyond the arc. The (24-2) Bulldogs held a 32-25 cushion after three quarters. York pulled within 38-33 on Smith’s trey with two minutes remaining. Jones made two free throws and Hardy followed with a steal. She went 1-for-2 from the foul line with one minute left. Wilson got the offensive rebound and Hardy split two more free throw attempts. Once again, the Bulldogs grabbed the offensive board. Violet Houck sank two foul shots to seal the deal. The 5’11 sophomore provided eight points and seven rebounds. Hardy piled up 14 points and eight boards. She had a season-high 18 points against Muhlenberg in late January and 10 points in the BCIAA semifinals versus Berks Catholic last week. The Bearcats had a rough shooting night. They were 1-of-14 from the free throw line and 6-of-22 from long distance. Ciarra Gibbs, a 5’11 senior, was limited to six points. The Albright commit is a 1,000-point scorer. York travels to Manheim Township on Monday night for a consolation game. Meanwhile, Wilson hosts third-seeded Central Dauphin at 7pm on Monday. Top-seeded Lebanon entertains Dallastown in the other semifinal. Gallo knows that making it through the Class 6A bracket is extremely challenging. “It is really good. It’s always good. The top is excellent…It’s gonna be a tough task,” he said.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Tue, 16 May 2023 00:26:00 +0000

Almost every sports fan has probably heard the phrase that it’s tough to beat a team three times. Wilson found that out in the BCIAA Championship at FirstEnergy Stadium. Top-seeded Gov. Mifflin defeated the second-seeded Bulldogs 6-3 for its 15th Berks County title. Wilson won both of their regular season meetings this year. “It feels good to win a championship no matter what. Doing it against our rival I think is always extra special. We have a ton of respect for that program,” said Mustangs’ head coach Chris Hole. Each team had five hits, but Gov. Mifflin made fewer mistakes and snapped the Bulldogs’ eight-game winning streak. A two-out RBI single to right field by sophomore Travis Jenkins got the (18-4) Mustangs on the board in the first frame. Jenkins was 2-for-3 out of the cleanup spot. Bryce Detwiler, another talented sophomore, scored after reaching on an error. The Mustangs tacked on two runs on an odd play with two outs in the 2nd inning. Xander Velez struck out, but the pitch got away from catcher Jordan Shutter and rolled towards the Gov. Mifflin dugout. UConn commit Tyler Minick scored all the way from second base to make it 3-0. “I’m literally out of words to describe him. He’s always going 110% no matter what he’s doing,” remarked Hole. The (15-7) Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out in the 3rd. Sophomore right-hander Ethan Grim limited the damage to one run on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Sekulski. Left fielder Jon Radwanski made a very nice sliding catch. A walk and an error by shortstop Trevor Bilodeau put runners on second and third for the Mustangs with one out in the 3rd inning. Grim knocked in a run with a ground ball to second base. Bryce Wunderlich drove in another run with a ground out to third. Gov. Mifflin moved ahead 5-1 after three frames. Grim helped himself with a RBI single to right in the 5th. Hole handed the ball to Minick after Grim hit two batters to begin the 6th. The 2022 Berks County Player of the Year recorded three straight outs to keep the Mustangs’ advantage at 6-1. Minick was 3-for-3 with two home runs in the semifinals against Fleetwood. Nick Fiorini ripped a 2-run triple to right in the 7th. Minick then struck out Rafael Fernandez to end it. Grim got the win by limiting Wilson to one unearned run on three hits over five innings. He struck out seven batters and hit four. Matt VanOstenbridge took the loss, however, five of the six runs that he gave up were unearned. The junior southpaw had seven strikeouts and three walks. VanOstenbridge entered Monday with a 2.18 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. He was the starting pitcher for both of the Bulldogs’ victories against Gov. Mifflin this season. The Mustangs claimed their second BCIAA title in the last three years. Hole replied, “We’re still on top. This is our goal every year. We want to set the standard and I’m really proud of these boys to uphold that.”

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Mon, 01 May 2023 22:56:00 +0000

Gov. Mifflin is hitting .346 as a team this season. The Mustangs flexed their muscles on Monday afternoon in Shillington. They got 13 hits from eight different players in a 12-0 rout of Twin Valley. Bryce Detwiler launched a 2-run homer to right field in the 1st inning. The sophomore infielder was 2-for-2 with a walk. He leads the club with five home runs and a .545 batting average. “Incredibly high ceiling, such a smart baseball player. [He] has all the tools…He’s a special young man. He’s gonna go very far not only in high school, but beyond,” said head coach Chris Hole. Detwiler has an eye-popping 1.653 OPS through 15 games. UConn commit Tyler Minick hits in the leadoff spot for Gov. Mifflin. Minick and Detwiler have been quite a 1-2 punch. Minick crushed a 2-run homer to left field in the 2nd for a 4-0 advantage. The 2022 Berks County Player of the Year went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. In addition to batting .450, Minick has a team-high 23 runs and 17 stolen bases. “He’s just incredible…He’s the Player of the Year for a reason. He’s the best athlete in this county and beyond because he can do it all,” remarked Hole. Minick’s RBI single to center made it 7-0 in the 3rd. The (12-3, 8-1) Mustangs added five runs in the 4th. Sophomore Matt Koehler provided an RBI double and Jon Radwanski followed with a 2-run single to left that put Gov. Mifflin in front 11-0. Radwanski finished 2-for-3 with 3 RBI as the designated hitter. Xander Velez, who’s headed to Bloomsburg, was 3-for-3. Ethan Grim (4-2, 2.78) walked the bases loaded with one out in the 1st, but escaped the jam. The sophomore right-hander struck out Ben Vaughan and got Aiden Jackson to fly out to center field. Grim didn’t allow a hit over four frames. He struck out five and walked six. Senior Matt Novotny got the final three outs in the 5th inning. The Mustangs are alone atop Division 1 of the Berks League, while the (6-9, 4-5) Raiders dropped their third contest in a row. Junior Jon Oxendine gave up seven runs on nine hits and two walks over three innings. Five of Twin Valley’s losses have been by two runs or less. On Monday, however, they were simply overmatched. All-Division catcher Jaydon Goebel had the Raiders’ lone hit, a double in the 5th inning. Gov. Mifflin will take on Exeter and Wilson this week. Hole has won 167 games and three county championships in eleven years at the helm. He knows the competition within the league is difficult. “Berks is always tough. Division 1 is especially tough. There’s never an easy game,” he stated.

Chris Gallo-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 23:39:00 +0000

When two longtime rivals meet with their seasons on the line, things tend to get interesting. There was drama in the fourth quarter of the Berks County quarterfinal between #3 Wilson and #6 Gov. Mifflin. The Mustangs cut a 16-point deficit to three before falling 55-44 in West Lawn. “I can’t say enough about how hard Mifflin played,” emphasized Bulldogs’ head coach Chris Gallo. Wilson was up 7-5 after eight minutes and 18-17 at halftime. Shakyla Mayo kept the (10-13) Mustangs in the game in the first half. The all-county senior guard provided eleven of Gov. Mifflin’s twelve points in the second quarter. Mayo poured in 21 points, and ended her Mustangs’ career with 772. Laila Jones found Violet Houck for a layup to begin the third quarter. Jones then made a 3-pointer to give the (15-8) Bulldogs a six-point cushion. Wilson outscored Gov. Mifflin 20-8 in that period. The Bulldogs increased their advantage to 44-28 in the final quarter. On Monday, the Mustangs lost to Wilson 67-42. They were not going to go down without a fight this time. Gov. Mifflin splashed four treys in the fourth period. Taylor Koenig (11 points) hit three of their five triples, including two down the stretch. Jayla Richardson, one of six seniors on the roster, knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 44-39 with three minutes remaining. Mayo’s fast break layup concluded a 13-0 run and all of a sudden it was 44-41. Laura Crocona sank a key jumper from the right baseline with 1:40 to play. That shot put the Bulldogs in front 48-41. Wilson went 9-of-10 from the free throw line over the last eight minutes. They were just 3-9 from the stripe over the first three quarters. Jones made all four of her foul shots in the last period. The 5’6 point guard contributed 16 points and eight assists. Jones had several nifty passes to Houck for easy buckets. “There’s a confidence that you have when you know where your buddy is gonna be. Stockton always knew where Malone was gonna be. She has that feel with Violet. It’s amazing,” said Gallo. Houck, a 5’11 center, had a season-high 16 points. Crocona chipped in with eleven. Jones, Houck, and Crocona are all freshmen. The Bulldogs scored 11 of the final 14 points to advance to the semifinals. They fell to Gov. Mifflin 47-34 in last year’s county championship. This is a much different team, and one with a bright future. Wilson will take a 6-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup with second-seeded Wyomissing at Santander Arena. The Spartans blew out Exeter 59-26 on Saturday afternoon. “What really impressed me was how hard defensively they played their zone. They move the ball, they share the ball, and they have a really nice rotation,” noted Gallo. The other county semifinal will feature #1 Berks Catholic and #4 Reading.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Tue, 31 May 2022 21:21:00 +0000

If you knock a team’s starting pitcher out of the game in the second inning, usually you’re in good shape. Unfortunately for Gov. Mifflin, Manheim Township could turn to Fisher Druck. The PSU-Harrisburg commit tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless relief as the fourth-seeded Blue Streaks beat the top-seeded Mustangs 7-6 in the District 3-6A semifinals. Ben Shenosky, who’s headed to Wake Forest, delivered a 2-out, RBI single to left in the top of the sixth to put the Lancaster-Lebanon League champs on top for good. Shenosky went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. He struck out nine and earned the win in the quarterfinals against Wilson with six strong innings. JT Weaver was on the mound for Manheim Township on Tuesday. He entered with a sparkling 1.33 ERA. The Shippensburg commit had held opponents to 21 hits over 42 frames with 63 strikeouts. The Mustangs, however, jumped on Weaver with three runs in the first inning. Xander Velez, an all-county selection, ripped an RBI double, and Matt Ventura followed with a 2-run single to right. The (21-4) Blue Streaks answered immediately with six runs, three earned, off of freshman Ethan Grim in the second inning. Weaver helped himself with an RBI single to center to make it 3-2. Ryan Flury, who’s going to Bloomsburg, drew a bases loaded walk to even the score. The senior catcher has seven home runs and a team-high 27 RBI this season. Shenosky’s 2-run single up the middle gave Manheim Township a 6-3 advantage. Gov. Mifflin responded well. The (20-3) Mustangs got three runs on just two hits in the bottom of the second. Mason Woolwine and Darien Troche provided RBI singles. Weaver gave up six runs on five hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. It was a rough afternoon for the senior right-hander who fired a complete game 3-hitter versus Ephrata for the L-L League title. Druck came to the rescue in Shillington. The 6’4, 205-pound righty struck out six, walked two, and held Gov. Mifflin to two hits. Druck got freshman Bryce Detwiler to ground into a 1-6-3 double play with two men on to end the sixth. Mustangs’ head coach Chris Hole told me that they didn’t attack Druck’s fastball early in the count. He said, “He was tough. He was probably close to 90 mph. Once you get behind against a kid that good, he’s going to be able to dominate you.” Woolwine and Velez each had a pair of hits. Hole mentioned that Woolwine has been a tremendous leader all year. He thought that Grim had his best velocity of the season and kept them in the game. The young right-hander allowed six runs, three earned, on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Grim walked four and hit two more. He came into the week with a 1.34 ERA. Junior Matt Novotny limited the Blue Streaks to one run and two hits the rest of the way. Seven different players had at least one hit for Manheim Township. Hole knows that teams from the L-L League are battle-tested. Two of the Blue Streaks’ four losses came against Warwick. Meanwhile, Gov. Mifflin was without its biggest bat in the lineup. UConn commit Tyler Minick missed his second straight game due to an injury. The junior shortstop was named the Berks County Player of the Year. Hole stressed to his ball club that they still have something to play for on Thursday. If the Mustangs can defeat #3 seed Cumberland Valley, they will qualify for the state playoffs. Velez is available to pitch that game which will be at Gov. Mifflin. Hole noted that he’s very confident in the junior righty. Manheim Township will take on Warwick in Thursday’s District 3-6A championship.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 19:48:00 +0000

The Gov. Mifflin baseball team certainly wasn’t hurting in the experience department last year. The Mustangs had 13 seniors on the roster. That number is down to three in 2022. Head coach Chris Hole is very pleased with how junior SS/P Tyler Minick has stepped up as a leader. The all-county selection and UConn commit hit .376 as a sophomore with 21 RBI and 12 extra base hits. Minick had a team-high 28 runs, 4 triples, and 20 stolen bases. He’s one reason why expectations are still high in Shillington. Connor Maryniak (Misericordia) and Matt Gehris (DeSales) combined for 134 innings a season ago. Maryniak (13-0, 1.13) set the school record with 147 strikeouts over 93 innings. The Berks Player of the Year won all three county playoff games. Hole told me what he expects his starting rotation will look like this year. Minick is healthy after being limited to 21.1 innings last season, and Xander Velez features a fastball near 90mph. Darien Troche will be the full-time catcher. He appeared in 17 games as a sophomore. Troche and Velez were honorable mention all-division picks. Speedy centerfielder Mason Woolwine is back for his senior campaign. Hole loves his competitive spirit. Woolwine hit .253 with 12 runs, 10 RBI, and 10 steals. Gov. Mifflin also has a promising freshman class. The Mustangs scrimmaged Warwick and Manheim Central; two very good ball clubs from the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Hole mentioned how valuable those opportunities were in preparation for Friday’s season opener against McCaskey. Gov. Mifflin earned its 14th Berks County championship last year. The (21-7, 10-2) Mustangs beat rival Wilson 5-4 in the county final before losing to the Bulldogs 11-0 in the District 3-6A championship. Gov. Mifflin lost a nailbiter in the first round of the state tournament. Emmaus snuck past the Mustangs 2-1 in 11 innings. Hole is (135-87) over nine seasons with the Mustangs. The 1995 Wilson graduate was named Berks County Coach of the Year in 2021. Hole is hoping that this year’s lineup will be more productive. We talked about the stiff competition in Division 1. Gov. Mifflin should be in a battle with Wilson and Exeter all season long.

Chris Gallo-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 12:22:00 +0000

Over his 15 years as the head coach of the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team, Chris Gallo stressed defense and sharing the basketball. Gallo is in his second season with the Wilson girls team and his formula is still working. The Bulldogs allowed just 34 points per game during the regular season. On Saturday night, they held Division 2 champion Twin Valley to two points in the first quarter and ten in the opening half. Third-seeded Wilson rolled to a 42-24 victory over the sixth-seeded Raiders in the Berks County quarterfinals. All-division forward Keira Levengood converted drives to the basket in the closing seconds of the first and third quarters. Levengood finished with eight points. She’s one of four seniors in the starting lineup. 6’2 junior Isis Dojan had a team-high twelve points and ten rebounds. Gallo said Dojan played well, especially considering that she was sick all week. The backcourt of Gia Borelli (10) and Amiyah Nguyen (6) combined for 16 points. The (16-5) Bulldogs have been balanced on offense all season. Gallo told me that this is a very unselfish group. He has also been thrilled with the defensive effort of 5’8 forward Kelsy Moschak. She guards the opponent’s top player every night. Wilson raced out to an 8-0 advantage. It was 17-2 one minute into the second quarter. The scrappy (14-8) Raiders got within nine points with just over two minutes left before halftime, but Borelli hit a top of the key 3-pointer to make it 22-10 at the break. The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and the lead expanded to 42-16. It wasn’t a pleasant return to West Lawn for Twin Valley coach Doug Myer. He won 338 games, five Berks League titles, and three District 3 championships over 18 years as Wilson’s head coach. All-division guard Natali Foster provided a game-high 13 points including seven in the second quarter. Foster and Rachel Knight helped the Raiders capture a state championship in field hockey. Knight picked up her third foul seven seconds into the third period. She was limited to three points. Twin Valley went 7-12 from the free throw line, while Wilson was 6-10. The Bulldogs have won nine of their last ten contests. However, Gallo wasn’t pleased with how his squad handled the Raiders’ 1-3-1 trap. Wilson committed 17 turnovers. Gallo knows that they’ll have to take care of the ball much better when they face Reading’s pressure on Tuesday. That semifinal will get underway at 6pm at Santander Arena. The seventh-seeded Red Knights defeated Schuylkill Valley 43-33 on Saturday afternoon. Wilson swept the regular season series with Reading. The Bulldogs prevailed 53-38 and 53-35. Division 1 teams went (4-0) in the quarterfinals which is something that Gallo and I discussed. Top-seeded Berks Catholic squares off with #4 seed Gov. Mifflin in the nightcap on Tuesday.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 22:39:00 +0000

The Gov. Mifflin baseball team won 21 games, a Berks County championship, and reached the state playoffs. I caught up with head coach Chris Hole to recap an exciting season and talk about recent UCONN commit Tyler Minick. Hole has won 135 games over nine seasons with the Mustangs including three county titles. Hole thanked the 13 seniors on this year’s team, and explained why their program has produced so many talented players.