The (17-8) Muhls won the District 3-6A championship on Monday. They rolled over Chambersburg 10-0 in six innings. It’s the first District 3 title for Muhlenberg since 2008 and the fourth overall. The Muhls have been led by senior righty Cole Moody. The All-County selection and Northampton Community College commit is (10-0) this year with nine complete games.

Muhlenberg will host Haverford at 7pm on Monday in the first round of the state playoffs. The Fords won the Central League and finished in sixth place in the District 1 tournament. Cam McCormack, a Pittsburgh commit, has missed most of the season after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee. The 6’2, 205-pound junior is ranked #14 in the country among first basemen in the Class of 2027 by Perfect Game. Senior southpaw Lucas Rothstein will continue his career at West Chester, while righty Jimmy Boyle is headed to Thomas Jefferson University. The winner of the game in Laureldale will play either Owen J. Roberts or Stroudsburg in the quarterfinals.

Moody and Chambersburg senior Ryne Mills both threw complete games in the semifinals on Thursday. Mills only allowed one hit in a 4-1 victory over top-seeded Hempfield. The St. Joseph’s commit is (9-0) this spring with a 1.37 ERA over 66.1 innings. The (17-7) Trojans went with Brady Truett on Monday night. The junior entered the day at (4-1) with a 0.62 ERA. Truett had 26 strikeouts and 14 walks in 34 innings. “I’m not gonna lie, No. 5 through No. 9 hitters, I gave everyone a take until they got a strike,” noted Kopetsky. That strategy worked as Truett walked four and lasted just 1.1 innings. The Muhls ended up with nine hits and eight walks. Burr, Moody, and shortstop Liam Vargas provided two hits apiece. Vargas walked twice and scored a pair of runs. Burr and Moody each drove in two runs. Mike Canfield went 1-for-2 with a walk and 2 RBI. The sophomore third baseman also made a tremendous defensive play. Gavin Moody, Cole’s twin brother, was 1-for-3 with a walk. He scored two runs and knocked in another.

Muhlenberg took control early with four runs on two hits and three walks in the top of the second inning. Sophomore John Martin hit a pop up to shallow right field with men on the corners. Second baseman Brycen Murray made the catch on the run as his momentum took him into foul territory. Vargas alertly scored the first run by tagging up from third base. After walks to Aidan Bonte and Carter Burr, leadoff hitter Cooper Burr ripped a 2-run single through the left side for a 3-0 edge. Senior lefty Hayden Lyons replaced Truett on the mound. Marvin Frias bunted the ball back to Lyons and Carter Burr slid head-first to avoid the tag by catcher Ceagan Truett. The home plate umpire never signaled safe which led to some confusion, but the Muhls had a 4-0 cushion. That was plenty of support for Moody. He’s limited opponents to 45 hits in 70 innings with 88 strikeouts this season.

Muhlenberg tacked on two runs in the fourth. Frias stole second after an infield single. He scored on a two-out single through the left side by Gavin Moody. Cole Moody then hammered a RBI double to right-center. Canfield made it 7-0 with a RBI groundout to second in the fifth. Junior southpaw Cam Wadel took over on the hill for the Trojans in the sixth. RBI singles by Cole Moody and Vargas put the Muhls on top 9-0. A sacrifice fly to right field by Canfield brought home their final run. Truett was charged with four runs on two hits and four walks. Lyons gave up three runs on four hits and three walks over 3.2 innings. Wadel allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in one frame.

Chambersburg has won a record eleven District 3 championships with the last coming in 2009. The Muhls’ first District 3 title was against the Trojans in 1980. Kopetsky was on Muhlenberg’s 1982 team which also brought District 3 gold back to Laureldale. He’s in his 27th season as the Muhls’ head coach. “It’s exciting. This is for everybody who has played in the program. These kids went out and they played for Muhlenberg baseball, and they play for each other. This means an awful lot to a lot of people,” said Kopetsky.

The Muhls have won ten of their past eleven games. The PIAA-6A tournament begins on Monday, June 1st. “There’s no limit to us now. We can keep extending the bar. I think we got a good shot in State’s,” remarked Burr.

The Mounts’ ace, Camryn Simes, was unavailable after pitching in their 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Mechanicsburg on Monday. Simes (5-3, 0.88) has held opponents to 25 hits in 47.2 innings this spring. The Millersville commit is a four-year starter with 300 career strikeouts. Ephrata ended Muhlenberg’s season last year. The Mounts defeated the Muhls 2-0 in the opening round of the District 3-6A tournament. Kopetsky expected another low-scoring affair with Moody and Collin Miller on the hill. Miller came into the semifinal with a (5-1) record and a 2.10 ERA.

Ephrata had men on first and second in the bottom of the third, but Chase Prange grounded out to shortstop to end the inning. Miller, who cruised through five frames, ran into trouble in the sixth. The junior righty hit Carter Burr and his older brother, Cooper, to begin the inning. Miller was replaced on the mound after 74 pitches by Prange. Marvin Frias got down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third. Carter Burr scored the first run on a passed ball. Gavin Moody then delivered a RBI double to right field for a 2-0 advantage. Moody had struck out and popped out in his previous two at-bats. “I walked up to him and said you’re the No. 3 hitter. You’re one of the best hitters on the team, just go out there and be one of the best hitters on the team. He went up there and put a great at-bat together,” replied Kopetsky.

The (16-6) Mounts put men on first and second with one out in the sixth. After Cole Moody hit Prange and walked Landry Weidner, Simes lined out sharply to center field. Ethan Gockley then struck out for the third time. Moody added two more strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh. He retired Ephrata in order as Muhlenberg won for the ninth time in its last ten games. “It’s who gets hot late. The Muhls are hot right now,” said Moody. Miller was charged with two runs on one hit in five innings. He hit four batters and struck out three. Prange allowed three hits over the final two innings with a pair of strikeouts. Carter Burr, Cole Moody, and John Martin singled for Muhlenberg. Jake Buckwalter and freshman leadoff hitter Hayden Mietelski had singles for the Mounts. Their five-game winning streak came to a halt.

The Muhls took down Lancaster-Lebanon League champion Manheim Township 6-3 in the first round. They made the long trip to third-seeded Waynesboro on Monday and returned to Laureldale with a 9-7 victory. After shutting out Ephrata, Muhlenberg is one win away from its fourth District 3 title. The last time the Muhls hoisted the trophy was in 2008. “The kids look at each new game as a challenge and they’re playing confident. They’re kind of feeling like why not,” remarked Kopetsky.

Moody held the (12-6, 7-5) Eagles to five hits. “He pitched the way he’s been pitching all season. He has been very efficient while striking out batters. It’s a nice combination and he’s not running up a 100 pitch count in five innings which is what Cole did last year,” noted Kopetsky. This is his 27th season at the helm in Laureldale. Moody needed just 90 pitches to get through seven frames. The Northampton Community College commit finished with six strikeouts and only one walk. He pounded the zone with a high-80s fastball. “I love the fastball. I love blowing it by people,” remarked Moody. He also has a very good slider. “They buckle, it’s awesome to see,” he said with a smile. His arsenal includes a curveball and changeup. Moody feels confident in utilizing all four pitches. He improved to (6-0) for the (9-7, 8-3) Muhls. Moody entered the game with a 1.17 ERA.

Muhlenberg got on the board early against Shippensburg commit Kamren Martin. The 6’4 righty made just his second start of the year. Cooper Burr and Marvin Frias opened the top of the first with singles. Moody helped himself with a RBI groundout to shortstop. Exeter threatened in the bottom half of the inning. Jake Hafer, who’s headed to East Stroudsburg, and Jake Franek singled with nobody out. However, Moody got two groundouts and a strikeout to escape the jam. Brenton Feathers ripped a double down the left field line to open the bottom of the fourth. The Eagles weren’t able to get a bunt down to advance him to third base. Moody then got another groundout and a strikeout to keep the shutout intact.

The Muhls made it 2-0 in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Mason Goodhart replaced Martin who threw 64 pitches in four innings. Martin allowed four hits with one strikeout and no walks. Goodhart walked Aidan Bonte, the No. 8 hitter, to begin the fifth. After a fly ball to center field, Burr hit a grounder to shortstop. Franek threw to sophomore Xavier Jacobs at second base for a force out, but Jacobs dropped the ball. Frias followed with a sacrifice fly to left to knock in Bonte with the second run of the afternoon. Goodhart was charged with one unearned run on three hits over three innings.

Brandon Weller led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left field. After Matt Woram grounded out to shortstop, Feathers lofted a shallow fly ball to center. Gavin Moody, Cole’s twin brother, made the catch on the run and threw to first base to get Woram for a double play. Cole Moody retired Exeter in order in the seventh as Muhlenberg clinched second place in Division 1. Burr ended up with three of the Muhls’ seven hits. Bonte went 1-for-2 with a walk. Franek was 2-for-3 for the Eagles. They’re in third place in the division with no league games remaining.

Muhlenberg went (11-9) last spring and missed out on the Berks County playoffs. “Last year was a little different when we were the #9 team and we didn’t get in. It’s a goal, they always want to get to [FirstEnergy] stadium. It’s great to be back,” said Kopetsky. The Muhls will be a tough customer with Moody on the hill. “We want to make a run, especially for the seniors. I think it’s a very wide open county. If we bring it every day like this, I don’t think anybody is stopping us,” stated Moody.