County – Berks Sports Report

BCIAA Baseball Tournament Update

Paul Roberts — Fri, 09 May 2025 16:50:35 +0000

The rain has led to several changes in the BCIAA baseball playoffs. The two remaining quarterfinals will now be held on Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Exeter and Fleetwood game will resume at 3pm. They’re scoreless in the second inning. The Wilson and Berks Catholic matchup will follow. They’re scoreless in the first inning.

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.

BCIAA Baseball Quarterfinals

Paul Roberts — Fri, 09 May 2025 04:47:04 +0000

The Berks County baseball playoffs got underway on Thursday. Sixth-seeded Wyomissing beat third-seeded Twin Valley 8-7 in a wild quarterfinal at Muhlenberg. The Raiders had runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the 7th. Grant Moser hit a fly ball to shallow right field. Teddy White made the catch in foul territory and fired the ball home. He overthrew the catcher, but Ryan Graham was backing up the plate. Graham caught the ball and made a diving tag to get Nate Sedgwick and end the game. Graham picked up the win in relief. The southpaw allowed one run on three hits in 1.1 innings. The junior, who entered the day with a lofty .523 batting average, also provided two hits. Twin Valley opted to start junior Nate Lord instead of Kutztown University commit Kooper Zdimal. The senior righty had a 0.62 ERA in the regular season. Zdimal allowed just 24 hits over 45 innings. The (14-6) Spartans came out swinging. They put up five runs in the 1st. The (13-6) Raiders scored three times in the 3rd to pull within 6-4. They added a run in the 4th and another in the 6th to tie it up. Zdimal was taken out after tossing four scoreless innings of relief and 49 pitches. He limited Wyomissing to one hit. Ben Vaughan surrendered a pair of unearned runs on two hits in the top of the 7th. Twin Valley made it interesting in the bottom half of the frame, but the Spartans held on thanks to Graham’s heads-up play. After finishing (8-12) a season ago, Wyomissing is going to the BCIAA semifinals under first-year head coach Nick Wojciechowski. He got two hits apiece from Birkley Ziegler, Dan Noey, Zander Westwood, White, and Graham. Noey and Westwood each knocked in two runs. Noah Rauenzahn was charged with six runs, five earned, in 5.2 innings. The junior gave up six hits and five walks. Lord took the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits. He only lasted two innings. Lord was 2-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBI. Sophomore Brody Majeski went 3-for-3. The Raiders ended up with nine hits. They left eight men on base and committed three errors.

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.

BCIAA Baseball Playoffs

Paul Roberts — Tue, 06 May 2025 19:25:03 +0000

The bracket has been released for the 2025 BCIAA baseball playoffs. There were no challenges today by any of the coaches so the seeds didn’t change. Wyomissing ended up as the Division 3 champion by virtue of its higher power ranking (.633) than Berks Catholic (.615). The Division 4 title was also decided by power ranking. Kutztown (.592) had a slight edge over Oley Valley (.586). The Lynx lost to Division 3 runner-up Berks Catholic during the regular season which prevented Oley Valley from getting an automatic berth into the tournament. Wilson is the defending Berks League champion. The Bulldogs defeated Gov. Mifflin 10-3 in the BCIAA Final last year.

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.

Bulldogs Shut Down the Muhls

Paul Roberts — Sat, 03 May 2025 18:52:11 +0000

On Senior Night, it was a junior who stole the show at Owls Field in the Berks County High School Baseball Showcase. Ben Kulp allowed just three hits over five innings as Wilson defeated Muhlenberg 6-0 on Friday. The 6’2, 215-pound righty racked up nine strikeouts. “Kulp had a lively fastball, was throwing his curveball for a strike, and then coming back with a nice split,” explained head coach Bill Underwood. Kulp (4-2) walked just two while throwing 81 pitches. He entered the day with a 0.93 ERA. It was a different story for Muhls’ senior Aaden Lopez. He gave up five runs on five hits and four walks. Lopez (1-3) only lasted two innings. He has issued 36 walks in 21.1 innings this season. The (13-6) Bulldogs got a pair of runs in the 1st on RBI singles by Alex Ernesto and Nick Herron. Ernesto went 1-for-1 with two walks and a run. Herron provided two of Wilson’s seven hits. The Bulldogs added three runs in the 2nd to go up 5-0. After a bunt base hit by Colby Kostelac, Tyler Herbein followed with a bloop single down the right field line. The throw into second base got away and rolled all the way to the fence on the left field line. The throwing error put Wilson in front 3-0. An RBI single to left by leadoff hitter Jack Gabel made it 4-0. He would later come around to score on a wild pitch by Lopez. Gabel, a junior shortstop who’s committed to West Chester, knocked in another run in the 3rd on a groundout to third base. Sophomore Ryan Rosenberry hit three batters and walked another in that inning. Kaden Ballas pitched the last two frames for the Bulldogs. The senior limited the (11-8) Muhls to one hit. Ballas had two strikeouts and one walk. “With a six run lead, Ballas did what he needed and that was to throw strikes,” said Underwood. Cole Moody and Eli Keller had two hits apiece for Muhlenberg, which was playing its fifth game in six days. The Muhls are likely out of contention for the BCIAA playoffs. Meanwhile, Wilson is headed to the Berks County playoffs after finishing second in Division 1. The Bulldogs are the defending county champions. The BCIAA quarterfinals are on Thursday, May 8th with doubleheaders at Owls Field and Muhlenberg.

Tri-County All-Star Game

Paul Roberts — Thu, 01 May 2025 21:58:14 +0000

The Tri-County All-Star Football Game will be held later this month. The top seniors from the Lancaster-Lebanon League will square off on Friday, May 23rd at 7pm. The game will take place at Manheim Central’s Elden Rettew Stadium. The Lancaster team rolled over the Berks/Lebanon squad 35-0 last year. Zac Hahn of Manheim Central threw for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was named the MVP. Bode Sipel, Hahn’s high school teammate, caught a 9-yard TD pass and returned an interception 86 yards for another score. This year’s game is expected to be more competitive. Here’s a look at the rosters.

Berks/Lebanon Team:

0-Genuine Stutzman (Exeter)

1-Bryce Gumby (Berks Catholic)

2-Justin Kaplan (Palmyra)

3-Dequan Small (Muhlenberg)

5-Carter Redding (Exeter)

6-Devyn Sutton (Berks Catholic)

7-Brendan Ryan (Northern Lebanon)

9-Donovan Gingrich (Conrad Weiser)

10-Evan Myers (Twin Valley)

11-Max Heffner (Daniel Boone)

12-Logan Nawrocki (Schuylkill Valley)

13-Bryce Keller (Annville-Cleona)

14-Evan Johnson (Twin Valley)

15-Brendan Yagle (Twin Valley)

16-Alex Malone (Conrad Weiser)

17-Evan Rittle (Conrad Weiser)

18-Casey Gerhart (Exeter)

19-Riley Messinger (Northern Lebanon)

20-Kai Rivera (Lebanon)

21-Ashton Kiebach (Conrad Weiser)

25-Luke Spotts (Schuylkill Valley)

26-Cooper Hohenadel (Schuylkill Valley)

33-Brady Stoops (ELCO)

35-Matt Knight (Twin Valley)

41-Jonathan Shay (Annville-Cleona)

50-Anthony Geloso (Wilson)

51-Derek Reiniger (Wilson)

52-Aris Drake (Twin Valley)

54-Malacai Victa (Annville-Cleona)

55-Brayden Malloy (ELCO)

56-Kenly Rivera (Reading)

57-Eli Thompson (Northern Lebanon)

60-Kaleb Holl (Conrad Weiser)

70-Ayden Jimenez (Wyomissing)

76-Samson Evans (Muhlenberg)

Lancaster Team:

0-Declan Clancy (Manheim Township)

1-DeAndre Jones (McCaskey)

2-Isaiah Sensenig (Conestoga Valley)

3-Chase Gerz (Donegal)

4-Quinn Care (Warwick)

5-Danny Weichler (Lampeter-Strasburg)

6-Jackson Shelby (Warwick)

7-Dominic Brown (Lampeter-Strasburg)

8-Emory Fluhr (Lampeter-Strasburg)

9-Brodie Daugherty (Manheim Central)

10-Lex Huberbosch (Manheim Township)

11-Carson Weisser (Manheim Township)

12-Brayden Charles (Hempfield)

13-Caileb Howse (Lampeter-Strasburg)

14-Dominic Pugh (Ephrata)

15-Jack Warfel (Penn Manor)

16-Loudon Rupp (Columbia)

17-John Morales (Manheim Township)

18-Asher Cook (Manheim Central)

19-Josh Myer (Cocalico)

20-Chandler Stoltfus (Octorara)

21-Jayden Johnson (Conestoga Valley)

22-Brayden Eppinette (Cocalico)

28-Trenton Hoober (Garden Spot)

33-Austin Kurtz (Octorara)

34-Seth Morgan (Conestoga Valley)

42-Zion Rolon (Manheim Central)

50-Jason Dougherty (Manheim Central)

51-Thomas Capizzi (Manheim Township)

53-Owen Marks (Manheim Township)

54-Joseph Murry (Solanco)

55-Justin Corson (Conestoga Valley)

60-Tom Dattoli (Cocalico)

61-Tal Stoltzfus (Conestoga Valley)

62-Matthew Neumann (Penn Manor)

63-Jeremiah Garber (Pequea Valley)

65-Cullen Witner (Garden Spot)

66-Riley Yencha (Elizabethtown)

71-Tommy O’Neill (Garden Spot)

72-Hunter Garber (Manheim Central)

76-Spencer McClintock (Manheim Township)

Carpenter Cup Classic

Paul Roberts — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:28:16 +0000

The Carpenter Cup Classic is coming up in June and the Berks/Lancaster-Lebanon baseball team is looking for players. The single-elimination tournament is free and includes high school players from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The event, which began in 1986, is sponsored by the Philadelphia Phillies and Nike. The semifinals and championship are held at Citizens Bank Park.

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.

Branson Adams-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:23:04 +0000

Gov. Mifflin and Wilson were tied 1-1 after three frames on Monday afternoon. Branson Adams helped to break the game open with a two-run homer to right field in the 4th. It was the first home run of his high school career. “I was just sitting dead red right there and I got that middle-in fastball. I swung as hard as I could,” explained the senior outfielder. The Mustangs put six runs on the board in the top of the 4th and cruised to a 14-3 victory. Gov. Mifflin clinched the Division 1 championship in the Berks League. The (17-1) Mustangs bounced back in a big way from Friday’s 3-2 loss to Hempfield in nine innings. “It kind of gave us a little wake-up call. Everything is not gonna be handed to us. You gotta work your butt off,” said Adams. The (11-6) Bulldogs entered the week trailing Gov. Mifflin by three games in the division with three to play. Wilson opted to send Austin Snyder, its #4 starter, to the mound. The senior righty pitched well for three innings. Each team was limited to an unearned run in the 1st. Snyder opened the 4th with walks to Billy Angstadt and Dylan Barrett. Nate Radwanski, the No. 9 hitter, laid a bunt down the third base line that Snyder threw away. That error made it 2-1 with nobody out. Bryce Detwiler followed with a two-run single to center before Adams launched his home run. After a double by catcher Travis Jenkins, Matt Koehler delivered a RBI single through a drawn-in infield. That was plenty of support for Detwiler. The UConn commit allowed three unearned runs on four hits over six innings. He struck out two and walked one. Detwiler tossed a complete game four-hitter when the Mustangs beat the Bulldogs 1-0 on April 2nd. A RBI infield single by Jenkins in the 5th gave Gov. Mifflin an 8-1 advantage. Wilson got a pair of runs in the 6th to pull within 8-3. Alex Ernesto knocked in one with a groundout to shortstop and Cole Lavin followed with a RBI single to center. The Mustangs responded with six runs off sophomore Ben Shaub in the 7th. Ethan Grim hammered a two-run double to left-center and Koehler drilled a two-run homer to left. Gov. Mifflin piled up 17 hits, while the Bulldogs were held to four singles. Snyder (1-2) allowed eight runs, six earned, on nine hits in 4.1 innings. He walked four and struck out one. Detwiler, Jenkins, and Koehler had three hits apiece. Adams, Grim, Barrett, and Joe Murray each added two hits. RJ Weaver pitched a clean 7th for the Mustangs with a pair of strikeouts. They’re #1 in the District 3-6A power rankings. Gov. Mifflin won the Class 5A state title last season. “I think it’s gonna be a pretty good challenge. [There are] a lot of good teams in 6A, a little different than 5A,” replied Adams. The Mustangs will wrap up the regular season against Daniel Boone and Reading. The BCIAA playoffs begin on Thursday, May 8th. Gov. Mifflin showed once again why it will be a very tough out.

Pitchers shine in the Berks League

Paul Roberts — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 02:13:45 +0000

A wise man once said that good pitching beats good hitting. That was the case on Monday across Berks County. There were several outstanding performances on the mound in the BCIAA.

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.

Travis Jenkins-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 12:33:07 +0000

Travis Jenkins is known for his work behind the plate. On Saturday, the All-State catcher was needed on the mound and he delivered. The Canisius commit fired four hitless innings of relief as Gov. Mifflin held off Twin Valley 9-5 in eight innings. “If I have to pitch, I’ll pitch but catching is more my thing,” said Jenkins. He also came through offensively with a two-out, two-run single to left field in the top of the 8th. “I was trying to stay back. I was getting pull happy so just try to stay back,” he explained. Jenkins is a right-handed pitcher, but a lefty hitter. He was 1-for-3 with two walks and picked up the 100th RBI of his career. The (15-0) Mustangs put two runs on the scoreboard in the 1st inning at Elverson. Branson Adams drove in Bryce Detwiler with a double to left-center. Adams then scored on a wild pitch by Nolan Cromwell. The senior was making his first appearance of the season. He allowed four runs, three earned, over four innings. Cromwell gave up three hits and walked four. The (6-5) Raiders got one run back in the bottom of the 1st. Grant Moser, who reached on an error, was thrown out at home on Brody Majeski’s double to left-center. Majeski, one of three sophomores in the lineup, scored on an infield single by Logan Crunkleton. The senior first baseman entered the day with a .355 batting average and a team-high five doubles. Matt Koehler made it 3-1 in the 4th with a solo homer to center field. “He was due. He’s been getting robbed a lot, not finding holes. I’m proud of him,” replied Jenkins. Koehler, who’s committed to Juniata, went 2-for-5 with a double. Twin Valley went in front 4-3 with three runs in the bottom of the 4th. “They’re a really good team. They really battled,” stated Jenkins. After an RBI groundout by Kooper Zdimal with the bases loaded, Moser provided a two-run single to left field. Gov. Mifflin coach Chris Hole, who reached 200 career wins early this season, decided to use junior Joe Murray as a pinch-hitter in the 5th. In just his second at-bat of the year, the left-handed hitting Murray ripped a solo home run to right field. That ended Cromwell’s afternoon and tied it at 4-4. Southpaw Nate Sedgwick walked Detwiler and Jenkins before Ethan Grim smashed a RBI single to left. Grim, one of the top pitchers in the state, is headed to Virginia Tech. He was 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Jenkins took over on the mound for Evan Glucksnis with two men on and nobody out in the bottom of the 5th. Glucksnis, a junior righty, was charged with five runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out three in four frames. Nate DiRocco evened the game at 5-5 with a RBI groundout to second in the 5th. DiRocco and Majeski, both sophomores, had two hits apiece. Junior designated hitter Cam Zurawski led off the 8th with a walk. Lefty Jayce Oliver, another sophomore, then hit Billy Angstadt. After Murray got down a sacrifice bunt, the Raiders intentionally walked Detwiler to load the bases. The UConn commit finished with a single, three walks, three runs, and four stolen bases. “Teams like to pitch around him. No matter what, he finds a way on. He keeps his head up,” noted Jenkins. Oliver struck out Adams for the second out of the inning. Jenkins broke the tie with a clutch opposite field single to left. Grim followed with a long two-run single that hit the left field fence. Oliver permitted four runs on three hits in 2.1 innings. Jenkins got a pair of strikeouts and a pop-up to shortstop in the bottom of the 8th. He threw 45 pitches in just his second appearance of the season. The unbeaten Mustangs finished with eight hits and the Raiders ended up with nine. Gov. Mifflin drew eight walks. “We know we’re (15-0), but we haven’t won anything yet. We just go to practice, work hard, and have fun,” said Jenkins.

All-State Girls Basketball Players

Paul Roberts — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 02:10:00 +0000

The Pennsylvania Sports Writers released their All-State girls basketball teams on Thursday. Two standout players from Berks County were selected. Congratulations to Wyomissing’s Amaya Stewart and Bella Super from Gov. Mifflin.

Stewart was voted to the first team in Class 4A for the third consecutive season. The 6’1 forward averaged 19.5 points as a senior and led the Spartans to 24 victories. Stewart poured in a school-record 37 points against Twin Valley on January 2nd. The Albany commit finished her remarkable career with 1,904 points, the most in program history. She also pulled down more than 1,000 rebounds. Stewart was named Berks County Player of the Year three times. In late February, Wyomissing defeated Lancaster Catholic 26-24 for its third straight District 3-4A championship.

Super is a third team All-State pick in Class 6A. The 5’7 sophomore increased her scoring output from 12 points per game as a freshman to 19 ppg. this year. She knocked down 49 triples during the 2024-25 campaign. Super exploded for 30 points at Conrad Weiser in mid-January. She helped a young Mustangs’ squad win 16 games. Gov. Mifflin reached the BCIAA Championship at Santander Arena. In the Berks League semifinals, Super had 25 points in a 60-56 victory over rival Wilson. The Mustangs fell to Reading 63-57 in the BCIAA Final, but Super kept them in the game. The All-County guard ended up with 28 points and four 3-pointers.

The All-State boys basketball teams will be announced in early May.