Dennys Rodriguez-Berks Catholic

Paul Roberts — Sun, 11 May 2025 16:33:29 +0000

Dennys Rodriguez was facing one of the top pitchers in Berks County with the score tied 1-1 in the top of the 7th. The Berks Catholic catcher was sitting on a split-finger fastball from Wilson ace Ben Kulp, and that’s what he got. Rodriguez drilled a sinking line drive to left field for a go-ahead RBI double. The seventh-seeded Saints upset the defending champion Bulldogs 3-1 in the BCIAA quarterfinals at FirstEnergy Stadium. “Ben is a good pitcher. I’ve known Ben, I know what he’s capable of. I knew that I have to shorten up my swing, stay on my back hip, and fire through,” explained Rodriguez. The Shepherd University commit is batting .357 this season with a team-high ten extra-base hits. This was Rodriguez’s seventh double of the year. Wilson sophomore Ryan Marmolejos tried to make a diving catch, but the ball got past him and rolled all the way to the wall. Mikey Fidler scored easily from first base after drawing a one-out walk. Owen Schalk followed Rodriguez with a RBI double down the first base line. The junior outfielder had three hits to bump his average up to .397. Aidan Curley went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. The junior third baseman put Berks Catholic in front 1-0 with a RBI double to right-center in the 3rd. Trey Stricker (5-0, 0.44) continued his dominant season on the mound. The West Chester commit gave up just one run on four hits over 6.2 innings. Stricker had five strikeouts and one walk while throwing 103 pitches. “Trey was lights out. It’s huge, it’s exciting. Me and Trey have been playing since we were 11-12. We work well together,” said Rodriguez. Stricker has only allowed 48 hits in 67 innings. Fidler got the final out to send the (14-6) Saints to the Berks League semifinals on Monday afternoon. Kulp, who has a 0.80 ERA, surrendered two runs on two hits and a walk in his only inning of work. The 6’2, 215-pound junior has racked up 50 strikeouts in 35 frames this spring. He took over for Jack Gabel. The junior limited Berks Catholic to one run on five hits in 5.1 innings. Gabel, who’s already committed to West Chester, struck out six and walked three. Christo Hunsicker got the first two outs when the game started on Thursday night at Muhlenberg. It was suspended due to rain in the first inning. The (13-7) Bulldogs opted to go with Gabel on Saturday evening and he pitched well despite not getting a decision. Hunsicker hammered a triple that took one bounce and hit the wall in left-center in the 4th. The Millersville commit scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Alex Ernesto. The Saints had runners thrown out at home plate and third base. Another runner was picked off second in the 6th following a leadoff double by sophomore Heriel Ramirez. They were able to overcome the adversity and get revenge for a 7-2 loss to Wilson in the BCIAA quarterfinals last year. Next up for Berks Catholic is a date with rival Wyomissing. They square off at 3:30pm on Monday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The sixth-seeded Spartans are (14-6). “We’re looking forward to that one…We lost to them last time we played them and now we’re ready to go. We’re excited,” remarked Rodriguez.

Dennys – Berks Sports Report

Dennys Rodriguez-Berks Catholic