game – Berks Sports Report

PIAA-5A Championship Preview

Paul Roberts — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 04:19:32 +0000

History will be made on Friday afternoon at Penn State’s Medlar Field. Gov. Mifflin squares off with Hollidaysburg in the PIAA-5A championship at 4:30pm. The winner will claim its first state title. The Mustangs are making their fifth appearance in the PIAA tournament. They hadn’t won a game in the state playoffs prior to this season. The Golden Tigers reached the PIAA tournament for the first time since 2012. This is their third appearance overall.

The (23-5) Mustangs were the District 3 and BCIAA runner-up. Their bats have come alive after scoring just six total runs in the District 3 playoffs. Gov. Mifflin has piled up 24 runs in its three contests during the state tournament. UConn commit Bryce Detwiler leads the team with eight homers out of the leadoff spot. The 6’2, 215-pound junior was voted the Berks County Player of the Year.

Ethan Grim is in line to make the start against Hollidaysburg. That allows the Mustangs to put Detwiler at shortstop which is their best defensive lineup. Grim (7-3, 1.82) has 102 strikeouts in 65 innings. Several Division I programs have shown interest in the hard-throwing junior. Grim held Whitehall to two hits in a 10-0 rout in the PIAA quarterfinals. He’ll be throwing to Travis Jenkins. The junior catcher is a defensive wizard behind the plate who can also swing the bat. Jenkins and Grim were All-County selections this spring.

Hollidaysburg is the District 6 champion. The (17-6) Golden Tigers are led by senior Carson Kensinger. The southpaw tossed a complete game with nine strikeouts in the District 6 final. Kensinger (10-0, 1.05) lasted 6.2 innings in the state semifinals before reaching the pitch limit versus Monsignor Bonner. Hollidaysburg prevailed 3-1. The Mustangs are expecting to see Kensinger on three days rest. The Frostburg State commit has 119 strikeouts over 73 innings. He’s only allowed 46 hits. Junior Paul Wedel (5-1, 2.29) has thrown 33.2 innings.

Kensinger can certainly help himself at the plate. He’s batting .366 with a team-high 28 RBI and 7 HR. Senior outfielder Jake Hileman leads the Golden Tigers with 38 hits, 31 runs, ten doubles, and a .469 average. Ethan Karageanes is hitting .347 with eight doubles. Hollidaysburg has been in three tight games during the PIAA tournament. The Golden Tigers have outscored their opponents 10-5.

RBBA Senior All-Star Games

Paul Roberts — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 22:16:10 +0000

As one former Berks County basketball star was helping his team advance to the Sweet 16, current standout high school players squared off in the Reading Berks Basketball Association Senior All-Star Games. Wilson graduate Stevie Mitchell and the Marquette Golden Eagles held off Colorado 81-77 on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the top seniors from the BCIAA wrapped up their season at Berks Catholic’s Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium.

The red team knocked off the blue squad 110-98 in the boys game. Alex Kelsey from Exeter led a balanced attack with 21 points. The St. Joseph’s baseball commit drained four 3-pointers. Reading’s Yadiel Cruz, the BCIAA Player of the Year, added 19 points. Josh McKoy (Berks Catholic), Kevin Twiford (Wilson), and Aiden Schippers (Wyomissing) scored 16 points apiece. McKoy is headed to Kutztown University after averaging 17 points for the Saints this season. Muhlenberg guard Alex Collado racked up 29 points for the blue team. He hit five triples. Kevin Saenz (Exeter) and Hunter Svoboda (Fleetwood) each provided 13 points. Francis Camara of Reading and Jeff VanGorder from Exeter served as the head coaches in the boys contest.

The girls in blue came out on top 56-48. Morgan Snyder finished with 25 points. The Oley Valley guard is going to Penn State for field hockey. Wyomissing’s Annie McCaffrey dropped 16 points. She will play soccer at UMass. The red squad was led by Exeter’s Grace Reedy with 15 points. She ended her career as the Eagles’ all-time leading scorer with 1,403 points. Reedy averaged 21 ppg. this year. Peyton Brill of Muhlenberg chipped in with 11 points on Sunday. Wilson’s Chris Gallo and Aaron Anders from Wyomissing were the head coaches in the girls all-star game. Anders guided the Spartans to Berks County and District 3 championships this season.

Thanks to Nelson Berrios, Salomon Caicedo, David McCoy, Glenn Hartman, Marc Konas, and Luis Valentin for donating their time and officiating the games.

The 2023-24 high school basketball season is in the books. It was another very exciting year. I was fortunate to cover 62 games this season. Thanks to all of the coaches and athletic directors for their help with my coverage.

Matt Coldren-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 09:03:00 +0000

Wilson head coach Matt Coldren and his team will remember the past five days for a long time. The Bulldogs beat fifth-seeded Exeter, top-seeded Berks Catholic, and second-seeded Reading to win the Berks Conference championship. They held off the Red Knights 54-53 on Friday night in front of 3,443 fans at Santander Arena. “I haven’t coached a team that’s won a championship that had to beat three great teams like we had to this week,” said Coldren. It’s the third county title in the last five years for Wilson and its 12th overall. This one was tight the whole way. Reading, which was attempting a three-peat, led 16-15 after eight minutes. The (17-8) Red Knights were up 32-31 at halftime. They won both regular season contests with the Bulldogs by six points apiece. Wilson gained momentum in the third quarter and built a 41-35 advantage. It was 44-41 entering the final period. A layup by junior guard Madyx Gruber put the (17-8) Bulldogs on top 52-51 with 2:25 remaining. Luke Levan sank a pair of free throws with 38 seconds left. The 6’5 junior made it 54-51. “I’m so proud of him. As far as he has come in a year is amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does in the offseason,” emphasized Coldren. Levan racked up 12 points and 10 rebounds. A layup by freshman guard Jeremiah Camara pulled Reading within 54-53 with 19 seconds to go. After Correll Akings missed two foul shots, the Red Knights had one final possession with two seconds on the clock. Nick Chapman inbounded the ball on the right sideline to Weshly Rosario. Chapman immediately cut to the basket, but Rosario’s return pass was deflected by a diving Gruber to end the thriller. Wilson forced 18 turnovers. Gruber and Tommy McFadden each provided twelve points. That’s a career-high for McFadden who missed the first five games of the season with an injury. “He’s a tough kid. He’s a great kid. He needs to believe in himself a little bit more. I gotta keep building him up,” replied Coldren. Yadiel Cruz poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. Chapman added eleven points. Rosario had seven points and six assists. Reading went 7-for-12 from the free throw line, while the Bulldogs were 12-for-20. The Red Knights came in averaging 67 points. They were 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. Wilson snapped a 9-game losing streak to Reading. “I wish it could be Reading-Wilson every year [in the final]. There’s something special about that rivalry. It brings out the best in both teams,” stated Coldren.

Guests of the 76ers

Paul Roberts — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:17:00 +0000

The Wyomissing boys and girls basketball teams got some exciting news this week. They will be playing a doubleheader against ELCO at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on December 18th. The girls game is set for 1:10pm with the boys game to follow. All four teams will be the guests of the 76ers who host the Bulls that night at seven o’clock.

The Spartans’ boys basketball team has a new head coach this season. Former Gov. Mifflin and Alvernia standout Garrett Etzel takes over for Ryan Ludwig.

Wyomissing’s girls team is coming off a historic season. The (28-3) Spartans won their first BCIAA and District 3 championships. Amaya Stewart returns after being named first team All-State in Class 4A. The 6’1 junior is the reigning Berks County Player of the Year. Aaron Anders was voted the Berks Girls League Coach of the Year. Anders is thrilled that his team will get to play in an NBA arena. “I’ve never been more excited for these kids to experience what they are going to take part in! I can’t wait to see their faces and their joy! Big thanks to both athletic directors for this unbelievable opportunity,” he said.