Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Sat, 26 Apr 2025 15:05:12 +0000

Gov. Mifflin and Hempfield squared off in a battle of defending state champions on Friday night. If that wasn’t enough, both teams were undefeated and it was Hall of Fame night in Shillington. “I don’t think we’ve ever been part of a bigger regular season game, definitely an intriguing matchup,” said Mustangs’ head coach Chris Hole. Camden Hulock drilled a 3-run homer to left in the 9th and the Black Knights held on for a thrilling 3-2 victory. Gov. Mifflin left 13 runners on base. “We just didn’t capitalize and that’s baseball,” noted Hole. Ethan Grim put on a show for the MLB scouts in attendance. The hard-throwing Virginia Tech commit struck out the first five batters he faced. Grim finished with 14 strikeouts and one walk over seven innings. The 6’1, 195-pound righty only allowed one hit. “He’s incredible, just incredible. He threw every pitch that Travis [Jenkins] called beautifully. He had his slider working, his change, his curve. He kept a fantastic hitting team off-balance,” emphasized Hole. Hempfield entered the contest with a .344 team batting average. Grim has piled up a staggering 56 strikeouts in 28 innings this season. Brody Gebhard (2-0, 0.61) was also outstanding on the mound. The senior limited the (16-1) Mustangs to three hits over six frames. He struck out five, walked two, and hit two batters. Gebhard is no stranger to big games. He went the distance in the PIAA-6A Championship last year. The Black Knights defeated La Salle College High School 3-2 for their first state title. Gov. Mifflin also earned its first state championship a season ago. The Mustangs beat Hollidaysburg 2-1 in the PIAA-5A Final. Gov. Mifflin had men on second and third with one out in the 3rd when Grim hit a grounder to third base. Dylan Jackson knocked the ball down and threw out Bryce Detwiler at the plate. Hempfield catcher Josh Toole, a Coastal Carolina commit, was shaken up, but stayed in the game. Matt Koehler grounded out to first base to end the threat. Southpaw Jonathan O’Maille (4-0, 0.88) took over for Gebhard after the 6th. Billy Angstadt and Dylan Barrett provided back-to-back singles with one out in the 7th. O’Maille got two pop outs to keep it scoreless. The Mustangs loaded the bases with two outs in the 8th. O’Maille struck out Angstadt to keep the (14-0) Black Knights in it. In the top of the 9th, Brayden Hostetter and Toole drew walks from Jenkins with two outs. Hulock then ripped a 3-run shot to left field. It was only the second hit all night for Hempfield. Jenkins had four strikeouts and two walks over the final two innings. Gov. Mifflin added to the drama in the bottom of the 9th. The Mustangs loaded the bases with one out. Jenkins hit a RBI groundout to second for their first run. After Grim was intentionally walked to load the bases, Koehler drew a walk to make it 3-2. Designated hitter Cam Zurawski struck out to end the marathon. “So proud of our boys, the way that they battled to the very end. Credit to Hempfield as well…two great teams going at it and couldn’t ask for more,” stated Hole. O’Maille gave up two runs on four hits and five walks in three innings. He struck out four and picked up the win in relief. Detwiler, a UConn commit, delivered three of Gov. Mifflin’s seven hits. “He stays very balanced up there. He doesn’t try to do too much. He’s a lot like Tyler Minick. He recognizes what pitchers are going to do to him,” explained Hole. Minick is having a big season at UConn. He leads the team with 14 HR, 47 RBI, and a .364 batting average. Koehler went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks. Barrett was 1-for-3 and reached base twice. The Mustangs travel to rival Wilson on Monday afternoon. “It’s Wilson, they’ll be focused,” replied Hole. Ed Williamson, Dan Batz, Steve Murray, and current assistant coach Kurt Henry were recognized on the field before Friday’s game. They make up the inaugural class of the Gov. Mifflin Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ben Troyer-Hempfield

Paul Roberts — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:13:00 +0000

Ben Troyer enjoys putting LEGO sets together. He can also drop 30 points in a basketball game. The 6’4 senior has emerged as one of the top scoring threats in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Troyer and the Hempfield Black Knights left Laureldale with a 55-48 victory on Tuesday. The York College commit poured in 25 points and went 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Muhlenberg raced out to a 7-2 advantage. “You could tell they weren’t giving us any respect to start so we had to fight the entire game,” said Troyer. The (3-2) Muhls were up 17-14 after one quarter, but trailed 26-25 at halftime. They averaged 67 points in their first four contests. The (2-2) Black Knights allowed just 14 combined points over the middle quarters. Hempfield led 43-35 with four and a-half minutes remaining. A three-point play by Shermar Killens energized Muhlenberg. The 6’2 junior had a career-high 16 points. Back-to-back turnovers by the Black Knights resulted in layups for Alex Collado (12 points) and Mike Miller (10 points). The Muhls’ full court pressure got them within 49-48 with 51 seconds left. Caden Axe got an easy basket off an inbounds play with 35 seconds to go. Troyer and Thomas Gable sealed the deal by going 4-for-4 from the foul line over the final 14 seconds. Troyer’s younger brother, Spencer, added a dozen points. The 6’2 sophomore forward provided six points in the fourth quarter. Their cousin, Nick Deeg, is a senior point guard for Hempfield. “I was yelling at them a little bit more than the others. That’s just because I love them and I know they can do better,” explained Ben Troyer. He’s averaging 28 points which the Black Knights have needed after losing five of their top six players from a season ago. That team went (25-4) and finished third in the District 3-6A tournament. “We’re expecting to be the underdog throughout the entire season,” remarked Troyer. Muhlenberg is in a similar position. The Muhls had to replace all five starters from an (18-11) squad that reached the second round of the state playoffs. Both teams had key players in foul trouble on Tuesday night. Hempfield finished 15-of-20 from the free throw line, while Muhlenberg was 13-for-18. Black Knights’ head coach Danny Walck picked up his 396th career win over 29 years. The former Reading coach is in his 14th season at Hempfield. “It’s great. He’s been around the game so long. You always learn something from him,” said Troyer.

Hempfield – Berks Sports Report

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Ben Troyer-Hempfield