Hole – Berks Sports Report

All-Berks Baseball Team

Paul Roberts — Mon, 22 May 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Gov. Mifflin senior shortstop Tyler Minick was voted the Berks County Player of the Year by the baseball coaches in the BCIAA. Minick received the award for the second straight season. The UConn commit hit .446 with 31 runs, 7 home runs, and 22 stolen bases. He wasn’t caught stealing once this year. Minick had an on-base percentage of .556 and an OPS of 1.484. He also struck out 37 batters over 25 innings with a 1.96 ERA. He led the Mustangs to their 15th Berks County Championship and second in the last three seasons. Gov. Mifflin’s Chris Hole was named the Coach of the Year. He guided the Mustangs to a record of (18-5). Hole has won 173 games and four BCIAA titles over his eleven seasons in Shillington. Here is the rest of the 2023 All-Berks Baseball team:

Joe Crist-Brandywine Heights

Deven Sheerin-Exeter

Alex Kelsey-Exeter

Bryce Detwiler-Gov. Mifflin

Conner Licklider-Hamburg

Dalton Furst-Kutztown

Dalton Follweiler-Muhlenberg

Cam Burr-Muhlenberg

Paul Petersen-Oley Valley

Matt VanOstenbridge-Wilson

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Tue, 16 May 2023 00:26:00 +0000

Almost every sports fan has probably heard the phrase that it’s tough to beat a team three times. Wilson found that out in the BCIAA Championship at FirstEnergy Stadium. Top-seeded Gov. Mifflin defeated the second-seeded Bulldogs 6-3 for its 15th Berks County title. Wilson won both of their regular season meetings this year. “It feels good to win a championship no matter what. Doing it against our rival I think is always extra special. We have a ton of respect for that program,” said Mustangs’ head coach Chris Hole. Each team had five hits, but Gov. Mifflin made fewer mistakes and snapped the Bulldogs’ eight-game winning streak. A two-out RBI single to right field by sophomore Travis Jenkins got the (18-4) Mustangs on the board in the first frame. Jenkins was 2-for-3 out of the cleanup spot. Bryce Detwiler, another talented sophomore, scored after reaching on an error. The Mustangs tacked on two runs on an odd play with two outs in the 2nd inning. Xander Velez struck out, but the pitch got away from catcher Jordan Shutter and rolled towards the Gov. Mifflin dugout. UConn commit Tyler Minick scored all the way from second base to make it 3-0. “I’m literally out of words to describe him. He’s always going 110% no matter what he’s doing,” remarked Hole. The (15-7) Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out in the 3rd. Sophomore right-hander Ethan Grim limited the damage to one run on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Sekulski. Left fielder Jon Radwanski made a very nice sliding catch. A walk and an error by shortstop Trevor Bilodeau put runners on second and third for the Mustangs with one out in the 3rd inning. Grim knocked in a run with a ground ball to second base. Bryce Wunderlich drove in another run with a ground out to third. Gov. Mifflin moved ahead 5-1 after three frames. Grim helped himself with a RBI single to right in the 5th. Hole handed the ball to Minick after Grim hit two batters to begin the 6th. The 2022 Berks County Player of the Year recorded three straight outs to keep the Mustangs’ advantage at 6-1. Minick was 3-for-3 with two home runs in the semifinals against Fleetwood. Nick Fiorini ripped a 2-run triple to right in the 7th. Minick then struck out Rafael Fernandez to end it. Grim got the win by limiting Wilson to one unearned run on three hits over five innings. He struck out seven batters and hit four. Matt VanOstenbridge took the loss, however, five of the six runs that he gave up were unearned. The junior southpaw had seven strikeouts and three walks. VanOstenbridge entered Monday with a 2.18 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. He was the starting pitcher for both of the Bulldogs’ victories against Gov. Mifflin this season. The Mustangs claimed their second BCIAA title in the last three years. Hole replied, “We’re still on top. This is our goal every year. We want to set the standard and I’m really proud of these boys to uphold that.”

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Mon, 01 May 2023 22:56:00 +0000

Gov. Mifflin is hitting .346 as a team this season. The Mustangs flexed their muscles on Monday afternoon in Shillington. They got 13 hits from eight different players in a 12-0 rout of Twin Valley. Bryce Detwiler launched a 2-run homer to right field in the 1st inning. The sophomore infielder was 2-for-2 with a walk. He leads the club with five home runs and a .545 batting average. “Incredibly high ceiling, such a smart baseball player. [He] has all the tools…He’s a special young man. He’s gonna go very far not only in high school, but beyond,” said head coach Chris Hole. Detwiler has an eye-popping 1.653 OPS through 15 games. UConn commit Tyler Minick hits in the leadoff spot for Gov. Mifflin. Minick and Detwiler have been quite a 1-2 punch. Minick crushed a 2-run homer to left field in the 2nd for a 4-0 advantage. The 2022 Berks County Player of the Year went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. In addition to batting .450, Minick has a team-high 23 runs and 17 stolen bases. “He’s just incredible…He’s the Player of the Year for a reason. He’s the best athlete in this county and beyond because he can do it all,” remarked Hole. Minick’s RBI single to center made it 7-0 in the 3rd. The (12-3, 8-1) Mustangs added five runs in the 4th. Sophomore Matt Koehler provided an RBI double and Jon Radwanski followed with a 2-run single to left that put Gov. Mifflin in front 11-0. Radwanski finished 2-for-3 with 3 RBI as the designated hitter. Xander Velez, who’s headed to Bloomsburg, was 3-for-3. Ethan Grim (4-2, 2.78) walked the bases loaded with one out in the 1st, but escaped the jam. The sophomore right-hander struck out Ben Vaughan and got Aiden Jackson to fly out to center field. Grim didn’t allow a hit over four frames. He struck out five and walked six. Senior Matt Novotny got the final three outs in the 5th inning. The Mustangs are alone atop Division 1 of the Berks League, while the (6-9, 4-5) Raiders dropped their third contest in a row. Junior Jon Oxendine gave up seven runs on nine hits and two walks over three innings. Five of Twin Valley’s losses have been by two runs or less. On Monday, however, they were simply overmatched. All-Division catcher Jaydon Goebel had the Raiders’ lone hit, a double in the 5th inning. Gov. Mifflin will take on Exeter and Wilson this week. Hole has won 167 games and three county championships in eleven years at the helm. He knows the competition within the league is difficult. “Berks is always tough. Division 1 is especially tough. There’s never an easy game,” he stated.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Tue, 31 May 2022 21:21:00 +0000

If you knock a team’s starting pitcher out of the game in the second inning, usually you’re in good shape. Unfortunately for Gov. Mifflin, Manheim Township could turn to Fisher Druck. The PSU-Harrisburg commit tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless relief as the fourth-seeded Blue Streaks beat the top-seeded Mustangs 7-6 in the District 3-6A semifinals. Ben Shenosky, who’s headed to Wake Forest, delivered a 2-out, RBI single to left in the top of the sixth to put the Lancaster-Lebanon League champs on top for good. Shenosky went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. He struck out nine and earned the win in the quarterfinals against Wilson with six strong innings. JT Weaver was on the mound for Manheim Township on Tuesday. He entered with a sparkling 1.33 ERA. The Shippensburg commit had held opponents to 21 hits over 42 frames with 63 strikeouts. The Mustangs, however, jumped on Weaver with three runs in the first inning. Xander Velez, an all-county selection, ripped an RBI double, and Matt Ventura followed with a 2-run single to right. The (21-4) Blue Streaks answered immediately with six runs, three earned, off of freshman Ethan Grim in the second inning. Weaver helped himself with an RBI single to center to make it 3-2. Ryan Flury, who’s going to Bloomsburg, drew a bases loaded walk to even the score. The senior catcher has seven home runs and a team-high 27 RBI this season. Shenosky’s 2-run single up the middle gave Manheim Township a 6-3 advantage. Gov. Mifflin responded well. The (20-3) Mustangs got three runs on just two hits in the bottom of the second. Mason Woolwine and Darien Troche provided RBI singles. Weaver gave up six runs on five hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. It was a rough afternoon for the senior right-hander who fired a complete game 3-hitter versus Ephrata for the L-L League title. Druck came to the rescue in Shillington. The 6’4, 205-pound righty struck out six, walked two, and held Gov. Mifflin to two hits. Druck got freshman Bryce Detwiler to ground into a 1-6-3 double play with two men on to end the sixth. Mustangs’ head coach Chris Hole told me that they didn’t attack Druck’s fastball early in the count. He said, “He was tough. He was probably close to 90 mph. Once you get behind against a kid that good, he’s going to be able to dominate you.” Woolwine and Velez each had a pair of hits. Hole mentioned that Woolwine has been a tremendous leader all year. He thought that Grim had his best velocity of the season and kept them in the game. The young right-hander allowed six runs, three earned, on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Grim walked four and hit two more. He came into the week with a 1.34 ERA. Junior Matt Novotny limited the Blue Streaks to one run and two hits the rest of the way. Seven different players had at least one hit for Manheim Township. Hole knows that teams from the L-L League are battle-tested. Two of the Blue Streaks’ four losses came against Warwick. Meanwhile, Gov. Mifflin was without its biggest bat in the lineup. UConn commit Tyler Minick missed his second straight game due to an injury. The junior shortstop was named the Berks County Player of the Year. Hole stressed to his ball club that they still have something to play for on Thursday. If the Mustangs can defeat #3 seed Cumberland Valley, they will qualify for the state playoffs. Velez is available to pitch that game which will be at Gov. Mifflin. Hole noted that he’s very confident in the junior righty. Manheim Township will take on Warwick in Thursday’s District 3-6A championship.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 19:48:00 +0000

The Gov. Mifflin baseball team certainly wasn’t hurting in the experience department last year. The Mustangs had 13 seniors on the roster. That number is down to three in 2022. Head coach Chris Hole is very pleased with how junior SS/P Tyler Minick has stepped up as a leader. The all-county selection and UConn commit hit .376 as a sophomore with 21 RBI and 12 extra base hits. Minick had a team-high 28 runs, 4 triples, and 20 stolen bases. He’s one reason why expectations are still high in Shillington. Connor Maryniak (Misericordia) and Matt Gehris (DeSales) combined for 134 innings a season ago. Maryniak (13-0, 1.13) set the school record with 147 strikeouts over 93 innings. The Berks Player of the Year won all three county playoff games. Hole told me what he expects his starting rotation will look like this year. Minick is healthy after being limited to 21.1 innings last season, and Xander Velez features a fastball near 90mph. Darien Troche will be the full-time catcher. He appeared in 17 games as a sophomore. Troche and Velez were honorable mention all-division picks. Speedy centerfielder Mason Woolwine is back for his senior campaign. Hole loves his competitive spirit. Woolwine hit .253 with 12 runs, 10 RBI, and 10 steals. Gov. Mifflin also has a promising freshman class. The Mustangs scrimmaged Warwick and Manheim Central; two very good ball clubs from the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Hole mentioned how valuable those opportunities were in preparation for Friday’s season opener against McCaskey. Gov. Mifflin earned its 14th Berks County championship last year. The (21-7, 10-2) Mustangs beat rival Wilson 5-4 in the county final before losing to the Bulldogs 11-0 in the District 3-6A championship. Gov. Mifflin lost a nailbiter in the first round of the state tournament. Emmaus snuck past the Mustangs 2-1 in 11 innings. Hole is (135-87) over nine seasons with the Mustangs. The 1995 Wilson graduate was named Berks County Coach of the Year in 2021. Hole is hoping that this year’s lineup will be more productive. We talked about the stiff competition in Division 1. Gov. Mifflin should be in a battle with Wilson and Exeter all season long.

Chris Hole-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 22:39:00 +0000

The Gov. Mifflin baseball team won 21 games, a Berks County championship, and reached the state playoffs. I caught up with head coach Chris Hole to recap an exciting season and talk about recent UCONN commit Tyler Minick. Hole has won 135 games over nine seasons with the Mustangs including three county titles. Hole thanked the 13 seniors on this year’s team, and explained why their program has produced so many talented players.