Lynx – Berks Sports Report

Chase Kegerise-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 16:30:30 +0000

Trying to predict the Berks Baseball League this year has been as difficult as trying to keep the fields dry. Oley Valley entered the weekend with four losses in its first six contests. The starting pitcher for the Lynx, Chase Kegerise, hadn’t been on the mound in two and a-half weeks due to a leg injury. Meanwhile, Berks Catholic was (5-1) and unbeaten in its first three league games. The Saints sent Parker Nein to the hill on Saturday afternoon. The Penn State Harrisburg commit was (2-0) with a sparkling 0.62 ERA. Oley Valley put three runs on the board in the first inning and cruised to a 7-1 victory. The Lynx and Saints are now tied atop the Division 3 standings. “This game was the most important game of the season. They’re a really good baseball team. We needed this win,” said Kegerise. The sophomore lefty allowed one run on six hits over 5.1 innings. Kegerise, an all-division pick last year, relied on his fastball while throwing 90 pitches. He struck out three and only issued one walk. Kegerise noted, “Just getting outs is what it’s all about.” Senior shortstop Paul Petersen took over with two runners on and one out in the bottom of the 6th inning. The All-County selection gave up just one hit in 1.2 innings of relief. Petersen did damage at the plate with a RBI double to right-center in the first frame. “It’s amazing. He’s a really good pitcher, really good teammate. I love him,” said Kegerise. Nate Firek added a RBI single and Kegerise followed with a sacrifice fly to left in the 1st inning. Oley Valley tacked on two more runs in the 2nd on a single by Gryffin Cappellano. The second run scored when the ball was mishandled in left field. Nein was charged with seven runs, six earned, on five hits over 2.1 innings. The senior walked three and hit a batter. Junior Brock Shrawder walked Colin Remmel and sophomore Tim Fries with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning to make it 7-1. The Lynx drew seven walks and finished with eight hits. Petersen and Cappellano combined for four hits. They each scored one run and drove in another. Cappellano, a sophomore catcher, was on base four times. Petersen is batting .458 this season. Dillon Walls had three of Berks Catholic’s seven hits. The sophomore second baseman ripped a leadoff double and scored on Aidan Curley’s single to center. Curley was then thrown out at home on an attempted double steal. The (5-2, 3-1) Saints were limited to four hits after the 1st inning. Mikey Fidler tossed four scoreless innings for Berks Catholic. The junior gave up three hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Oley Valley won the Division 3 title and reached the District 3-3A semifinals a season ago. After a slow start, they’re looking to get back on track. “Hopefully, this turns our season around,” stated Kegerise.

Chad Walters-Oley Valley Basketball

Paul Roberts — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:32:00 +0000

Chad Walters was approved tonight as the new boys basketball head coach at Oley Valley. He takes over for Matt Barrell who stepped down after a decade with the Lynx. Walters is an Oley Valley graduate who spent last season as an assistant under Brian Wrobel at Gov. Mifflin.

Walters has experience as both a girls and boys basketball head coach in Berks County. He coached the Fleetwood girls basketball team from 2004-08. His next stop was Birdsboro where he served as the girls basketball coach at Daniel Boone from 2009-12. Walters moved on to Twin Valley where he was the boys basketball coach from 2016-22.

The (19-7, 11-1) Lynx won the Division 4 championship last season. They lost to second-seeded Exeter 68-35 in the BCIAA quarterfinals. Oley Valley earned the #3 seed in the District 3-3A playoffs. The Lynx fell at second-seeded Trinity 78-51 in the semifinals. Columbia defeated Oley Valley 69-57 in the third place game with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

The Lynx lost five key players to graduation. Jaden Kelly, Keith Neal, Chase Rubendall, Chase Reifsnyder, and Ethan Gallardo were part of the senior class. Kelly and Neal were all-division selections. Sharpshooter Ben DeBalko returns along with 6’4 senior David Turchi. DeBalko averaged a team-high 11 points as a sophomore while knocking down 65 treys.

Brad Auge-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Tue, 23 May 2023 00:32:00 +0000

Postseason baseball is about limiting your mistakes and capitalizing on your opponent’s miscues. #4 seed Oley Valley took advantage of five early errors by #5 Brandywine Heights in an 8-2 victory in the District 3-3A quarterfinals. Paul Petersen held the (12-8) Bullets to two runs on six hits over six innings. The All-County selection struck out six and walked two. “He did an amazing job…hit all of his spots,” said junior catcher Brad Auge. The (14-8) Lynx finished with a dozen hits and only one error. They’ve won six of their last seven games. Brandywine Heights lost to Oley Valley 3-2 on May 5th. East Stroudsburg commit Carson Renner got the start on Monday afternoon. His brother, Chase, is a pitcher at Penn State. Carson Renner was unable to handle a throw back from the catcher in the bottom of the 1st inning. Chase Reifsnyder scored as the ball rolled away from the mound. Reifsnyder had reached on an error. Freshman Gryffin Cappellano raced home on a wild pitch to put the Lynx on top 2-1. The Bullets committed three errors in the first frame. Oley Valley tacked on three runs in the 3rd inning. Nate Firek put down a sacrifice bunt with two runners on. Second baseman Connor Frisch dropped the throw to first base and Sean Hoffman scored. Tyler Drobek’s RBI single made it 4-1. Drobek went 3-for-4 out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup. A ground out by Reifsnyder gave the Lynx a 5-1 advantage. Renner, who entered with a 1.75 ERA, lasted 4.1 innings. The senior right-hander was charged with five runs on six hits and four walks. He also hit three batters. Aidan Hall struggled in the 6th inning. The tall righty allowed three runs. Colin Remmel knocked in a run with a single through the left side. Auge doubled to right-center field for a 7-2 lead. Reifsnyder followed with a RBI single down the left field line. Reifsnyder, Auge, and Firek had two hits apiece. Freshman southpaw Chase Kegerise tossed a scoreless 7th inning for Oley Valley. Head coach Jeff Pinder only has two seniors on his roster. Auge noted that their team gets along very well. “The chemistry is really, really good. There’s a lot of good connections,” he replied. Meanwhile, the eleven seniors on Brandywine Heights’ squad saw their careers come to an end. All-County pick Joe Crist ripped a pair of doubles and scored on a wild pitch by Petersen in the opening inning. Junior Nate Fronheiser was 2-for-3. The Bullets had seven hits. They qualified for the BCIAA and District 3 tournaments after missing out on both a season ago. The Lynx get back to work on Thursday in the District 3-3A semifinals. They visit top-seeded Camp Hill at 4:30pm. “It feels great, can’t wait for [the] next game,” stated Auge.

Paul Petersen-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Thu, 04 May 2023 11:49:00 +0000

There was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel at Berks Catholic on a chilly Wednesday afternoon. No runs crossed the plate through five innings. Junior shortstop Paul Petersen ripped a 2-run double down the left field line in the 6th and the Lynx went on to win 5-2. “I was just trying to get the run in, do whatever I could to put us up. Obviously, it worked out a little bit better than that,” said Petersen. The (11-7, 9-2) Lynx clinched the Division 3 championship. They’ve won four of their last five games. Lefty Chase Kegerise tossed a five-hitter with six strikeouts and one walk. The freshman threw 92 pitches, 61 of them for strikes. “He’s gonna feel great moving forward. That’s probably one of the biggest games we’ve played this season. He threw great,” remarked Petersen. Tyler Drobek, one of only two seniors on the roster, hit a leadoff single in the top of the 6th inning. Chase Reifsnyder followed with a sacrifice bunt that Trey Stricker threw over Parker Nein’s head at first base. That set the stage for Petersen who was an all-division pick last year. He’s hitting .397 this season with a team-high 20 RBI. Kegerise helped himself with a RBI single to center field that gave Oley Valley a 3-0 edge. He has a .377 batting average. Gryffin Cappellano, another freshman, and Reifsnyder had two hits apiece. Reifsnyder leads the Lynx with a .440 average and 22 runs. The (13-6, 6-5) Saints got a pair of runs in the bottom of the 6th. Nein provided a RBI groundout to second and sophomore catcher Denny Rodriguez slapped a RBI single to right field. Oley Valley responded with two insurance runs in the 7th. Cappellano’s two-out RBI double made it 4-2. Matt Sterner replaced Stricker on the mound and allowed a RBI single to left by Sean Hoffman. Stricker used a good curveball to keep the Lynx off-balance for most of the day. The sophomore was charged with five runs, three earned, on eight hits. He struck out two and walked two. Seven players had at least one hit for Oley Valley. Freshman third baseman Aidan Curley went 2-for-3 for Berks Catholic. The Saints started four sophomores and two freshmen. They’re part of a three-way tie for second place in Division 3 with Hamburg and Wyomissing. Only one league game remains for each team. Meanwhile, the Lynx are guaranteed a spot in the county playoffs. “Berks playoffs are one of the biggest things for us. Nobody ever really thinks we have a chance. We’re a smaller school, but it’s what we work for,” stated Petersen. He explained why Giancarlo Stanton is his favorite MLB player. Petersen also had fun talking about his favorite rapper and postgame meal.

Tyler Drobek-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 00:11:00 +0000

Tyler Drobek has a simple philosophy to hitting ninth in the batting order. “You get on any way you can. You help the team every way you can,” he said. The Oley Valley senior helped the Lynx a lot in an 8-6 victory over Kutztown. The left fielder went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI on a windy Wednesday afternoon. Oley Valley scored three runs in the bottom of the 2nd. Drobek drove in a run with a single that put the Lynx on top 2-1. Chase Reifsnyder made it 3-1 with the fifth single of the inning. “Chase is awesome in the leadoff spot. He’s so fast. He steals like every base and it’s almost always a run,” remarked Drobek. Sophomore Colten Mathias replaced freshman Chris Bergstrom on the mound after just two frames. The Cougars came alive in the 5th with four runs. Matt Remick and Bryce Schafer provided RBI singles off Paul Petersen. All-division catcher Nick Hugo followed with a 2-run single to right that gave Kutztown a 5-4 edge. Oley Valley responded immediately with four runs in the bottom of the 5th. Catcher Bradley Auge was his in the helmet with the bases loaded to force in the tying run. Drobek then came through with a 2-run single to right field. The (7-5, 5-0) Lynx tacked on an unearned run to go up 8-5. The (8-4, 3-2) Cougars committed four errors that led to three unearned runs. Dalton Furst, another all-division selection from a season ago, launched a solo homer to right in the top of the 7th. Freshman Gryffin Cappellano got the final out after Petersen reached the pitch limit. Petersen allowed six runs on ten hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Mathias took the loss. He gave up five runs, two earned, on four hits over three innings. Drobek, Reifsnyder, and Colin Remmel finished with two hits apiece. Oley Valley is alone atop Division 3 of the Berks League. Berks Catholic, Wyomissing, and Hamburg are in pursuit. The Lynx entered Wednesday #5 in the District 3-3A power rankings. The top six clubs in that classification will qualify for the playoffs. “This game is big for us. It helps us get in District’s and County’s,” replied Drobek. Oley Valley reached the BCIAA championship game and the District 3 semifinals last year. Kutztown collected ten hits, but fell out of a first place tie with Brandywine Heights in Division 4. The Cougars have an experienced team and a veteran head coach. Tim Mertz is in his 23rd season at the helm. His 339 wins are the most in school history. Meanwhile, Drobek is one of just two senior starters for Lynx skipper Jeff Pinder. Drobek talked about his favorite movie and TV shows. He also discussed his favorite high school teachers. He’s hoping that Oley Valley can make another deep run in the postseason.

Ben DeBalko-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 23:06:00 +0000

Ben DeBalko worked on his jumper all summer with assistant coach Dan Korejwo. DeBalko tried to take 1,000 shots three or four days a week. His hard work has paid off during his sophomore campaign. The 6’ guard splashed back-to-back 3-pointers from the left corner to give Oley Valley a 50-44 advantage over Brandywine Heights with five minutes remaining. “It’s a great feeling just to hear the crowd erupt after hitting those [shots]. That’s my spot in the corner. Once I released it, I knew they were going in,” said DeBalko. The third-seeded Lynx pulled away late for a 67-53 victory in the District 3-3A quarterfinals. Oley beat the (11-12) Bullets twice in the regular season, but their most recent meeting went to overtime. “They’re a great team. They’re scrappy, they’re tough. I was a little nervous coming out of halftime,” admitted DeBalko. The (19-5) Lynx raced out to a 9-1 lead. They were in front 14-5 after eight minutes. Brandywine Heights responded with a 13-2 run to start the second quarter. Scotty Ray came off the bench and connected twice from long distance. He’s one of four freshmen that got playing time for the sixth-seeded Bullets. They lost eight of their top nine players from a season ago to graduation. Head coach Dave Moseley started two freshmen and two sophomores on Monday night. They were even at 25 at halftime. Oley rattled off nine of the first eleven points in the third period. However, Brandywine Heights responded again and tied it up at 44 early in the fourth quarter. DeBalko scored eight of his 14 points in the final period. The Lynx went 9-of-11 from the free throw line down the stretch. They ended the game with a 23-9 run. Oley outscored Brandywine Heights 29-18 over the last eight minutes. David Turchi, a 6’4 junior, provided 14 points in a balanced attack. Senior guards Chase Rubendall (12) and Jaden Kelly (11) combined for 23 points. DeBalko gave credit to Rubendall, Kelly, and Keith Neal. “They’re great at giving advice. I know we can go to them down the stretch. It’s great to have those senior leaders,” he replied. Johnny Turchi, David’s twin brother, chipped in with nine points off the bench. The Bullets were led by sophomore Jayden Kantner. The all-division guard finished with 14 points. Freshman Nate Winkler added nine. Each team hit six triples. Brandywine Heights was 7-13 from the charity stripe. Their season ends, while the Lynx advance to the semifinals. They’ll travel to #2 seed Trinity on Thursday at 7pm. Oley moved down from Class 4A to 3A this year. The Lynx have won 12 of their last 13 contests. DeBalko leads the Berks Conference with 61 treys. When he’s not working on his shot, he enjoys reading books. We also discussed his favorite food, movie, and teachers.

Luke Macdonald-Oley Valley

Paul Roberts — Wed, 18 May 2022 00:14:00 +0000

After Garet Blankenbiller graduated and moved on to play at Millersville University, many were wondering who would become the ace of Oley Valley’s pitching staff. The 6’5 right-hander threw a 2-hitter in the District 3-3A championship game against Trinity. Blankenbiller led the Lynx to 21 wins and an appearance in the Class 3A state final last year. Oley Valley found a new pitcher to lead the rotation in senior Luke Macdonald. He stepped up again in the Berks County semifinals on Tuesday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The eighth-seeded Lynx held off fifth-seeded Wilson 8-6. They’re going to the BCIAA final for the first time since 2013. Macdonald escaped two difficult situations. He took over for sophomore Paul Petersen with two runners on and one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. Macdonald got pinch-hitter Christo Hunsicker to ground out to third with men on second and third to end the inning. Macdonald then induced a grounder to second by Nick Ruiz with the bases loaded to end Wilson’s comeback attempt in the seventh. In 38 innings, Macdonald has allowed just two earned runs and 18 hits. He fired a complete game 6-hitter in the quarterfinals versus top-seeded Gov. Mifflin. Macdonald told me that his mental approach to pitching is his biggest attribute. He said, “I don’t overpower people. I don’t throw hard. I don’t really do anything super special.” Macdonald has confused opponents all season by utilizing his curveball in fastball counts. He gave Peterson a lot of credit for the semifinal victory. The sophomore gave up six runs, three earned, on four hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out five and walked two. The (9-10) Bulldogs were limited to five hits. All of their runs came in the second inning when the Lynx committed two of their three errors. Nick Crocona provided an RBI single to left. Wilson got a pair of sacrifice flies from Trevor Bilodeau and Evan Gabaldon. The next two runs came via wild pitches by Petersen. Oley Valley went back on top with four runs on four hits off of Owen Geng in the sixth frame. Joey Vaccaro stroked an RBI single to right field. Chase Reifsnyder tied it with a sacrifice fly to right. A wild pitch gave the Lynx a 7-6 advantage. Macdonald’s fielder’s choice to second made it 8-6 when the throw home was late. The senior hurler got out of jams in the last two innings to seal it. The (13-7) Lynx have won nine of their last eleven contests. Macdonald stressed that they’re no longer playing selfish baseball and that has made a huge difference. I asked him about being a #8 seed and facing much larger schools in the county playoffs. He responded, “We fight. These guys are my brothers and I love them.” Andrew McMullen, Tyler Drobek, and Vaccaro each had two hits. Sophomore Bradley Auge hit a 2-run single to put Oley Valley up 3-0 in the second. Matt VanOstenbridge allowed four runs on five hits in four innings. The sophomore lefty had seven strikeouts and six walks. He entered Tuesday with 42K and only 4ER over 27.1 innings. The Bulldogs have dropped seven games by two runs or less this year. They made three errors against the Lynx. Wilson battles Boyertown on Wednesday in a non-league matchup. The Bulldogs are trying to qualify for the District 3-6A tournament. The top twelve teams get in and Wilson is currently #13 in the power ratings. Macdonald, who has a 4.2 GPA, talked about his favorite teacher and class at Oley Valley. The Lynx advanced to Wednesday’s county final at FirstEnergy Stadium. They’ll take on second-seeded Muhlenberg at 6pm.