Exeter wasn’t having much fun through the first six innings. RJ Weaver held the (11-4, 7-3) Eagles to two hits through six frames. The Juniata commit racked up ten strikeouts with no walks over 6.2 innings. Matt Woram opened the bottom of the seventh with a single. Weaver got a fly out and a strikeout to move within one out of a complete game victory. Mason Goodhart, the opposing pitcher, hit a RBI single to right field to get Exeter on the scoreboard. Xavier Jacobs followed with a fly ball to left-center that should have been caught, however, center fielder Ryan Lehman struggled to see the ball in the sun. Left fielder Cam Zurawski drifted into the gap, but wasn’t able to make the catch. The ball dropped right next to Zurawski and Jacobs’ double made it 3-2. Justin Freese, who’s in his 31st season as head coach, decided to send freshman Brayden Downes to the plate. Downes only had four at-bats in the Eagles’ first 14 games. His RBI single to right tied it at 3-3. “It was beautiful. He always steps up when he gets the opportunity,” noted Franek. Downes is 3-for-5 this year. Owen Miller took over for Weaver on the mound. He got the dangerous Jake Hafer to hit a grounder to shortstop, but the ball rolled under Aden Reiter’s glove for an error. That brought up Franek who provided his first walkoff hit since his freshman season. Franek, who also plays football, is batting .354 this spring with 15 runs.

Hafer, an East Stroudsburg commit, went 2-for-4. He leads the team with a lofty .519 batting average. Goodhart entered the day with a 6.74 ERA. The senior righty went the distance and limited the (7-9, 4-5) Mustangs to three runs, one earned, on six hits. Goodhart finished with five strikeouts and one walk. “Mason did very well. He kept throwing strikes,” said Franek. Nick Montgomery, a senior catcher, was 2-for-3 for Gov. Mifflin.

Both teams were scoreless after four innings. Third baseman Brenton Feathers committed an error on Lehman’s bunt to begin the fifth inning. Zurawski, a left-handed hitter who’s headed to Lebanon Valley College, followed with a two-run homer to the opposite field. Reiter ripped a two-out double to right-center. He scored on Montgomery’s single through the left side for a 3-0 advantage. Joe Murray hammered a triple to center field in the top of the seventh. He tried to score on a wild pitch, but was thrown out at the plate.

The Mustangs have lost four of their last five games. The defending Berks County and District 3-6A champions have dropped to 17th in the District 3 power rankings. The top 14 teams will qualify for the tournament in Class 6A. Gov. Mifflin sits in fourth place in Division 1 of the BCIAA standings. Meanwhile, Exeter remains a-half game ahead of Muhlenberg for second place in Division 1. Wilson is in first place with a perfect (9-0) league record. The county playoffs begin on May 7th.