The seventh frame began with a soft line drive single down the third base line by freshman Blaise Rigg. The throw into second base got away and rolled past the right fielder allowing Rigg to advance all the way to third. That was the first in a series of miscues by the defending county champions. Rigg came home on a wild pitch to make it 7-3. After Nate Lord walked, Evan Glucksnis was replaced on the mound by senior righty Owen Miller. Glucksnis allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits. The Gettysburg commit finished with five strikeouts and five walks. He entered the contest with a 1.59 ERA.

Grant Moser was the first batter to face Miller. Moser missed Twin Valley’s first nine games due to an injury. He drew a walk before Miller struck out Jayce Oliver. Luke Raines then hit a ground ball to Jesse Angstadt at second who opted to flip the ball to shortstop Aden Reiter. The late toss was dropped which loaded the bases for Nate Sedgwick. He hit a grounder to shortstop and Reiter’s throw to first base was low. Two runs scored and suddenly the Raiders were within 7-5 with one out. Tyler Rhode followed with a ground ball to shortstop. This one went under Reiter’s glove for another error. The throw came home and catcher Nick Montgomery tried to get a runner at third base. However, his throw sailed into left field and a second run scored on the play. With the game even at 7-7, Brody Majeski flew out to center for the second out. Pinch-runner Cole Devine stole third base and Montgomery’s low throw went into left field, giving Twin Valley the go-ahead run.

Chase Reilly retired Gov. Mifflin in order in the bottom of the seventh. The junior right-hander was charged with two runs, both unearned, over two innings. Reilly struck out three and didn’t give up a hit. Kutztown commit Nate Lord allowed a dozen hits and five runs in five innings. The All-County selection from last season had five strikeouts and one walk. The Raiders won despite getting outhit 12-to-6. Lord and Rigg provided two hits apiece. The difference was in the field. Twin Valley committed two errors compared to eight for the Mustangs. Miller took the loss, but all four of the runs that he gave up were unearned. Angstadt and RJ Weaver each had three hits for Gov. Mifflin. Charlie Ainge went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs. The Mustangs lost eight starters and five All-State picks to graduation. They were (26-2) last spring and claimed their first District 3 title.

The Raiders grabbed a 2-0 edge with a couple of runs in the first inning. A RBI single to shallow right field by Raines was followed by a wild pitch which scored Oliver. He walked three times on Wednesday. Gov. Mifflin got one run back in the bottom of the frame with a two-out RBI single through the right side by Ainge. A two-out RBI double to center from Ryan Lehman tied it at 2-2 in the second inning. The Mustangs tacked on three runs with four hits in the fifth. Cam Zurawski ripped a RBI double down the first base line. Joe Murray brought in another run with a groundout. A bloop single to left by Weaver gave Gov. Mifflin a 5-2 cushion. The Mustangs extended their advantage to 7-2 in the sixth. They added two runs without a hit. An error and a walk got things going. Ainge then hit a grounder to first base, but the throw home was late. Angstadt delivered a RBI groundout to second as Gov. Mifflin played small ball.

Twin Valley had gone scoreless for five straight innings before things got crazy in the seventh. The Raiders are without talented junior Nate DiRocco. He’s out for the season with a knee injury. Oliver still likes the talent on his roster. “We have not played even baseball at all this entire year due to injuries and other things, but we’ve got the guys. Hopefully, this kind of propels us into next week,” he replied.

The Bulldogs beat Reading 8-2. Jack Gabel fired six shutout innings with ten strikeouts. The West Chester commit limited the Red Knights to three hits. He also launched a solo homer. Pat Lengle was 2-for-2 with three runs.

Gov. Mifflin put up six runs in the sixth inning to top Fleetwood 9-5. Gettysburg commit Evan Glucksnis held the Tigers to two earned runs over six innings with eight strikeouts. Charlie Ainge was 3-for-3 with two stolen bases. He scored two runs and knocked in two more.

Twin Valley blew out Conrad Weiser 14-3. Brody Majeski gave up one earned run on four hits in six innings. He struck out ten and walked one. Jayce Oliver had two hits and three runs. He finished with 4 RBI.

Berks Catholic got a strong outing from Henry Pflomm in a 10-2 victory over Wyomissing. An in-depth story will be posted on our website.

Tim Fries tossed a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts as Oley Valley blanked Brandywine Heights 9-0. Fries took a perfect game into the seventh inning before he walked two batters. Vincenzo Fick piled up three hits and scored a couple of runs.

Hamburg doubled up Schuylkill Valley 4-2 on “Hawk Hill.” Isaak Stewart threw a complete game. He allowed one earned run on nine hits and a walk. Stewart helped his cause by going 3-for-4 and driving in a run.

Kutztown pounded out 19 hits in a 12-3 win at Antietam. Kaden Kerecz had a big afternoon. He was 5-for-5 with 3 RBI and two doubles.

Bell also got the job done on the mound with nine strikeouts over five innings. The 6’2, 185-pound southpaw allowed three runs on three hits and a pair of walks. He has 26 strikeouts in 15 frames this season. The highly touted lefty has limited opponents to five hits. “It’s once in a generation, you pray for a guy like that on your team. He is everything you ask for and he is as advertised,” emphasized Reeser. Bell throws five pitchers and he’s working on a cutter. His fastball is 90-92 mph. Baseball America ranks him as the #4 overall prospect in the 2028 class. The (2-3) Raiders managed four hits, but just one after the second inning. Jay Oliver, another first-year head coach, is short-handed due to injuries. Juniors Nate DiRocco and Grant Moser are both out of action.

Twin Valley struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Tyler Rhode, a junior catcher, ripped a two-run single up the middle. Cole Devine stole third base and came home on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. The (2-4) Blazers responded immediately and in a big way. Ryan Kriebel got things started by drawing a leadoff walk from Kutztown University commit Nate Lord. An error on a bunt by Josh Banas was followed by a wild pitch to get Daniel Boone on the scoreboard. After a walk to Jacob Hasara, the No. 9 hitter, Owen Howells singled to right field. The ball was misplayed in the outfield which allowed another run to score and tied the game at 3-3. Bell put Daniel Boone in front with a two-run homer to right. Brody Majeski then took over on the hill for the Raiders. Lord was charged with six runs, five earned, on two hits and three walks. The All-County selection from a season ago had four strikeouts in two innings. Majeski walked Chase Yenser and gave up a single to Maddox Roy. A wild pitch with two outs put Twin Valley in a 6-3 hole. Jace Michener’s sacrifice fly to right field gave the Blazers a 7-3 cushion.

Bell hammered a solo homer to right-center in the fourth inning. The lights went out in the top of the fifth which resulted in a delay of 13 minutes. However, it didn’t slow down Daniel Boone. The Blazers tacked on four runs in the fifth to make it 12-3. Freshman Devon Lopez provided a pinch-hit, two-run single up the middle. Howells knocked in another run with a single to center. Majeski gave up six runs, five earned, on seven hits in three innings. The junior righty struck out four and walked one. Sophomore Aidan Howells and Yenser each tossed a scoreless inning of relief for Daniel Boone. Yenser, who had three strikeouts in the seventh, is committed to Baylor for golf.

Bell, Kriebel, and Owen Howells finished with two hits apiece for the Blazers. They went (6-14) last spring, but returned seven starters. “I set the expectation back in October. You know (6-14), they can throw that out the window. With the talent we have on our team, we’re not gonna shy away from anything. We won’t fear anybody,” stated Reeser. The 2020 Gov. Mifflin graduate was the head coach at Tulpehocken a season ago. Reeser added, “The expectation is to get back into the postseason and make a deep run.”

The (8-7, 4-3) Red Knights trailed 15-12 after the opening period. Hailey Kilgore hit a triple to put the Raiders in front 20-16 midway through the second quarter. The Shippensburg commit ended up with 17 points, but made just two shots from the field. Kilgore was a stellar 11-for-11 from the free throw line. The 5’7 senior reached 1,000 career points last Friday in a loss to Wilson. The All-County selection is averaging 18 ppg. Twin Valley took a 26-22 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Kilgore connected from beyond the arc to begin the third quarter. Reading responded with a 11-to-3 run and took the lead when Beatty finished a fast break with four and a-half minutes remaining in the period. Kilgore sank a pair of foul shots with five seconds to go in the quarter to pull the (6-8, 4-2) Raiders within 41-40. Her sister, Olivia, provided a career-high 18 points. The 5’9 sophomore squeezed seven points into the fourth quarter. No one else had more than four points for Twin Valley.

The Red Knights have consistently used ten or eleven players this season. “We have the luxury of rotating kids in and out. When we get tired of pressing, we can put fresh legs in,” explained Suber. Beatty went 2-for-2 from the stripe to put Reading on top 49-47 with 2:23 on the clock. The Red Knights have struggled all season from the foul line. “We shoot free throws all the time in practice. I don’t know what is going on. Our coaches are not happy with that,” replied Beatty. Reading went 9-for-19 on Monday, while the Raiders were 16-of-19. Twin Valley committed a turnover with one minute left that resulted in a breakaway layup for Ortega. Hailey Kilgore then misfired on a NBA range 3-pointer with the Raiders trailing 52-48. Beatty was fouled with 27 seconds remaining and made her first foul shot. She missed her second attempt, however, JilliAnn Laws grabbed the offensive rebound and put it home for a 55-48 cushion. The 5’11 senior had six points on the night. Velez drilled two free throws with nine seconds to go for a 57-51 lead. The Red Knights outscored Twin Valley 35-to-27 in the second half. Reading turned the ball over 18 times, ten fewer than the Raiders.

Beatty comes from a very athletic family. Her brother, Xavier, won a gold medal in the PIAA-3A long jump last year. He also played basketball and football for the Red Knights. Their mother, Tanisha Giddens-Beatty, is a 1997 Reading graduate who scored 1,228 points in her career. “She helps me a lot. We talk after every game,” said Xiani.

The Red Knights had lost five of their previous seven games. They won their tenth Berks League Championship a season ago as a #4 seed. “This game was very important for us so we can get into our playoffs. We needed this win. We wanted this win,” stated Beatty.

Twin Valley and Exeter are the top two squads in Division 2 of the Berks League. Shippensburg commit Hailey Kilgore is providing 19 ppg. for the Raiders. Addison Harper, a sophomore for the Eagles, isn’t far behind at 17 ppg. Twin Valley is (3-0) in the league standings, but has dropped all six of its non-league matchups.

Schuylkill Valley hosts rival Hamburg in a key Division 3 battle on Tuesday. The Panthers have a nice one-two punch with Hannah West and Elyssa Sellers. West is contributing a team-high 13.6 ppg., while Sellers adds a dozen points a night.

Oley Valley has won seven of its first ten contests. The Lynx prevailed 29-26 in a defensive tilt against Kutztown in mid-December. Oley Valley has a one game edge over the Cougars in Division 4. The Lynx will be tested on Saturday when they host Twin Valley.

Let’s take a look at how the local teams are doing in the District III power rankings. As you can see, numerous Berks League members need to pick up the pace in order to qualify for the District III tournament. None of the schools in the Berks League fall into Class A or Class 2A.

Class 6A (16 teams qualify)

8. Wilson

16. Gov. Mifflin

18. Reading

29. Muhlenberg

Class 5A (14 teams qualify)

10. Exeter

17. Conrad Weiser

22. Twin Valley

25. Daniel Boone

Class 4A (8 teams qualify)

11. Berks Catholic

12. Schuylkill Valley

14. Hamburg

19. Wyomissing

20. Fleetwood

Class 3A (6 teams qualify)

4. Oley Valley

5. Kutztown

10. Tulpehocken

11. Brandywine Heights

12. Antietam

Class 6A:

Mike Glover-TE (Wilson)

Jaiden Carpenter-DB (Wilson)

Class 5A:

Leo Brown-RB (Exeter)

Joel Ummarino-OL (Exeter)

Jayden Ware-DB (Exeter)

Cam Small-RB (Muhlenberg)

Class 4A:

Drew Engle-RB (Twin Valley)

Greyson Miller-OL (Twin Valley)

Ben Grundy-Athlete (Twin Valley)

Lucas Myers-LB (Twin Valley)

Ryan Rementer-LB (Twin Valley)

Justice Hardy-DB (Wyomissing)

Class 3A:

Logan Cammauf-LB (Schuylkill Valley)

Faith Zudie-DL (Berks Catholic)

Twin Valley marched 83 yards on the opening series to take a 7-0 advantage over Aliquippa. Myers rumbled 37 yards for the first score of the night. The 6’1, 215-pound junior ended up with 49 yards on nine carries. The standout linebacker also contributed seven unassisted tackles. The Quips answered immediately with a 1-yard touchdown run by JJ Work. The senior broke off a 13-yard run on fourth-and-3 to keep the drive alive. Work went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season during that possession. The Raiders, however, blocked the extra point to maintain a 7-6 edge with 2:41 left in the first quarter. A 80-yard kickoff return by Drew Engle set up Twin Valley at Aliquippa’s 4-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, sophomore quarterback Maverik Foster kept the ball for a 1-yard touchdown with 41 seconds to go in the quarter. The District 3 champs were in front 14-6 after twelve minutes.

Ryan Rementer, a senior linebacker, picked off a pass by Marques Council and returned it 30 yards to the Quips’ 1-yard line with seven and a-half minutes to play before halftime. A 1-yard TD run by Myers made it 21-6. Rementer piled up a team-high eight solo tackles. With 1:04 left in the second quarter, Aliquippa blocked a 23-yard field goal attempt by Nate Shaffer. The Raiders got the ball right back though when Keenan Munn came up with another interception. The junior linebacker returned it to the Quips’ 10-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Myers scored as time expired and Twin Valley took a 28-6 lead into the locker room. The Raiders began four series inside Aliquippa’s 20-yard line. Twin Valley was in control despite having less than 100 total yards at the break.

Council, a Yale commit, bounced back in a big way during the third quarter. He launched a deep pass over the middle to Qa’lil Goode for a 48-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed. The five-time state champs then went 66 yards for another score. Council hit Antonio Reddic on a post for a 19-yard TD pass. Council’s throw on the two-point try was incomplete with 4:06 remaining in the quarter. The Raiders, who were on top 28-18, were forced to punt again on their next possession. Akiva Woods capped a 60-yard drive with a 39-yard touchdown run. The PAT was blocked, but the Quips had pulled within 28-24 with 36 seconds to go in the third period. Aliquippa, a program with 801 all-time wins, wasn’t going away quietly.

The 21-time WPIAL champions took over at their 30-yard line with 6:19 to play. On fourth-and-11, Council found Goode for a 25-yard completion. Council then hit Woods for a 20-yard gain with three minutes left. Council and Woods hooked up again for 27 yards with 2:14 remaining. The scrappy Quips had reached Twin Valley’s 11-yard line. Myers put a halt to their momentum by sacking Council with a minute to go back at the 25-yard line. On fourth-and-24 with 35 seconds on the clock, Munn broke up Council’s pass in the end zone to seal the victory.

Engle, who made six solo tackles, ran for 65 yards on 20 carries. The Army lacrosse commit surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards, a school record. The Raiders, ranked #1 in the state in Class 4A by PennLive, were limited to 113 total yards. Foster was 4-of-7 through the air for (-5) yards. Aliquippa’s defense lived up to the hype. The Quips were giving up just 12.8 ppg. coming into Friday’s state semifinal. While Twin Valley struggled offensively, the Raiders found a way to keep their historic season alive. The boys from the valley still have one more hill to climb to reach their ultimate goal.

Twin Valley limited perennial powerhouse Wyomissing to only six points in a highly anticipated Week 8 matchup at Bob Wolfrum Field. The Raiders prevailed 28-6 for their first win over the Spartans since 2009. The following week, Twin Valley held Lampeter-Strasburg to just seven points and 91 total yards. Second-seeded West York could only muster 14 points versus the Raiders in the District 3 semifinals. Rementer and Myers have been quite a one-two punch all season. They each have more than 110 tackles. Rementer was an honorable mention pick at linebacker in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League last year. “People say that it’s a very physical position and it is, but it’s not all about that. It’s really mental and I like having that challenge,” he explained. Rementer is also a standout in the classroom. He carries a 4.0 GPA.

The Raiders will face Aliquippa in the PIAA-4A semifinals on Friday at 7pm at Mifflin County High School. The (10-3) Quips are riding a 5-game winning streak. Two of their three losses came back in September when they fell to undefeated Avonworth and New Castle. Aliquippa features a stingy defense as well. The Quips are giving up 12.8 ppg. They got a 100-yard pick-6 from senior safety Qalil Goode in last week’s 28-6 victory over Oil City. Aliquippa knocked off McKeesport 21-12 for its record 21st WPIAL crown. This is familiar territory for the Quips. They’ve won five state titles, most recently in 2023. The program from north of Pittsburgh has 801 wins in its illustrious history.

Rementer knows that stopping the run will be a big key on Friday. “They’re very physical. We need to match and exceed that physicality…We’ve gone up against a lot of running teams that are also very physical so we’re very familiar with that,” he noted. Twin Valley loves to run the rock too. Drew Engle racked up 281 yards and 3 TD on 31 carries a week ago. The Army lacrosse commit has established school records with 3,971 career rushing yards and 60 career touchdowns. Engle broke his own single-season record with 1,855 rushing yards this year. The Raiders are ranked #1 in the state in Class 4A by PennLive. Aliquippa sits at #3 in this week’s poll. Although Twin Valley made history by capturing its first District 3 championship, the Raiders aren’t satisfied yet. “It feels great, but we’re gonna keep going one game at a time, one rep at a time, and one day at a time,” said Rementer.