Travis Jenkins-Gov. Mifflin

Survive and advance. That’s what playing in the state tournament is all about. There is no consolation bracket. There aren’t any third and fifth place games. It’s win or go home. Gov. Mifflin overcame some pitching issues and beat Perkiomen Valley 6-1 in the first round of the PIAA-6A playoffs. The District 3 champions jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning. After an error and a walk, Travis Jenkins ripped a two-run double to right-center. The Canisius commit and All-State catcher said it’s important to strike first in the postseason. “You don’t want to feel like you’re playing from behind at all. You know teams are gonna be tough, teams are gonna battle. You can’t take an out off,” he replied. Jenkins went 3-for-4 on Monday afternoon in Shillington. The senior catcher was a home run shy of the cycle. Matt Koehler made it 3-0 with a RBI groundout to shortstop. Billy Angstadt knocked in another run with a single to center. Mikey Strechay needed 39 pitches to get through the opening frame. The senior righty entered the day with a (5-2) record and 1.35 ERA. The Vikings finished sixth in the District 1 tournament after winning the PAC title. Strechay allowed six runs, four earned, on six hits over just 1.1 innings against the (26-1) Mustangs. Bryce Detwiler started the bottom of the 2nd with a triple to right-center. The UConn commit scored on a groundout by Branson Adams. Jenkins then hammered a triple to right field which ended Strechay’s outing. Nick Cress took over on the hill for the (17-9) Vikings. Ethan Grim hit a hard ground ball to Liam McNeill at third base. His throw to home plate hit courtesy runner Nick Montgomery in the back. Gov. Mifflin had quickly built a 6-0 cushion. Grim (8-0) felt some tightness in his arm which prompted head coach Chris Hole to turn to Evan Glucksnis. Grim, who’s headed to Virginia Tech, gave up one hit and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Glucksnis went 1.2 innings before he was also taken out due to arm tightness. Hole expects both pitchers to be fine moving forward. Glucksnis was given credit for the win after not permitting a run. The junior got a pair of strikeouts and limited Perkiomen Valley to one hit. Aden Reiter entered with runners on first and second and two outs in the 4th. The 5’5 junior got Chris Allen to ground out to third to end the threat. Reiter had only pitched a few innings all season. “Aden came in and shut the door. We knew he could pitch, but we never knew it would be in this spot…We needed people to step up in roles and they obviously did,” noted Jenkins. Reiter provided 2.1 innings of relief. He limited the Vikings to one run on two hits. They got on the scoreboard in the 5th thanks to a RBI single down the third base line by Washington College commit Andrew Keenan. He came into the week with a .361 batting average, seven doubles, and three homers. Perkiomen Valley left two runners on base in the 5th. RJ Weaver was called upon in the 7th for the Mustangs. The junior gave up one hit and a walk before sealing the deal. Aidan Autovino, a Mount St. Mary’s commit, had three of the Vikings’ five hits. They committed two errors. Gov. Mifflin racked up ten hits. Eight different Mustangs had at least one hit. They will meet District 11 runner-up Liberty in the state quarterfinals on Thursday. Gov. Mifflin won the PIAA-5A title last year. The Mustangs have claimed BCIAA and District 3 championships this spring. They’re still looking for more. “We all came back with the same mentality. We want to win all three [titles] this year,” stated Jenkins.