LANCASTER – Berks Catholic right-hander Mikey Fidler delivered his best performance on the biggest stage.
Fidler threw a one-hit shutout Monday at Penn Medicine Field to lead Berks Catholic to an 8-0 victory over Bermudian Springs in the District 3 Class 3A baseball championship game.
Fidler limited the top-seeded Eagles to a sixth-inning single by Ayden Knight. Bermudian (19-2) didn’t had a runner reach second base as third-seeded Berks Catholic (18-7) won its first District 3 title since 2018 and third overall.
“We were hoping to get a good start out of him, then we expected we’d have to go to some other guys,” said Berks Catholic coach Brandon Shurr. “But he was so good today that we didn’t have to go to any other guys. He did a great job.”
Facing a high-scoring Bermudian Springs team that piled up 12 runs in a semifinal win over Wyomissing, Fidler said he entered the game with a simple strategy.
“I just had to come in and pound the zone and my defense would back me up,” said Fidler, the Saints’ No. 2 starter. “We just had to stay in the game defensively, and that’s what we did.”
The Saints also received timely hitting from Owen Schalk and Denny Rodriguez, who each drove in three runs. Schalk had a two-run single in the third inning when Berks Catholic took a 3-0 lead. Rodriguez hit a booming RBI double in the fifth and capped his three-RBI day with a two-run single in a four-run seventh inning.
Rodriguez, the catcher, was more impressed by Fidler, who walked one, struck out four and faced just one more than the minimum of 21 batters.
“Mikey’s game today was one of his best games,” Rodriguez said. “He was locating everything I was calling. He knew that we needed the best outing he could give us. I asked him to give me his all, and he gave me his all. You can’t ask for much more.”
But Fidler did provide more both at the plate and with his defense. Fidler went 2-for-3, drew a bases-loaded walk that brought in the game’s first run, stole a base and scored two runs.
After Fidler walked the leadoff hitter to start the bottom of the third, he erased that runner by starting a double play on a ball hit back to the mound.
The only thing Fidler didn’t get was the no-hitter. That was spoiled when Knight led off the sixth inning by poking a ball past the second baseman into right field.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it until I went out and looked up at the scoreboard and saw I had a no-hitter,” Fidler said. “I had a feeling something was going to happen after that. It didn’t affect me at all. I just went right back to hit my spots.”
Fidler retired the last six Bermudian batters. He got the final out on a ground ball to first baseman Cole Harter, who stepped on the bag and raced to the pitcher’s mound to bury Fidler at the bottom of the celebratory dog pile.
“We wanted this so bad and we got it,” Fidler said.
Berks Catholic opens play Monday, June 2 in the PIAA Class 3A tournament against the District 4 runner-up.
District 3 3A championship
Berks Catholic 003 010 4 – 8 10 0
Bermudian Springs 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
W: Mikey Fidler. L: Skyler Gentzler. 2B: Denny Rodriguez (BC).
Brian Rippey is a freelance writer
Source: Berkshire mont
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