After almost week off following their victory over Berks Catholic in the 2025 Berks County title game, the Mustangs picked up where they left off.
On Monday, top-seeded Gov. Mifflin defeated eighth-seeded Northeastern 5-1 at Rulon Griffith Field in the District 3 Class 6A quarterfinals.
Early Monday morning, three Mustangs received All-Berks honors: Ethan Grim, Travis Jenkins, and Bryce Detwiler, who was also named Player of the Year.
“Great honor with a ton of great players in the county,” Grim said of his second consecutive All-Berks selection.
Head coach Chris Hole was also named Coach of the Year, having led the Mustangs (22-1) through another successful season with bigger goals still ahead.
Grim took the mound for Gov. Mifflin, while Bryson Neri got the start for the Bobcats.
Northeastern (13-7) earned its first-ever district win in the first round with a 5-2 victory over Mechanicsburg.
Both pitchers were dealing in the early innings, until Neri stepped up to the plate against Grim in the top of the third.
The nine-hole hitter connected and launched a no-doubt line drive home run over the right field fence for the first hit and run of the game.
Grim racked up his third strikeout of the inning, and the Mustangs hoped it was finally their time to get their bats going.
However, it was a quick two up, two down as Neri recorded back-to-back strikeouts.
But that’s when Player of the Year, Detwiler, hit a hard ground ball through the middle for the Mustangs’ first hit of the game.
Branson Adams followed with another single, and then Jenkins was walked, loading the bases with two outs.
That’s when it was Grim’s turn to get his revenge on Neri.
With two strikes against him, Grim connected on the next pitch, driving it to left field and bringing in two runs to give the Mustangs the lead.
“Just put something in play. Because, I mean, with our field, anything could happen, bad hop, stuff like that. Two strikes, I just try to put bat to ball, and that happened,” Grim said of his approach at the plate.
Matt Koehler drove in another run before getting caught in a rundown to end the inning.
Grim finished his day after the fifth inning. He tallied five strikeouts, allowed three hits, and gave up one run from Neri’s home run.
“Curveball felt good. Slider was a little cutter-ish, so I could try to stay away from that. Fastball didn’t have the rot (rotation) I wanted it to,” Grim said of his performance on the mound. “So, I just battled and battled, even though I didn’t have my best stuff.”
The Virginia Tech commit had numerous scouts in attendance while on the mound, and he continues to make a strong impression throughout his senior season.
“Try to block it out,” Grim said of the scouts watching right behind the backstop. “The first couple starts of the season kind of got to me, but I blocked it out now. Just pitch my game and let the rest happen.”
In the bottom of the fifth, the Mustangs got their offense rolling again with the top of their lineup at the plate.
Detwiler and Adams both singled, followed by a Jenkins single that drove Detwiler across the plate for another run.
A throwing error allowed Adams to score as well, making it 5-1, Mustangs.
Neri’s day ended after allowing his eighth hit of the game, and Drew Barshinger took the mound for the remainder of the game.
Barshinger worked out of the inning with a lineout followed by two ground balls.
Evan Glucksnis took the mound for Mifflin, needing just six outs to secure the win.
After giving up a single in the top of the sixth, the Mustangs turned a double play, and Glucksnis went on to retire the next four batters he faced.
Detwiler and Adams each batted 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Mustangs advance to host No. 5 Ephrata on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Ephrata defeated No. 4 Wilson 6-4 in a comeback win, ending the chances at another exciting Berks County matchup.
Source: Berkshire mont
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