The hearty souls who braved a wind chill in the 30s at Wilson West Middle School to watch archrivals Wilson and Gov. Mifflin square off didn’t see what they might have expected.
They didn’t see a power display by the Mustangs’ Tyler Minick or the Bulldogs’ Rueben Livingston, the top two sluggers in the Berks Baseball League.
They didn’t see a pitching duel between Minick and Wilson’s Cole Leaman.
They didn’t see a taut game like the teams played in their first meeting.
The only remarkable thing about Wednesday’s game was that Mifflin remained undefeated with a 10-5 victory.
The Mustangs (8-0 Berks I, 15-0) extended their division lead to three games with four to play, using patience, timely hitting and a solid pitching start by Minick.
“They’re well-coached,” Wilson coach Sal Raccuglia said. “They have athletes and baseball players on that team. It’s a nice mix. Their pitchers do the job on the mound; their fielders do the job in the field; and their hitters do the job at the plate.
“They don’t make many mistakes. They don’t give you an inch. They make you play your best game to beat them. Today we didn’t do that.”
The Bulldogs (4-3, 5-7) walked 14 batters and committed three errors, which led to five unearned runs.
“We did what we needed to do today,” Mustangs coach Chris Hole said. “That was not necessarily hitting the ball, but being patient with our at bats and drawing some walks.”
Minick threw five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, striking out six and walking two.
Mifflin only had six hits, two apiece by junior Xander Velez and freshman Bryce Detwiler. Velez was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI and scored two runs; Detwiler was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs and scored once; Darien Troche drove in two runs without a hit; and Mason Woolwine scored three runs.
“After the first inning, we saw they were wild and all over the place,” Velez said. “We waited for a first-pitch strike and then decided to hit the ball.”
The Mustangs scored two unearned runs in the first inning before breaking it open with five runs in the fifth on singles by Woolwine and Velez and six walks.
Leaman, Wilson’s No. 1 starter, pitched into the fifth inning after a rocky first. He allowed five runs on five hits, walked two and struck out four.
“We struggled to play defense behind him,” Raccuglia said. “We made too many mistakes. When you make mistakes against a team like that, they make you pay for it.”
Rafael Fernandez and Tommy Hunsicker each went 2-for-4 for Wilson, which didn’t score after putting a runner on third and no outs in the first. The Bulldogs scored one run in the third on Fernandez’s single, but couldn’t add more after putting runners on first and second with one out.
The Mustangs are the only undefeated team remaining in District 3 and ranked No. 1 in the Class 6A power ratings.
“We have great team chemistry,” Velez said. “We all play together well. We’re all hitting the ball well, which has been a big key.”
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment