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Gov. Mifflin routs Brandywine Heights in Berks baseball quarterfinal

Gov. Mifflin jumped to an early lead against Brandywine Heights in the quarterfinals of the Berks Baseball League playoffs and never looked back in winning 12-0 in five innings Thursday at Owls Field in West Lawn.

The top-seeded Mustangs scored eight runs in the first, and got a strong game from starting pitcher Ethan Grim, who allowed one hit, didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven in four innings.

Mifflin (16-4) will take on fifth-seeded Fleetwood (13-7) in the semifinals Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium in the second game of a doubleheader that starts at 9 a.m. Wilson will take on Muhlenberg in the first game.

The Mustangs defeated the Tigers 12-0 in the regular season.

“Ethan was fresh,” Mustangs coach Chris Hole said of Grim. “We have a lot of confidence in him. He’s a big-game pitcher and we had confidence that he would pound the zone today and he did. When he gets in the zone, he’s very tough. Today he kept the ball down and challenged the guys. He elevated the fastball with two strikes when he needed to to get some strikeouts. He just did a great job.”

In the first, Tyler Minick, a senior and UConn commit, hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run to make it 8-0.

Gov. Mifflin's Tyler Minick scores on a 3-run, inside-the-park home run in the first inning as Brandywine Heights catcher Grant Parks gets the throw Thursday in West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH - READING EAGLE)
Gov. Mifflin’s Tyler Minick scores on a 3-run, inside-the-park home run in the first inning as Brandywine Heights catcher Grant Parks gets the throw Thursday in West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

The deep drive to center went over the head of Jaeger Smeltz and Minick used his exceptional speed to hustle around the bases. Minick finished 1-for-2 with three RBIs.

“Man can he fly; it’s fun watching him run,” Hole said. “The three-RBI double by (Travis) Jenkins was huge when he went to center field and then the dagger was Minick.”

That dagger was the culmination of a huge first inning for Gov. Mifflin. Jenkins had the bases-clearing double to open the scoring. A walk followed by a double by Grim scored two more to make it 5-0.

“After the way we ended our season last year, especially in the county (a 6-1 quarterfinal loss to Oley Valley), Ethan struggled a little bit,” Minick said. “But a year older, with more confidence, I told him, ‘Dude, you’re one of the best pitchers in the county, go out and act like it.’ He definitely did today.”

Starter Nate Fronheiser allowed 11 hits for the eighth-seeded Bullets (11-7).

Minick said the Mustangs were able to get on top of Fronheiser’s fastball after preparing for Brandywine Heights’ pitching repertoire.

Brandywine Heights' Nathan Fronheiser pitches against Gov. Mifflin in the first inning Thursday in West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH - READING EAGLE)
Brandywine Heights’ Nate Fronheiser pitches against Gov. Mifflin in the first inning Thursday in West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

“We had an approach all week before this game,” Minick said. “We thought we were gonna see (Carson) Renner, so we were working the fastball all week. Nate came out, he did his best, and we were just all over his fastball.”

The Bullets’ lone hits came from Smeltz and Keene Showalter, who each singled.

The Mustangs added a run in the second on an RBI single from Jonathan Radwanski. In the third, Darien Troche had two-run double and Alexander Velez an RBI single.

Velez and Radwanski each had two hits.

Matt Novotny allowed one hit and struck out two to close it out in the fifth inning for Mifflin.

“We were hoping to keep the score low early in the game and they came out swinging,” Brandywine coach Ron Schaeffer Jr. said. “They’re a very good team and you gotta tip your cap to them. They came out ready to go.

“We’re focusing on districts now. Today is over and done with, and now we have to get ready for districts in two weeks.”

The Bullets are fifth in the District 3 power ratings in Class 3A, and the top six qualify. The opening round is Monday, May 22.

Heading into Saturday’s semifinal, Minick and the Mustangs are taking a one-game-at-a-time mentality.

“That’s a great win but we have to stay focused and get ready for the next one,” Minick said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster, but they’re (Fleetwood) a solid opponent so we got to come out and swing the bats the same way.”

Gov. Mifflin's Tyler Minick beats the force-out throw to second in what would start an 8-run first inning against Brandywine Heights Thursday in West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH - READING EAGLE)
Gov. Mifflin’s Tyler Minick beats the force-out throw to second in what would start an 8-run first inning against Brandywine Heights Thursday in West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)


Source: Berkshire mont

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