Mavriks ride the momentum to impressive run in Berks playoffs
In between last Monday night’s Berks County American Legion Championship games, West Lawn underwent a wardrobe change.
The host Owls swapped their black jerseys with blue lettering to their blue and yellow jerseys for the nightcap.
Meanwhile, Daniel Boone stood pat, several players still sporting dirt on their chests and grass spots on their knees from the game prior.
That’s because the Mavriks’ biggest change on the season had already come along.
Boone, the No. 3 seed from the Berks East Division, ended the regular season on a humbling six-game losing skid before dropping its postseason opener, 4-3 against Post 217.
Playing through the losers’ bracket, though, the Mavriks picked up all the momentum when they needed it most.
After winning by forfeit against Shillington in the second round of the Berks County playoffs, Boone pulled off an upset stunner over Boyertown, 8-2. The next afternoon, Boone got its revenge on Post 217 with a 5-3 win in the championship qualifier.
“After the big win against Boyertown, it changed everyone’s mindset and a lot of things started to go our way,” said outfielder Matthew Stevens. “We all got hot at the right time, everyone was coming up big at the right time. During the last few games it felt as if everything we hit was dropping and once momentum started, we kept feeding off it.”
Boone carried that momentum into the championship round against previously unbeaten league power West Lawn. And it culminated in the opener, as Joe Williams pitched strong and the Mavriks crossed all seven of their runs in the top of the third inning on the way to a 7-3 win to force the nightcap where they fell 6-0.
Even in the wake of the season-ending loss, optimism and satisfaction eluded from the Daniel Boone dugout.
“I don’t think many people would have predicted us getting here,” said firstyear manager Bruce Uba. “Our guys came here to win. We were the underdogs through much of this tournament, but our guys came in and played well the whole way.”
“We didn’t have the full team together for more than half of the regular season,” added Stevens. “And once playoffs start, every teams’ record is back at 0-0. All you’re trying to do is go
out, be better and want it more than the team you’re matched up with.”
Now as the team shifts focus, Uba and the Mavriks look ahead to next summer.
“We’ll have most of the guys back next season — we’re only losing two guys,” he said. “We’ll have the majority of the guys back and hopefully we’ll have some new guys up from junior legion.
“Hopefully we can get a more full roster. We had a short roster at times this year, so it will be good to have some depth for sure.”
Even with a lack of depth, Daniel Boone had the nerve to make an unforgettable postseason run this summer.
That said, Uba set the bar pretty high in his first year at the helm.
BEAR IN MIND » For the second straight season, Boyertown failed to make it through the Berks County Legion playoffs but received an automatic host bid into the PA State Tournament to be played at Bear Stadium later this month.
While eight teams battle for one spot to advance through the PA Region 2 Tournament, the Bears will have nearly three weeks in between games before states kick off on July 28.
The Bears finished out the regular season 11-6 in Berks League play, earning them the East Division’s No. 2 seed. After opening up with a 2-0 win against Exeter behind Nolan Kline’s three-hit shutout, the Bears were ousted with consecutive losses against West Lawn and Daniel Boone.
Tate Yergey was the team’s most dangerous hitter during the regular season, leading the Bears in batting average (.400), extra-base hits (seven) and runs scored (18). Sean Sutterby hit .327 on the year with a couple doubles and a team-leading 13 runs-batted-in.
Kline and Stephen Cisik proved to be the workhorses on the mound for the Bears.
Kline (3-1, 1.91 ERA) pitched a team-best 33 innings and only allowed seven earned runs on the year. His best regular season outing came against Twin Valley — a completegame effort where he let one run cross on four hits.
Cisik (3-1, 3.03 ERA) pitched 29-2/3 innings and racked up 20 strikeouts on the year. He pitched two complete games, including a four-hit shutout against Exeter early in the season. DOG DAYS » Norchester, the league’s two-time defending champion, failed to reclaim its crown this summer.
After clawing their way through the losers’ bracket, the Bulldogs’ season came to a finish against eventual champ West Lawn 10-3.
Austin Odell, named the league’s Outstanding Pitcher, was as good as advertised this season. The right-hander Odell (5-0, 0.25 ERA) finished the regular season with just one earned run against him — an 11-1 win over Post 217 in June. He posted a 35-13 strikeout-walk ratio with three complete games.
Cal Endy (2-0, 3.30 ERA) and Dan Stofko (1-3, 3.42 ERA) were also strong on the mound for Norchester.
As a team, Norchester turned in the East Division’s best hitting lineup as the Bulldogs finished the regular season with a .313 team batting average.
First baseman Andy Blum led the team in hits (20), home runs (two) and stolen bases (seven) while Ryan Sayers turned in a team best .370 batting average. Brothers Brian and Jordan Siket were hard to keep off the basepaths in the middle of the order. OUT OF THE BLUE » Exeter’s season came to a finish with a shutout loss against Boyertown.
The Blues Jays were carried by Christian Pochron, who led the team in hits (18) and runs scored (11) to go along with a .340 batting average. Colin Gehringer finished out with six double and a team-best 12 RBI. DOWN PAT » Post 217’s season came to a close with consecutive losses against West Lawn and Daniel Boone.
Tyler Wentzel finished the regular season with a team-best .482 batting average along with 20 runs scored and 14 RBI. He accounted for both his team’s home runs and also had five doubles.
Daymond Zweizig (2-1, 5.40 ERA) was the team’s leading pitcher with 25 innings pitched with a 35-8 strikeout-walk ratio. SHILL OUT » Shillington’s berth in the Berks League playoffs didn’t last long as they were ousted in the first two games. Shillington lost the opening round 3-1 against Norchester before forfeiting the second game against Daniel Boone. PEAKS & VALLEYS » Twin Valley, which lost to West Lawn in last season’s championship, was ousted in the first two games this summer.
The Raiders opened up with a 4-1 loss against West Lawn, then lost 5-4 against Exeter.
NOT OWL PROBLEM » West Lawn dominated the Berks League this season.
The Owls finished the regular season 17-0 against Berks opponents, their only blemish coming in the opening championship game against Daniel Boone.
As a team, West Lawn had a league-best .340 batting average with six consistent hitters batting over .300 for the regular season.
Connor Uhrig, voted the league’s Most Valuable Player, hit .462 on the year with 18 runs scored and 23 RBI. He had six multihit games during the regular season to go along with three doubles and a pair of triples. Brady Gibble hit .426 with 17 runs scored, 16 RBI, three doubles and a triple.
Brady Dallas (4-0, 2.08 ERA) was the Owls’ key pitcher, letting just six runs cross on 13 hits in 26 innings pitched.