Moyer, Daniel Boone secure spot in Berks playoffs
SHILLINGTON >> Daniel Boone went into Saturday’s game with Governor Mifflin bringing designs for tightening the already-snug Berks Conference Division I standings.
The Blazers also brought a battle cry with them to Mifflin’s Rulon L. Griffith Field.
“We had a slogan this week,” Boone head coach Jason McCord said. “Win and we’re in, lose and we’ve gotta pray.”
The Blazers’ prayers for a postseason life were answered. Pulling off a 3-2 victory over the Mustangs made them masters of their destiny … to a degree.
Boone and Mifflin, both at 6-4 and done with the Berks Conference’s regular season, share first place in the circuit’s Division I. They must now wait to see how Exeter (5-3) and Muhlenberg (5-4) do in finishing out the string.
“There are just too many good teams,” McCord said. “But we took care of business.”
Joe Moyer had a particularly workmanlike night for Boone (10-6 overall), which joined Mifflin (11-7) in honoring the teams’ senior players prior to the game.
The Blazers’ junior shortstop was called on in the second inning to execute a suicide-squeeze bunt, with one out and runners on second and third. Both teams were even at 1-1 after the first.
A tall order? Not for him.
“That’s one of my favorites,” Moyer said. “The key is to get the ball down.”
He did that … right in front of home plate. Ty Esenwein made the most of what he was given, scoring the go-ahead run while Bryan O’Toole moved up to third.
“It was a little close,” Moyer said with a laugh, “but you got to make it exciting.”
Moyer also turned a double play in the sixth, when Mifflin leadoff batter Joseph Paige reached base after being hit by a pitch. He fielded Austin Baker’s bouncer, ran to second to get the force on Paige, then fired the ball to first to get Baker.
“That was big,” Moyer said. “I was actually covering (second base) for a steal. I had to go all the way back, but I wanted it all for myself.”
The capper to Moyer’s night came in the seventh, the Mustangs threatening the Blazers’ lead when Chad Kleinsmith walked on a 3-2 count to lead off.
After Dylan Louviaux was called out for interference, the Boone defense caught Kleinsmith in a rundown. On the second exchange of throws, Moyer lunged for the tag and the second out.
The Blazers finished off the win with relief pitcher Zach Brightbill fanning Ajay Sczepkowski for the final out. Coming on to relieve starter Jordan Goodrich in the sixth, Brightbill turned in two innings of one-hit mound work with two strikeouts and one walk.
“It was a little bit of everything,” McCord said. “We knew if we did the small things, we could win. We were able to run aggressively, and out pitching settled in after the third inning and did a good job.”
The Blazers’ first run came as Devon Garner (single) went to third on a hit by Brendan Rivoli (2-for-3), then came in off Bryce Stout’s grounder to shortstop. It answered the Mustangs’ first run in the top of the frame, Kleinsmith (2-for-3) hitting the first of his two doubles, going to third on a wild pitch, then coming home off Dylan Louviaux’ sacrifice fly to center field.
In the second, following the suicide-squeeze run, Boone added the eventual game-winner when O’Toole scored off a Devon Garner sac-fly.
Mifflin got one back in the third when Kleinsmith (double) moved to third off Louviaux’ sacrifice bunt along the first-base line and scored off a wild pitch. But the Mustangs were unable to parlay any of their last three hits, or three additional base runners off two walks and a hit batter, into runs.
“At this point, we know we’re in,” McCord said. “We’re in a good spot for districts.”
“We knew this was a make-or-break game,” Moyer added. “We came out with fire.”
NOTES >> The game was originally scheduled to be played at Boone, but its field was saturated from the week’s rainstorms. “We rolled the dice to get the game in,” McCord said. “We could have waited until Monday to play, and our field would have looked like this,” he added, pointing to a puddle by the entrance to the first-base dugout. … Boone seniors honored pregame were Sean Bologa, Goodrich, Caleb Nelson, O’Toole, Bryant Schwoyer and Stout. … McCord praised the focus his players showed off a weekend that started with the school’s prom Friday and Scholastic Aptitude Testing (SAT) Saturday. “We wanted to get back to the county championship,” McCord said. “The kids made a choice of what was important.”
