BCIAA baseball semifinals: Top-seeded Wilson, third-seeded Muhlenberg advance to championship game

This year’s BCIAA baseball tournament has certainly developed its own theme.

The pitching performances over the past two days have been impressive.

In the quarterfinals, Daniel Boone’s Greyson Bell highlighted the day with a 16-strikeout no-hitter, and that type of outing may have provided a little extra motivation for Friday’s starting pitchers in the BCIAA semifinals.

At Owl’s Field in West Lawn on Friday evening, top-seeded Wilson (16-6) took on fourth-seeded Exeter (15-7) in the first game of the doubleheader, followed by third-seeded Muhlenberg (13-7) facing seventh-seeded Daniel Boone (10-11).

Wilson 1, Exeter 0

The Bulldogs have had the Eagles’ number all season long, completing a 3-0 sweep of the season series. However, unlike the first two matchups, 14-5 and 16-6 victories for Wilson, Friday’s semifinal was a tightly contested pitchers’ duel, fitting the theme of the past two days.

Ben Kulp got the start for Wilson, while Kamren Martin took the ball for Exeter as the two matched up on the mound.

In the fourth inning, Exeter’s Ryan Marmolejos recorded a leadoff double for the Eagles’ first hit of the game, but he was left stranded.

In the fifth, the Bulldogs loaded the bases, but Martin escaped the jam without allowing any damage as the scoreless battle continued.

Through five innings, neither team had managed to break through offensively, with each squad recording just one hit.

But in the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldogs finally answered the call.

After the Eagles pulled Martin, who finished with six strikeouts, Mason Goodhart entered in relief and soon allowed an RBI ground-rule double to Tim Lengle for the game’s first run.

It was not much, but it proved to be enough breathing room for Kulp to finish the job.

After recording the first out in the seventh, Kulp threw a ball Goodhart rolled over on top of to hit a ground ball to second base, where Marmolejos flipped his hips to throw an underhand throw to Jack Gabel would made the throw to first for a smooth 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

The senior tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out nine as the Bulldogs advanced back to the county championship game after missing out on it last season.

In 2024, Wilson defeated top-seeded Gov. Mifflin 10-3 to capture the BCIAA title.

Muhlenberg 5, Daniel Boone 0

Both squads entered Friday night riding the momentum of strong performances from their aces, Cole Moody and Greyson Bell, but Muhlenberg proved to be too much to handle for the second time this season.

Cooper Burr got the start for the Muhls, while sophomore Aidan Howell earned the nod for Daniel Boone.

Following Thursday’s win over Oley Valley, Blazers coach Kolbie Reeser had high praise for Muhlenberg.