Justin Freese and Brian Kopetsky, two of the longest-tenured head coaches in the Berks Baseball League, have squared off at least once every season since 1999, Kopetsky’s first at Muhlenberg.
They have never coached against each other in the BCIAA playoffs.
That is set to change Monday night when the second-seeded Muhls (17-2) meet third-seeded Exeter (15-5) in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“I consider Justin a friend,” Kopetsky said. “You tend to know people’s tendencies and how they like to play the game when you’ve coached against them for a long time.
“I’d like to think we have a pretty good book on them and he’d say the same thing about us.”
In the first game, No. 8 seed Oley Valley (12-7) will try for a second straight upset over a Berks I team when it faces No. 5 seed Wilson (9-9) at 4:15 p.m.
The semifinal winners will advance to the championship game Wednesday night at 6:05 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Kopetsky and the Muhls are seeking their second league title in the last four years. Freese, who became head coach in 1994, and the Eagles are pursuing their first championship.
“Brian and I aren’t going to dictate what happens in the game; the players are,” Freese said. “There are some things he’s done over the years that I’ve told my guys about. We know each other’s tendencies.”
The teams met for the first time this season April 29 when Muhlenberg rolled past Exeter 11-2 at Laureldale with the help of five errors by the Eagles.
Jacob Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs for the Muhls that night and Luis Beato was 2-for-3 and scored three runs. Brad Coley and Dalton Follweiler combined on a two-hitter and struck out 13.
“From our side, there’s an advantage because we went out and handled business,” Kopetsky said. “It was probably one of the most complete games we played during the regular season.
“But when you’re playing well like Exeter is and that game is sitting there, it might provide extra motivation for them. It’s a double-edged sword.”
The Eagles have won five straight since that loss, including a 16-10, nine-inning victory over previously unbeaten Gov. Mifflin and a 6-3 victory over Berks III Hamburg in the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t play a particularly good game that night,” Freese said of the loss to the Muhls. “Things have changed a little bit since that game. It may have been a turnaround to our season. That’s going to be a motivating factor, knowing we got beat pretty good the last time we played them.”
Senior right-hander Luke Weller (1-2) is in line to get the start for Exeter. He’s the Eagles’ top hitter with a .508 average, 18 runs scored and 27 RBIs.
After Coley threw 95 pitches in a 9-4 quarterfinal win over Kutztown, Kopetsky could go with Sean Levan, Cam Burr, Follweiler or someone else. Beato is the Muhls’ most dangerous hitter with a .460 average, 21 runs scored and 17 RBIs.
In the first game, Oley Valley hopes to continue momentum from its stunning 6-1 win over No. 1 seed Gov. Mifflin in the quarterfinals. The Lynx also seem to be peaking at the right time, winning five of their last six. They’re looking for their first title since 2013.
“They’re very loose,” first-year Oley coach Jeff Pinder said. “We’re having fun. We like getting together and being together. We just sat around and talked for 10 or 15 minutes about random things. They’re just a bunch of loose kids who love the game of baseball.”
The Lynx had only five hits against Mifflin, including a two-run single by Ty Yerger. They took advantage of four Mustangs errors and received a six-hitter from Luke Macdonald.
“They put the ball in play on offense,” Wilson coach Sal Raccuglia said. “Their hitters get everything out of an at-bat. That has a lot to do with Pinder and how he played the game.”
Raccuglia and Pinder know each other very well. Pinder, at Boyertown, and Raccuglia, at Muhlenberg, played against each other in Legion ball. Pinder served as a Kutztown University assistant coach for Chris Blum, one of Raccuglia’s friends.
The Bulldogs and the Lynx are meeting in the semifinals for the second straight year after Wilson won 9-3 last year.
With Cole Leaman unavailable to pitch for now, Raccuglia plans to start sophomore lefty Matt VanOstenbridge, who’s 3-2 with two saves, a sub-1.00 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.
Rueben Livingston leads the Wilson offense with a .422 average, eight doubles, one triple, three home runs and 15 RBIs. The Bulldogs are seeking their third championship since 2017.
“We sometimes lose our focus within an inning or a game,” Raccuglia said. “That’s been plaguing us all year. We’ve harped on being focused every pitch and every at bat and being dialed in. If we execute, we can play with anyone.”
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