Exeter upsets Gov. Mifflin in first round of District Class 5A baseball playoffs

May 19—The 15th-seeded Exeter Eagles shocked many Friday at Rulon Griffith Field, including every player for second-seeded Gov. Mifflin.

Behind the pitching of Deven Sheerin, who allowed one hit and struck out 11 in 6.1 innings, the Eagles defeated the Mustangs 4-1 in a District 3 Class 5A first-round baseball game Friday at Shillington.

In two regular season meetings, Berks champ Mifflin beat Exeter by a combined 19-1.

However, that did not stop the Eagles from coming into Friday with the confidence that they could pull an upset.

“Just being ready and coming prepared,” Sheerin said on his team’s outlook. “I was telling the guys before the game, ‘We can do this.’ Everyone just keep their head down and grind out every at-bat, racking the pitch count up, it makes a difference.”

Mifflin’s Tyler Minick struck out two in the first, when he retired the Eagles (12-9) in order. Sheerin hit the first batter he faced in the bottom of the inning, but then set down the next three.

Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the second.

Exeter broke through in the third. After Minick hit two batters, a throwing error on a groundball allowed the first run to score. Back-to-back walks forced in a run, then Jake Hafer lined a single to left to drive in two more.

The Mustangs (18-5) answered in the bottom of the inning, turning a walk, a wild pitch and an infield single by Alexander Velez into a run. However, Sheerin got out of the inning with a line out to left to strand two runners.

From then on, it was a pitching showcase from Sheerin and Minick.

“Dev is the best pitcher in Berks County,” Eagles coach Justin Freese said of Sheerin. “We knew with him on the mound we had a legitimate shot if we could put a couple runs on the board.”

Minick, a senior and UConn commit, retired his next nine batters before getting pulled in the seventh inning for Ethan Grim, who struck out the side.

Sheerin, a senior, struck out seven in the next 3.1 innings, allowing just two baserunners in the process. He finished with two walks and three hit batters.

Story continues

After Grim’s quick seventh inning on the mound, the Mustangs had one last shot to keep their season alive.

Sheerin was pulled after hitting a batter, and Gavin Miller came in with one on and one out.

“He’s got such a bright future,” Sheerin said of Miller. “I see a little bit of myself in him. … When he’s on, he’s dominant”

Miller got Grim to hit a grounder, but Grim was safe on an error to put runners on first and second.

After Miller struck out the next batter, Freese opted to intentionally walk Minick to load the bases with two out.

Miller kept his composure, getting Bryce Detwiler to ground out to second to earn the save.

“He’s been like that all year long,” Freese said of Miller. “He’s been fantastic. … That was the first time he’s come in a relief role with the save on the line and he stepped up.”

After winning the Berks championship and going into districts as the No. 2 seed, the Mustangs had high hopes.

“It’s tough,” Mifflin coach Chris Hole. “I feel for the 12 seniors the most. We were able to make the whole county playoff picture, but obviously we had much bigger aspirations. We had a couple of really good days of practice this week and you just have to tip your cap because we were shut down by a very good pitcher (Sheerin). We did just enough to hurt ourselves in that inning (third) and again I can’t say it enough, that’s baseball.”

As for Exeter, the Eagles will travel to 10th-seeded Warwick for a quarterfinal game Monday at 4:30 p.m. The Warriors beat seventh-seeded Elizabethtown 6-1 Friday.

“Confident,” Sheerin said about moving on. “This is what we needed to get back to that level earlier in the season. … This should give us momentum moving forward.”

Freese also is looking to ride the momentum of such a big win.

“It’s wide open,” Freese said on the rest of the playoffs. “Dev won’t be able to throw Monday, but we have all the faith in the world in Miller and the other guys behind him to be ready. Hopefully, we get a game where we can score some runs early and give our guys a little bit of an opportunity to steal a second game.”