Rich Scarcella: Gettysburg shocks No. 1 seed Muhlenberg in District 3 Class 5A baseball opener [updated]

May 24—Muhlenberg couldn't imagine the way its District 3 Class 5A first-round baseball game ended Monday night.

Neither could anyone else at Gochnauer Field.

The Muhls had the tying and winning runs in scoring position in the 10th inning when Cam Burr swung and missed at what the Lancaster-Lebanon League umpiring crew ruled was a third strike.

The call enabled 16th-seeded Gettysburg to stun top-seeded Muhlenberg 8-7 and end the Berks League champion's season.

"It's the most bizarre ending to a game I've seen in 33 years of coaching," Muhls coach Brian Kopetsky said. "They were the most bizarre explanations I've ever gotten in a game."

The scoreboard operator and the pitch-count tracker in the press box had the count at 1-1, as did three people in the Muhlenberg dugout, before Gettysburg pitcher Carson Kuhns threw a low breaking ball in the dirt to Burr, who swung and missed.

Catcher Cody Furman tagged Burr and then spiked the ball, and the home-plate umpire signaled that Burr was out.

"He (the home-plate umpire whose name was not available) told me that it was the third strike," Kopetsky said. "It was only the third pitch of the at-bat. The base umpires had his back. No one was willing to go out on a limb and say they had a different count."

Kopetsky said the base umpires refused to show him their ball-strike indicators.

When it was over, the Warriors jumped up and down, moved toward the third-base line and taunted Muhlenberg players and fans with derisive waves.

The Muhls (19-4) were devastated, some stretching out on the infield dirt in disbelief and others crying and hiding their faces in their uniform tops. At least 20 minutes after the game, some of them walked around the field in a daze and others sat in the left-field corner hanging their heads.

"They're heartbroken," Kopetsky said. "They had big expectations. We wanted to continue the run we put together. I'm at a loss for words. I don't want to cast blame. I want to celebrate what they accomplished."

Earlier in the bottom of the 10th, with Shane Rosenberry on second after lacing a one-out double, Gettysburg coach Ryan Brady walked to the mound and talked with Kuhns and several other players. He said something to the umpires, who met as a group for a minute or two.

Then the home-plate umpire warned Kopetsky about Rosenberry stealing signs on second base. After Gio Cavanna reached on an error by Kuhns, Brady visited the mound for the second time in the inning. But he didn't change pitchers, as required upon the second mound visit in an inning.

Kopetsky didn't like the explanation he received.

"The first mound visit he got was because they complained we were stealing signs," he said. "While we were getting our warning for stealing signs, he made his first trip. When he made his second trip, the umpire said he would give him the second trip to the mound (without having to change pitchers)."

Gettysburg (13-7) advanced to the district quarterfinals and will play Thursday at ninth-seeded Donegal, which beat No. 8 Greencastle-Antrim 8-4.

The Warriors scored the go-ahead run in the 10th with the help of a Muhlenberg error. Muhls reliever Sean Levan hit Chris Boone with a pitch and Bryce Rudisill singled. Braden Manning hit a grounder to second baseman Jacob Rodriguez, who flipped to shortstop Kenay Roderiguez (no relation) for the force. But Kenay Rodriguez's relay throw sailed over the head of first baseman Sam Martinez, allowing Boone to score.

Muhlenberg took a 4-1 lead in the second inning before Gettysburg scored six runs in the fourth off Coley on just two hits. The Muhls rallied with two runs in fifth on RBI singles by Jacob Rodriguez and Kenay Rodriguez and a run in the seventh on Kenay Rodriguez's sacrifice fly to center field.

"It showed their character," Kopetsky said.

It was the second time in four years that a top-seeded Muhlenberg team lost its district opener. In 2018, the Berks champion Muhls lost 10-4 to eighth-seeded Cedar Cliff in a 5A quarterfinal.

Monday night's game, however, was difficult for them to understand or accept.

"It's a shame because you had two teams that really went at it and battled," Kopetsky said. "We did some things that cost us. We walked too many guys and hit too many guys.

"For a game to come down to a couple of really questionable decisions really stinks because you have kids who should decide it on the field, I'm confused by the decisions that were made."