PHILADELPHIA — Two former Penn baseball standouts met on opposite sides of the 2026 Eastern League Championship, as Ryan Dromboski C'25 and Joe Miller W'22 were members of the Reading Fightin Phils and Erie SeaWolves, respectively, in the Double-A championship series. Reading claimed the title with a 13-4 victory over Erie on Tuesday, September 22, securing its first outright Eastern League Championship since 1995.

Dromboski got the start for Reading in the championship-clinching game, pitching 1.1 innings. The right-hander signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent in 2024 following his Penn career and has continued to climb through the organization's minor-league system. He made two starts for Reading during the 2026 season after first being called up to the team in May. He spent most of the season with High-A Jersey Shore, where he made 17 appearances and struck out 70 over 73.2 innings.

A three-time All-Ivy selection, Dromboski earned Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-Ivy honors in 2023 after leading the conference with a 2.27 ERA and a .165 opponent batting average in Ivy play. He also set a Penn single-game record with 15 strikeouts against Princeton that season. As a senior in 2024, he earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors after finishing second on the team with 71 strikeouts across 63 innings.

Miller, meanwhile, was on Erie's roster for the championship series, marking another milestone in a professional career that began when the Detroit Tigers selected him in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. The left-hander spent the majority of the 2026 season with Erie, making 18 starts and posting a 3.88 ERA with 74 strikeouts over 72 innings.

Miller was a first-team All-Ivy selection at Penn in 2022 after leading all Ivy League pitchers with 74.1 innings and 91 strikeouts. His 91 strikeouts that season ranked second in program history at the time. 

The championship marked Reading's first outright Eastern League title since 1995. The Fightin Phils completed a perfect 4-0 postseason, outscoring their opponents 44-12 along the way.