Salem pours it on

Oaks mighty in first inning erupting for 10 runs, ride it to 21-3 victory in first game back from Myrtle Beach trip; DeRamus homers again

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – If there’s one thing Salem CC baseball coach John Holt knew about his team it’s that it could score runs once it got comfortable with the college game.

The Oaks erupted for 10 runs in the first inning Tuesday and rode it to a 21-3 victory over Delaware County CC in their first game back from Myrtle Beach, where they learned a lot about themselves and the college way.

In their four-game winning streak since a 5-3 loss to Rays Collegiate at the beach, the Oaks (6-5) have scored 21, 16, 14 and 9 runs. The 21 were the most they’d scored in a game since putting 26 on Delco in May 2021. They scored 21 in a win over Bergen CC last April.

“We’re a very Jekyll and Hyde kind of program; we’re either really good or really not there,” Holt said. “What this crew needed to do was learn the college game, the difference between having an offense as opposed to hitting.

“Early on, we were swinging a lot of first pitches and not executing and not working pitchers. We kind of emphasized that pretty big down south, let’s start working counts, let’s get into bullpens, let’s have collegiate at-bats, not just (go) up there to try and whack the first great ball you see. When they started to buy into that, that’s when we started to (produce). We’ve swung it pretty good lately. I think they just really needed to learn the college game.”

The Phantoms gave them a lot of help, walking 17 batters and hitting 10. The Oaks had 56 plate appearances in their six innings of hitting and 27 official at-bats. Every spot in the lineup 1 through 5 and 9 had at least two walks; the 3-hole got five. Every spot from 4 down was hit at least once and every spot had scored at least once by the second inning.

At one point in the first two innings they were 1-for-4 with seven RBIs with the bases loaded. They collected 13 RBIs in the game with the bases loaded.

The Oaks put up a brand new scoreboard in right field that was under construction during their season opener and they “broke” it the first time they got to use it, scoring 10 runs in the home first when only nine would fit in the window.

“You can’t ask for a better way to get a game going,” Holt said.

They sent 16 batters to the plate in the inning, collecting three hits, seven walks and three hit batsmen. The big blow of the inning was Demetrius DeRamus’ three-run homer. It was his third homer in the last four games. 

“That felt good; I kind of knew it was already out,” the centerfielder said. “I was just trying to stay within myself, not try to do too much and let the ball come in. I just try to hit the ball hard somewhere. If it goes out, that’s just really a plus.”

After DeRamus’ blast, 10 of the next 11 batters reached base. Cole Dawson had a two-run single, Yen Rodriguez singled home a run and Angel Velez, Elijah Real, Matt Murphy and Jared Vanderstuer had RBIs.

“That was pretty crazy,” DeRamus said. “We kind of did that in Myrtle as well, so we brought that momentum down from Myrtle to here. I was pretty happy with how we showed.”

Delco freshman Daniel Guinan didn’t make it out of the first inning of his first college start, giving up all 10 runs in one-third of an inning with the seven walks and three hit batters.

It didn’t stop there. The Oaks sent eight men to the plate in each of the second and third innings and batted around again in the fourth.

The long innings weren’t easy on Oaks starter Ryan Silnik, either. The sophomore right-hander from Washington Twp. pitched the first four innings, giving up no runs, two hits and striking out seven. The first inning was so long, he got up twice to throw on the side to stay loose – and then struck out the side in the second. He retired seven in a row at one stretch and 10 of the last 12 batters he faced.

The task gets tougher this weekend when the Oaks play JUCO D-III No. 6 Northampton CC (11-1). Opening Day starter Ben Foote will draw the Friday road start. Left-hander Sean Kelby gets Game 1 of Saturday’s home doubleheader with the nightcap starter TBA depending how Friday goes.