Woodstown carries newly-minted Elmer Classic Cup home after thrashing Schalick in annual rivalry at Elmer LL fields
THURSDAY BASEBALL
Woodstown 12, Schalick 4
Clearview 6, Pennsville 5
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
ELMER – As soon as sophomore catcher Ty Coblentz squeezed the slow-motion called third strike for the final out of the game, the Woodstown players enthusiastically sprinted off the diamond looking for two things.
Tuna subs (don’t ask, it’s a player thing) and a trophy.
For the first time in the history of the rivalry, the Elmer Little League is presenting the winner of the Woodstown-Schalick baseball and softball games played in their complex with a traveling trophy – the Elmer Classic Cup – to display in their school.
For the next year, the four-tiered award will sit in the Wolverines’ trophy case after they humbled their rivals 12-4 Thursday night to sweep the regular-season series and take sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division
“It just always feels good to beat Schalick, they’re a rival for us,” centerfielder Blake Bialecki said. “We saw the trophy before the game. It’s big.”
The scores of each game will be engraved around the trophy for posterity. The games currently shown on the trophy go back to 2012, but they’ve been playing the series a lot longer.
Woodstown coach Marc DeCastro isn’t so much about trophies as much as he is what this one represents. It’s his hope the excitement created by the raising of his trophy will carry over going forward leading to raising a much bigger prize down the road.
“I like when they get excited, it doesn’t matter to me,” DeCastro said. “What I care about, what I am hoping, is that this experience they can replicate. If they can treat every game the way that they treat this game and the way they stayed focused throughout it, if that comes from this, then I’m super happy. If I take a trophy home and then I lose tomorrow I don’t really care.”
After being no-hit the day before, the Wolverines’ bats came to life to the tune of eight hits and many were timely. They reached Schalick ace Luke Pokrovsky for four runs in the third inning, then scored in every inning thereafter.
Brent Williams broke the scoreless tie with a two-run single in the third. Bialecki had two hits and three RBIs. Andrew Pedrick reached base all five times he came to the plate, including his 95th career hit in the third inning. Jack Knorr had two hits and Rocco String had two RBIs.
“Getting no-hit is just a terrible feeling and we knew we had to bounce back from that,” Bialecki said. “We knew we had to be better and we had to have better attitudes and better approaches and we definitely did that today. We need to build off this.”
“Any time you beat a kid who is as good as (Pokrovsky) it’s a big deal,” DeCastro said. “We were trying to change some of the things that we’ve seen over the last couple days and alter the way that we approach the game, so I’m happy to see that positive thing. “
Bialecki, one of the many players on both teams who grew up playing on the Elmer LL fields, squeezed in the third run of the fourth inning, had an RBI single in the sixth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
“Winning districts over there was probably one of the best memories of my life and this just adds to it,” Bialecki said, pointing to the Little League diamonds across the way.
The Cougars (10-8) threatened in the fourth, loading the bases and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs. But DeCastro brought in Thomas Boyles and the Boyles put out the fire against the only batter he faced. The Wolverines used six pitchers in the game.
Schalick did score three in the fifth to make it 6-4. Ricky Watt and Jake Siedlecki had RBI doubles and Pokrovsky stole home. But the Wolverines (10-8) answered with two in the sixth and broke it open with four in the seventh on only one hit – Jack Holladay’s bunt single.
CLEARVIEW 6, PENNSVILLE 5: The Pioneers pushed two unearned runs across in the bottom of the sixth after Pennsville tied the game with four in the top of the inning and then turned back another Pennsville threat in the seventh.
Chase Burchfield and Cohen Petrutz both had two-run singles in the sixth as the Eagles erased a 4-0 deficit to tie the game. In the seventh, Burchfield doubled home Logan Streitz with two outs to make it 6-5, but the Eagles (12-7) ran out of outs before they could bring the tying run home.
Burchfield had two hits and three RBIs. Streitz had two hits and Petrutz had two RBIs.
Month: May 2024
Wednesday roundup
Roundup features highlights of baseball, softball, tennis, golf and lacrosse events involving Salem County teams
BASEBALL
Overbrook 2, Woodstown 0
Clayton 12, Salem 0
Schalick 10, Penns Grove 4
SCHALICK 10, PENNS GROVE 4: Luke Pokrovsky had the first two-homer game of his career and Ricky Watt hit the first of his career for the Cougars.
Pokrovsky hit a solo homer in the second inning to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead and a two-run homer in the fifth. Watts hit a two-run homer in the fourth.
Pokrovsky, J.T. Fleming, Lucas D’Agostino and Enrico Hatz all had two hits for Schalick.
Elijah Crespo homered and drove in three runs for Penns Grove.
CLAYTON 12, SALEM 0: Isaac Taylor homered and drove in five runs from the top of the order and Michael Manera pitched a two-hit five-inning shutout as the Clippers snapped a five-game losing streak. Chase Davis and Jacob Parkell had the Rams’ two hits.
OVERBROOK 2, WOODSTOWN 0: The Rams scored two runs in the fourth inning and two pitchers combined to no-hit with the Wolverines.
The Rams broke a scoreless tie with a bases-loaded walk and followed by a hit batsman.
The Wolverines loaded the bases with nobody out in the first on two walks and a hit batsman, but started Caden Lawless got out of it with three straight strikeouts. They had only three more base runners the rest of the game. Reliever Cooper Himes walked the first batter he faced, then retired the last 15 in a row.
SOFTBALL
Schalick 18, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 7, Overbrook 4
WOODSTOWN 7, OVERBROOK 4: The Wolverines took the lead with four runs in the seventh inning and to remain undefeated in the Tri-County Classic Division and put some distance between themselves and their challenges.
Cara Delia’s RBI double tied the game 4-4. The Wolverines took the lead when two runs scored on an infield error and they added an insurance run on another error.
Grace White pitched the final inning and two-thirds behind starter Liv Boultinghouse and set the Rams down in order in the seventh to close it out.
Delia and Tulana Mingin had two hits apiece. Mingin now has 125 hits for her career, seven shy of breaking the school record.
SCHALICK 18, PENNS GROVE 0: Taylor Sparks went 4-for-4 and drove in seven runs and three Schalick pitchers combined for a five-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts.
Sparks had a two-run single and a three-run triple in the Cougars’ 11-run second inning that broke open the game. Cloe Elliott and Cayla Sbrana had two hits apiece for the Cougars.
Addy Shimp, Abby Willoughby and Annie Podhel combined for the no-hitter, facing only two batters over the minimum. Podhel pitched three innings with five strikeouts.
GOLF
NORTHERN BURLINGTON 162, SCHALICK 174: Northern Burlington’s Noah Taylor was medalist (36). Schalick sophomore Jaxon Weber, fresh off his sectional championship, shot 40 to lead the Cougars.
SCHALICK GIRLS 203, CUMBERLAND 220: Cumberland’s Nicole Tarquinio was medalist (43), but the Cougars posted the next four low scores to win. NHannah Widdifield (46) and Cali Fisler (49) posted Schalick’s two low scores.
BOYS TENNIS
DELSEA 4, WOODSTOWN 1
Andrew McWilliams (D) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-1, 6-1
T.J. Natalie (D) def. Drew Stengel, 6-3, 6-0
Zeph Kell (D) def. Erich Lipovsky, 6-7, 5-0 (ret.)
Jacob Bramble-Eli Croce (D) def. Ben Stengel-Mason Shimp, 6-3, 6-1
Jason LaFond-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Zach Natalie-Jacob Weist, 6-3, 6-3
Records: Delsea 8-7, Woodstown 10-2
PITMAN 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Maddox Marker (Pi) def. Gabe Schneider, 6-2, 7-5
Chase Rollins (Pi) def. Maddox Efelis, 6-2, 6-2
Brody Wiggins (Pv) def. Cole Kelly, 6-0, 6-1
Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (Pv) def. Charlie Duffield-Ethan Loudner, 6-3, 7-6
Michael Fisicaro-Max Pappalardo (Pi) def. Luke Chamberlain-Sawyer Humphrey, 6-3, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 14-2, Pitman 13-4
GIRLS LACROSSE
KINGSWAY 17, WOODSTOWN 5: Ally Phalines scored six goals for the Dragons (9-5). Emma Morgan and Delaney Walker scored two goals each for Woodstown (3-6).
Schalick tracks down sweep
Cougars win boys, girls titles in Salem County Track & Field Championships for first time since 2018; Schalick’s Hadfield wins four events
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM — It’s well established that Jordan Hadfield is an incredible runner. She’s an incredible teammate, too.
The Schalick junior had already put in a demanding day at the Salem County Track and Field Championships Wednesday, winning three events, including two with about a five-minute break in between, but when her team needed her to give a little bit more she didn’t hesitate and answered the call.
With the girls meet in the balance, Hadfield accepted the assignment of running the third leg of the Cougars’ 4×400 relay team. They needed to put some distance between themselves and host Salem both on the track and in the standings and they did just that.
Hadfield and Co. won the race and extended the Cougars slim lead. When Brooke Watt won the triple jump in the final event of the day, the Cougars claimed the team title for the first time since 2021.
“It’s a really good experience doing it for the team,” Hadfield said. “When you need it most, the adrenaline is there, you’re just ready to do it and it’s what it needs. A really good race. Not normally a 400 runner, but I was today.”
Hadfield had already won the 1600, 800 (with a PR) and 3200 – the last two with only the time of the boys 800 for a breather – and hadn’t really intended to run the relay unless the Cougars needed it. They needed it and there she was lining up to run the third leg.
And it was the third leg not the anchor because it wasn’t certain with all she had already done she could provide the last lap kick if the Cougars needed one. But she was willing to do what she could. She ran on the 4×4 relay once before, at the Penn Relays earlier this spring, but that was an the anchor because the seniors were on their senior trip.
Schalick’s girls were leading by three points when the 4×400 runners took the track. Hadfield took the baton from Grace O’Neill to start the third leg with a four-second lead. When she passed it to Gia Martellacci for the anchor leg, the Cougars led by 11 seconds.
“Once the adrenaline is going and it’s for the team title, it’s what you have to do,” Hadfield said. “You’re just all about the excitement. Everyone’s yelling around the track. You know your teammates want it and you have to do it for them.”
Hadfield ran the second-fastest split of the Schalick foursome, a 1:01.40. The Cougars won the race in 4:12.60 and beat Salem to the line by almost 10 seconds, adding two more points of their lead.
“She’s not only an incredible athlete, she’s just an incredible person,’ Schalick girls coach Melissa Pine said of Hadfield. “She would do anything asked of her.
“You look at her and you don’t think oh my gosh she’s an amazing athlete, like she just doesn’t look like one, but she goes out and is unbelievable every time and has that fierce competitiveness in her.
“I explained (the situation) to her, but I knew if it came down to it that I needed her to run that leg because Jordan doesn’t like to come in second. I put her in there and she did just an unbelievable job.”
The Schalick girls won eight events, ended up with 120 total points and wound up beating Salem by 11 for the title. The boys, meanwhile, ran away with their title to complete the sweep. They scored 94 points and won by 20, giving the Cougars their first sweep of the meet since 2018.
Hadfield was one several multiple winners in the meet.
Salem’s Karima Davenport-White (100 hurdles, long jump), teammate Anna Buzby (400, 400 hurdles) and Penns Grove’s Meely Horace (100, 200) all won twice on the girls side.
Horace’s specific two wins – both in PRs (12.67 in the 100 and 26.28 in the 200 – earned her the title of fastest female in the county. It’s a moniker she rather enjoyed.
“I love the thought of me being the fastest in Salem County,” she said. “Everybody knows me for basketball (she’s a 1,000-point scorer), so it feels good to show them that I can do more than play basketball.”
Schalick’s Stewart shows out
All five competing schools produced winners in the boys meet, but Schalick had the most prolific. Freshman David Stewart signaled his arrival on the county track scene by winning three individual events and finishing fourth in the deep triple jump.
“It’s kind of exciting to see that all year long,” Cougars coach James Turner said. “A lot of people don’t know who he is because he hasn’t had any FAT times on MileSplit very much. It’s been kind of fun to see us go against different teams in dual meets and see him be successful and have that success at an early age. He’s surprising himself and he’s surprising other teams around us.”
Stewart won the 100 in 11.28, the 400 in 52.25 and the long jump in 21-4.50 – all PRs. His triple jump 42-11.25 also was a PR and less than two feet behind the winning jump.
“Being from Schalick we don’t really get recognized that much because were a little school, but I just wanted to come down here to compete, to show people where we’re from,” he said. “Today was a day I was trying to show everybody who I was. People were maybe doubting me because I’m a freshman and I’m young, but I wanted to show people I’m … good.
“I didn’t really have high expectations for the long jump, but I went out with confidence and did what I had to do and it just happened. In the running events I ran with confidence because that’s really what I do.”
Pennsville won the three throwing events, Schalick took three of the four jumping events in addition to Stewart’s exploits, Woodstown won the three distance races, Salem the hurdles and Penns Grove the relay. Salem’s Anthony Parker (both hurdles) and Woodstown’s Cole Lucas (800, 1600) were double winners.
Schalick won six events total to end Salem’s three-year hold on the boys title and help Turner win his first county crown as the Cougars coach.
“For us, the whole rebuilding process for the last few years has been to this year we want to (make a mark in) relays and we were able to do that and we knew we had a good chance at winning the Salem County Championship and that’s one puzzle piece to build us back to where we want to be,” Turner said. “We might not be sectional champ contenders but we’re one step closer to at least putting our footprint in the sand at sectional champs.
“This year our goals for sectionals are to have our relays qualify for state and then a few individuals get there as well because last year the only people who went to the state were the 4×8 (relay).”
Hadfield and Parker were the Outstanding Track Athletes of the meet. Stewart and Watt were the Outstanding Field Athletes.
GIRLS MEET
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 120, Salem 109, Woodstown 47, Penns Grove 44, Pennsville 15.
| EVENT | WINNER | RESULT |
| 400 Hurdles | Anna Buzby, Salem | 1:05.91 |
| 100 | Meely Horace, Penns Grove | 12.67 |
| 1600 | Jordan Hadfield, Schalick | 5:30.64 |
| 400 | Anna Buzby, Salem | 59.76 |
| 100 Hurdles | Karima Davenport-White, Salem | 15.70 |
| 800 | Jordan Hadfield, Salem | 2:20.09 |
| 3200 | Jordan Hadfield, Salem | 12:42.29 |
| 200 | Meely Horace, Penns Grove | 26.28 |
| 4×400 | Schalick | 4:12.60 |
| High Jump | Kami Casiano, Woodstown | 4-10 |
| Pole Vault | Megan Morris, Pennsville | 9-0 |
| Long Jump | Karima Davenport-White, Salem | 16-1.75 |
| Triple Jump | Brooke Watt, Schalick | 33-6.75 |
| Discus | Grace O’Neill, Schalick | 125-6 |
| Javelin | Allyson Green, Schalick | 104-5 |
| Shot Put | Ava Rodgers, Salem | 35-2.50 |
BOYS MEET
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 94, Salem 74, Woodstown 67, Penns Grove 55, Pennsville 43.
| EVENT | WINNER | RESULT |
| 400 Hurdles | Anthony Parker, Salem | 56.09 |
| 100 | David Stewart, Schalick | 11.28 |
| 1600 | Cole Lucas, Woodstown | 4:42.41 |
| 400 | David Stewart, Schalick | 52.25 |
| 110 Hurdles | Anthony Parker, Salem | 14.75 |
| 800 | Cole Lucas, Woodstown | 2:00.65 |
| 200 | Anthony Parker, Salem | 22.80 |
| 3200 | Jacob Marino, Woodstown | 10:42.48 |
| 4×400 | Penns Grove | 3:33.00 |
| High Jump | Reggie Allen, Schalick | 6-2 |
| Pole Vault | Salvatore Longo, Schalick | 11-0 |
| Long Jump | David Stewart, Schalick | 21-4.50 |
| Triple Jump | Davonte Jackson, Salem | 44-7.25 |
| Discus | Jackson McFarland, Pennsville | 123-5 |
| Javelin | Connor Ayers, Pennsville | 146-4 |
| Shot Punt | Daniel Saulin, Pennsville | 41-7.75 |
Rested and ready
White, Woodstown softball sharp after long layoff; Farina has career day for Pennsville softball, Eagles win wild one in baseball and more
TUESDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 9, Triton 6
Pitman 18, Salem 2
Woodstown 7, Gloucester Catholic 1
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
GLOUCESTER CITY – Grace White and the Woodstown softball team returned to the field for the first time in 10 days and it looked like they never missed a beat.
White came within two outs of a complete-game shutout and struck out 12 leading the Wolverines past Gloucester Catholic 7-1 Tuesday.
It was the second day in a row a Salem County softball team returning from a lengthy break took down the Rams (7-6), who lost back-to-back games for the second time this season.
The Wolverines (8-6) hadn’t played since losing to Mainland in Williamstown’s Fred Powell Invitational April 27 and were idle last week as eight players were away on the school’s Senior Class Trip.
“I think the break was needed,” Woodstown coach Dave Wildermuth said. “We had played a brutally tough schedule the first half of the year and I think we just needed a break.
“We needed a break and we’ve regrouped. We had a couple decent practices last week while the girls were away, with some of the underclassmen, and we had a good practice yesterday. Yesterday was the first day (White) picked up a ball.”
Tulana Mingin and Cara Delia both had a pair of hits for the Wolverines (8-6), who snapped a season-long three-game losing streak in which they scored just one run in each game. Mingin moved into fourth place on the Wolverines’ all-time hits list and is now eight shy of tying the all-time mark.
The Wolverines jumped on top with two runs in the first inning on an error and Kayla Brown’s sacrifice fly. White drove in a run in the third with a ground out and Alyssa Baber doubled home a run in the third to make it 4-0.
White lost her shutout on a homer by Gabby Scirrotto with one out in the seventh inning that was just inches out of the reach of centerfielder Ellie Wygand. Scirrotto was the only Rams base runner to get past second.
The Wolverines have big Tri-County Classic games the next two days that could potentially give them control over the division. They travel to Overbrook Wednesday, then resume their rivalry with Schalick Thursday in their annual night game at Elmer Little League.
PENNSVILLE 9, TRITON 6: Bella Farina went 4-for-5 with two home runs and a career-high seven RBIs as the Eagles won their seventh in a row. Her first homer gave them a 3-0 lead in the first and her second, another three-run blast, broke a 6-6 tie in the seventh inning.
It was Farina’s second multi-homer game of the season. She is 16-for-22 with 16 RBIs in her last six games, has at least one RBI in each of her last seven games (17 total) and 14 in her last four games. She now has six homers and a career-tying 24 RBIs on the year.
“It felt good to have one of my best games against a really good team,” Farina said. “More importantly, I’m thankful to have helped the team get a big win. The best part about hitting home runs is my team meeting at home plate.”
Sierra Stultz also had four hits in the Eagles’ 18-hit attack. Kylie Harris had three and Savannah Palverento and Bella Rappa each had two. Lilly Birney took a homer away from the Mustangs in centerfield.
PITMAN 18, SALEM 2: The Panthers erupted for seven runs in the first inning and then held Salem to three hits – all in the first inning. The Rams scored both of their runs in the home first on an RBI double by Raegan Wilson and an RBI single by Morgan Johnson, then Pitman pitcher Cassidy Batten retired the last 14 batters she faced. Julliana Love had the other Salem hit, a leadoff single in the home first.
BASEBALL
Pennsville 13, Clayton 12
Vineland 6, Schalick 0
PENNSVILLE 13, CLAYTON 12: Jacob Grant homered and the Eagles pounded 20 hits with eight of the nine hitters in the lineup getting at least two.
Grant’s two-run homer and two-run doubles by Jeff Wagner and Logan Streitz fueled a seven-run fourth that gave Pennsville a 10-5 lead, but the Eagles could never shake the Clippers. RBI singles by Mason O’Brien and Chase Burchfield gave them a 13-10 lead in the sixth and they held on as Clayton scored two in the seventh.
Connor Starn and Cohen Petrutz both had three hits for Pennsville, while Mason O’Brien and Wagner each had three RBIs.
VINELAND 6, SCHALICK 0: The Fighting Clan scored three runs in each the third and fourth innings and Mario Toro threw just 69 pitches over six innings while allowing only one hit to stop Schalick’s four-game winning streak. Enrico Hatz had the Cougars’ only hit, a one-out single in the fifth inning, extending his hitting streak to five games. Gabe Torres and Luke Pokrovsky threw three innings of scoreless relief after the Clan did their damage.
BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, SCHALICK 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. George Gould, 6-1, 6-1
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-1, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-0, 6-0
Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (P) def. David Santana-Rocky Monticolo, 6-2, 6-2
Luke Chamberlain-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski, 6-2, 6-4
Records: Pennsville 14-1, Schalick 9-5.
WOODSTOWN 3, CUMBERLAND 2
Luke Fischer (C) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-0, 6-1
Chase Sheppard (C) def. Drew Stengel, 6-3, 2-6, 10-5
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. Joey Nolan, 6-3, 6-3
Bent Stengel-Mason Shimp (Wo) def. Josiah Jiminez-Angel Perez, 6-1, 6-1
Luke Shaw-Jason LaFond (Wo) def. Justin Nolan-Mason Staffieri, 6-3, 6-4
Records: Cumberland 12-4, Woodstown 10-1.
Worth the wait
UPDATED
Schalick, Weber post early, wait out the field, win team title and medalist in South Jersey Group I golf championship; Woodstown, Schermerhorn T-2
| SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I | At Cream Ridge GC |
| TEAM SCORES | INDIVIDUAL TOP 10 |
| Schalick 349 | Jaxon Weber, Schalick 82 |
| Lower Cape May 358 | Alex Sekela, Lower Cape May 83 |
| Woodstown 358 | Jacob Schermerhorn, Woodstown 83 |
| Audubon 361 | Lance Creighton, Schalick 85 |
| Cape May Tech 369 | Justin Walker, Cape May Tech 86 |
| Pitman 376 | Eric Coombs, Lower Cape May 88 |
| Gateway 397 | Joey Zubert, Pitman 88 |
| Wildwood 497 | Kyle Brainard, Woodstown 88 |
| Rocco Monteferrante, Audubon 88 | |
| Chase Carr, Audubon 89 | |
| Ryan Johnson, Schalick 89 |
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CREAM RIDGE – The hardest part was the waiting.
Jaxon Weber and the Schalick golf team did everything they thought they could in the morning wave of the South Jersey Group I Golf Championships to have a chance Tuesday, then had to wait for the rest of the field to finish to discover if it was good enough.
It was historically good enough.
Weber and the Cougars rose up the leaderboard steadily throughout the afternoon as several teams had trouble on Cream Ridge GC’s back nine and eventually claimed titles. The team came from as many as 12 shots back with six holes to play to win their first sectional title in more than 20 years by nine shots and Weber’s 10-over-par 82 won medalist honors by a stroke.
The Cougars went out early, posted a 349 team score and then waited …. and waited … and waited for nearly three hours as the rest of the field finished.
Some teams checked out. The Cougars hung around, got something to eat, chipped and putted and talked to the coaches about how nervous they were, all the time checking the scoring app on their phones for updates.
Even the searching created some anxious moments as there was a glitch in one of the contender’s groups and everyone had to wait for the physical scorecards to determine those results.
“It was terribly nerve-wracking,” Weber said. “I saw myself at the top and I was just, ‘Please, Lord, let me win and please, Lord, look down on us and help us with this.’ At the end He came through and He let us win and I’m super grateful.”
“It was really rough,” Cougars coach Sean Collins said. “It seemed like there were a lot of little twists. We were all checking our phones every minute, letting each other know what was happening as if the other person didn’t check their phone, too. I’ve been a part of other athletic events before and that was a very unique experience.”
The Cougars shot 349 as a team. In addition to Weber’s 41-41—82, they counted Lance Creighton’s 40-45—85 (fourth place), Ryan Johnson’s 45-44–89 (T-10) and Seth Fisher’s 45-48–93. Elijah Johnson shot 51-45–96.
Weber, a sophomore, got off to a rough start, going triple-double (8-5) right out of the box. He played the rest of the side even par with birdies at 5 and 6. He also was a little clunky coming home, playing the last four holes in 5-over with two double bogeys, and was two off the lead when he posted, but all the other contenders fell off on the back nine to bring him to the top.
“I came out the first two holes and didn’t really shoot the best and thought to myself I’ve got to pick it up from here,” Weber said. “I realized I couldn’t get out of my head because it was only two holes. I knew I had a lot of golf to play.
“I think today it was really keeping my cool after those first two holes. When I was a freshman I probably would’ve blown up and gotten angry at myself and probably would have taken myself out of the whole match. I feel like I’ve matured a lot over the past year and realized what golf is really about. It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.”
And the Cougars finished on top when it counted.
Woodstown finished tied for second with Lower Cape May (358). They were three shots better than fourth-place Audubon.
Wolverines senior Jacob Schermerhorn shared second individually with LCM’s Alex Sekela at 83. The Wolverines also counted long-hitting first-year player Kyle Brainard’s 48-40—88 (T-6), Jeffrey Covely’s 49-43–92 and Joe Olbrich’s 46-49–95. Max Webb shot 115.
Among the top three teams, Woodstown’s four counters played the back nine the best (173) and had a 12-shot differential between the front (185) and back (173).
“I was happy, I was definitely content,” coach Kieran Keyser said. “The goal is always to do a little bit better than the previous year, which we did, and that made it that much sweeter. It was a good day. I was happy with our guys and I’m looking forward to the last two weeks of the season to try to finish strong.”
And that would be the Salem/Cumberland County Championship and the Tri-County Championship, two events that will be played under some non-traditional tournament formats.
Oaks show mettle
Salem CC baseball falls in final home game, but effort against No. 1 team in country gives it confidence heading into playoffs
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — Sophomore Day for the Salem CC baseball team may have been the last home game for a group of second-year players who built the current culture of the program, but for the first time since the Mighty Oaks brought back the program it wasn’t their last game.
The Mighty Oaks gave top-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester all it wanted through six innings Monday, but the Roadrunners scored two in the seventh to hand the Oaks a 6-3 loss that marked the end of Salem’s regular season.
But unlike past years when the final game of the regular season was the final game, it’s not the end of the line for Mighty Oaks (26-23). They play their first Region XIX tournament game since 2011 Saturday as the No. 7 seed at second-seeded Northampton CC. Gloucester (41-7) clinched the No. 1 seed with the victory.
“This gives me a lot of confidence knowing that we can compete with the No. 1 team in country,” reliever Inaki Hutchinson said. “I feel really good going into the playoffs, especially against Northampton, who we didn’t play very well against when we played them in the beginning of the season, but we weren’t as big of a team and a brotherhood as we are now.”
“Today was like we really know we can compete and we didn’t put our best guys in there,” added centerfielder Demetrius DeRemus. The Oaks were missing several starters and regulars due to injury and exams.
The Oaks never led in the game, but were in it start to finish. They were locked in a scoreless tie through three innings and when they fell behind got within 3-2 and 4-3 before the seventh.
Gloucester struck first with three runs in fourth off an RBI single, three-base throwing error and sacrifice fly. Hutchinson came on to put out the fire and then pitched a scoreless fifth.
“Really all I was trying to do was attack the zone (and) let my guys make plays,” Hutchinson said. “All I was trying to do was pitch to contact basically until I got to two strikes and once it got to 2-2, 3-2, I was trying to K ‘em up.”
The plan was to give starter Ryan Silnik three innings with Hutchinson and John McAllister each getting two. Silnik had fewer than 40 pitches through the first three innings, so coach John Holt extended him into the fourth.
The Oaks got two of the runs back in the home fourth. Cole Dawson drew a bases-loaded walk and Jared Vandersteur was hit by a pitch for the 20th time this season, also with the bases loaded. It looked like they were going to get more, but Roadrunners centerfielder R.J. Mustaro flagged down DeRamus’ deep fly right center for the final out the Oaks’ outfielder was convinced was gone for a grand slam.
The Oaks left six runners in scoring position over the first five innings.
“That’s just baseball; that’s the nature of the beast,” Holt said. “Sometimes they fall for you, sometimes they don’t and they just didn’t for us today. We put together some solid at bats most of the day and that’s what we preach.”
Gloucester went up 4-3 in the sixth, but the Oaks answered in the bottom of the inning on Cole Dawson’s leadoff double and a throwing error on Vandersteur’s chopper to third. Vandersteur reached base all four times he came to the plate.
The Oaks recognized their eight sophomores after the game. Six of them played in the game, including all three pitchers. The others are Nick Cielsielka, Eli Real, Mike Ochmanski and pitchers Ben Foote and Aiden Ewe.
The group has been part of 40 wins — and counting — over the past two seasons and a school-record 15-game winning streak this season that guaranteed the Oaks a winning record and a spot in the playoffs.
“These guys were kind of the beginning of what we were trying to establish in regards to a culture,” Holt said. “These guys, they did a lot more than just (what happened) between the lines. They helped build that culture here and if this thing continues to grow the way we think it’s going to grow these guys are going to have a lot to say about where it came from.”
NOTES: The projected first-round tournament pairings are as follows: Salem-Northampton, Ocean-Brookdale, RCSJ Cumberland-Middlesex Gloucester has a first-round bye. Gloucester, Northampton and Brookdale are 1, 2 and 4, respectively, in this week’s JUCO Division III poll … If the Oaks win their first-round series, their second-round matchup is May 18-19. McAllister and Mighty Oaks softball outfielder Faith Penn have their wedding planned for May 18 … DeRamus was quite active in the outfield. He flagged down seven fly balls and almost threw out a runner at the plate in the seventh … With three more HBPs Monday, the Oaks now have 107, second nationally in JUCO Division III. Vandersteur is T-4 individually. Lee Rodriguez is T-9.
Cover photo: Salem CC recognized its eight baseball sophomores after Monday’s game with RCSJ-Gloucester.
Eagles win a big one
Monday roundup: Pennsville softball holds off Gloucester Catholic to tighten Classic Division race, includes details on Salem County’s sports day
SOFTBALL
Overbrook 19, Penns Grove 2
Pennsville 2, Gloucester Catholic 1
Schalick at Glassboro
Salem 16, Wildwood 8
By Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The Pennsville softball team hadn’t played a game in two weeks, but the Eagles came ready to play Monday.
The Eagles scored a big Tri-County Classic Division win when they beat Gloucester Catholic 2-1, handing the Rams their first loss in the division and pulling into a virtual tie for first place.
It was their first game since April 22. They have now won six in a row.
“I think it’s like riding a bike,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said, not expecting to see any rust after the layoff. “You get back on the bike. You generally always know how to ride a bike. It’s just like getting right back on. You pick it up.
“You still have to hit the ball. You still have to field the ball. You still have to throw the ball. All those basic things are still there and applying them and playing the game.”
Savannah Palverento and Sierra Stultz combined to spin a four-hitter. Palvereno worked the first five and a third. Stultz came on with one out and bases loaded in the sixth and struck out the first two batters she faced to get out of it. Then she retired the side in order in the seventh with a strikeout to end it.
“She was calm, cool and collected, like she always is,” Jackson said of Stultz. “She always has a smile on her face and just comes in and does the job as she’s asked to do. That’s all of them. They have to come in and they’re ready when their number’s called.
“The two of them together work great. They’re a good team. The two of them work well together.”
The Eagles struck first with a run in the first, Kylie Harris led off with a single, advanced when the Rams misplayed Palverento’s grounder and scored on Bella Farina’s ground out.
The Rams tied the game in the second on an infield out, then the Eagles took the lead for good on Lilly Birney’s two-out single in the third. Palverento doubled with one out, Farina walked and then Birney singled.
The Rams threatened in the fifth, putting two runners in scoring position, but left them stranded.
A Gloucester Catholic win would have just about wrapped up the Classic Division for the Rams. By winning, the Eagles came share the division crown if both teams win out.
Jackson purposely didn’t bring up the importance of the game before her team played, but she laid out the possibilities afterwards. The Eagles went into the week fifth in South Jersey Group I power points, but they’re expected to gain ground when the standings are adjusted.
“I didn’t really want to put that in their head,; I didn’t want them to have to worry about that,” she said. “They know the situation now. We still have a lot of division games left and anything can happen, but you just split with them. If you win the rest of them, this is what could happen.”
SALEM 16, WILDWOOD 8: Julliana Love has been red hot at the plate in her last four games. Over that stretch she has gone 14-for-17 with 11 runs, including a second straight 4-for-5 Monday against the Warrior.
Raegan Wilson went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and pitched a complete game with 13 strikeouts. Morgan Johnson went 5-for-5 and Gianna Pelura went 4-for-5.
OVERBROOK 19, PENNS GROVE 2: The Rams scored eight runs in the first inning.
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BASEBALL
Overbrook 11, Penns Grove 0
Wildwood 14, Salem 2
Woodstown 7, Camden Academy Charter 1
Glassboro at Schalick, ppd.
WOODSTOWN 7, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 1: The Wolverines broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the third inning and five Woodstown pitchers combined to spin a two-hitter.
Andrew Pedrick had two doubles and two RBIs and Rocco String drove in a pair of runs. Starter Jack Holladay pitched three no-hit innings to get the win.
WILDWOOD 14, SALEM 2: The Warriors broke open the game with nine runs in the third inning. Jacob Parkell drove in the Rams’ two runs with a fifth-inning single. Andrew May and Ethan Logo had Salem’s other two hits.
OVERBROOK 11, PENNS GROVE 0: The Rams jumped out front with two runs in the first inning and then held the Red Devils to just one hit. Tommy Mattioli had Penns Grove’s hit.
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Glassboro 0
Woodstown 4, Triton 1
Penns Grove at Clayton
Schalick at Bridgeton
PENNSVILLE 5, GLASSBORO 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Rowan Somdhal-Sans, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Jesus Lopez, 6-1, 6-0
Ian Peacock (P) def. Kliche Umbafu, 6-2, 6-3
Sawyer Humphrey-Carter Willis (P) won by forfeit
Locklann Hooks-Matthew Forino (P) won by forfeit
Records: Glassboro 0-11, Pennsville 13-1.
WOODSTOWN 4, TRITON 1
Steve Schilder (T) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-4, 6-3
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Tristyn Malone, 6-4, 7-5
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. William Ahrens, 6-4, 6-2
Ben Stengel-Mason Shimp (Wo) def. Cole Durham-Sean Gorski, 7-5, 6-0
Luke Shaw-Jason LaFond (Wo) def. Tirth Patel-Shrey Modi, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 9-1, Triton 6-8.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-16, 25-14)
This week’s schedule
Here is the sports schedule for Salem County high school and college teams for the week of May 6-11; all events 4 p.m. unless noted
Monday
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem at Wildwood
Woodstown at Camden Academy Charter
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Schalick at Glassboro
Wildwood at Salem
GOLF
GCIT vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Triton, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton
Schalick at Bridgeton
TRACK
Penns Grove at Overbrook
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Triton at Salem Tech
Tuesday
BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
Schalick at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Triton
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
GOLF
Schalick, Woodstown in NJSIAA Sectionals, Cream Ridge GC
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
Cumberland at Woodstown
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddon Twp., 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Woodstown
Salem at Clayton
Schalick at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Schalick
Wildwood at Pennsville
Woodstown at Overbrook
GOLF
Cumberland girls vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Northern Burlington boys vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 4:15 p.m.
Middle Twp. vs. Pennsville, Sakima GC, 4:30 p.m.
TRACK
Salem County Championships, Salem, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Delsea at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 3:45 p.m.
Clayton at Schalick
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
Thursday
BASEBALL
Woodstown vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Salem
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Clayton
Woodstown vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
GOLF
Salem Tech, Pennsville, Clayton at The Birches, 3:45 p.m.
Timber Creek vs. Woodstown, Town & Country GC, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick vs. Deptford, Pitman GC
BOYS TENNIS
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
Williamstown at Penns Grove
GIRLS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown
Friday
BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Clayton
Woodstown at Salem
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Overbrook
Salem at Woodstown
Wildwood at Penns Grove
GOLF
Woodbury vs. Pennsville, Sakima GC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown
BOYS TENNIS
GCIT at Pennsville
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 3:45 p.m.
Saturday
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region XIX Tournament
(All doubleheaders starting at noon)
Salem CC at Northampton
RCSJ-Cumberland at Middlesex
Ocean at Brookdale
(Game 3, if necessary, Sunday, noon)
BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament
Woodstown vs. Camden Catholic, 10 a.m.
Paulsboro vs. Cherry Hill East, 10 a.m.
Consolation game, noon
Championship game, noon
GIRLS LACROSSE
Lower Cape May at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
One more to go
UPDATED
It still has one game to play, but Salem CC will be on the road in the first round of Region XIX baseball playoffs, likely to play Northampton
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The rain wiped out the second game of Salem CC’s regular-season-ending doubleheader with RCSJ-Gloucester Saturday, turning Monday’s rescheduled game a potentially big one for the Mighty Oaks’ Region XIX Division III playoff seeding.
The Oaks dropped Game 1 of the scheduled doubleheader 21-1, but the second one never got started. The game will be made up 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex and must be completed by Tuesday. If the Oaks win, they could move up a spot in the seedings.
Salem currently holds the No. 7 seed in the seven-team field, but if Ocean gets swept in its final two games with Camden Sunday, a Mighty Oaks win over the top-ranked Roadrunners would vault them to No. 6 by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over Ocean.
A No. 7 seed would send them to No. 2 Northampton in the opening-round best-of-3 series, while a No. 6 seed would send them to No. 3 Brookdale. Gloucester is the No. 1 seed by virtue of its 26-3 (.897) region-eligible record and a no contest ruling on Bergen pulling out of its series with Northampton, which finishes at 23-4 (.851).
“I guess we can kind of determine who’re going to play,” Salem coach John Holt said.
Right now, it looks like this: 1. x-RCSJ-Gloucester 26-3, 2. Northampton 23-4, 3. Brookdale 23-7, 4. Middlesex 18-12, 5. RCSJ-Cumberland 17-13, 6. y-Ocean 14-14, 7. x-Salem 13-16. x-1 game remaining vs. each other, y-2 games remaining vs. Camden
If these standings hold, the playoff series would be Salem-Northampton, Ocean-Brookdale, RCSJ Cumberland-Middlesex. RCSJ Gloucester has a first-round bye.
When it comes to making projections and preferences, Holt takes the Charlie Manuel approach.
“I’m not gonna put the cart in front of the horse yet,” he said. “I’ll worry about it when we know who we’re going to play.”
In the only game the Mighty Oaks played Saturday, freshman left-hander Sean Kelby pitched the first five innings Holt explained “to get him his innings to prep him for next week.”
The second game was going to see Ryan Silnik for the first three innings, Inaki Hutchinson for two and John McAllister for two. The pitching plan for Monday, Holt said, “probably won’t stray too far from that.”
“It’s baseball,” Holt said. “We’ve got to finish out the season, we want to try to win the game, but we also, at the end of the day, want to make sure everybody’s healthy and ready to go for the weekend.
“The good thing is I think we’ve got our pitching lined up to where it’s supposed to be and with the situations and scores and opponents we’ve had we’ve been able to give everybody some playing time to kind of sharpen up. This last one, granted, we don’t take the field to lose, but it doesn’t have a lot of bearing on where we’re at right now.”
Fighting to the end
Salem CC’s record softball season ends in hard-fought Region XIX tournament loss to eventual runner-up Mercer
REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s games
Mercer CC 10, Salem CC 8
Mercer CC 13, Delaware Tech 6
Championship game
Delaware Tech 11, Mercer CC 9
NOTE: Delaware Tech plays at Region X runnerup Bryant & Stratton (Va.); Mercer CC plays at Region X champion Louisburg (N.C.).
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WEST WINDSOR – Midnight came to Cinderella a little before noon Saturday.
The Salem CC softball team literally gave host Mercer CC all it could handle for the second day in a row but it took a sixth-inning rally for the top-seeded Vikings to put the relentless Mighty Oaks away.
Mercer fired the last salvo in a back-and-forth game, scoring two runs in the sixth inning to hand Salem a 10-8 loss in the Region XIX semifinals and bring to an end a record-setting season for the Mighty Oaks.
The Mighty Oaks shut out Mercer in the opening game of the tournament and held leads of 1-0, in the first inning, 4-3 in the third and 8-5 in the fifth Saturday; in fact, they held leads in all three of their tournament games. But the Vikings, the eventual tournament runner-ups, answered every time before taking the lead for good in the sixth.
“We definitely fought hard, we definitely pushed until the end; we just fell short at the end,” freshman catcher Callie Rozak said. “We scored just as much or more runs than they did, but in the end just came up a little short.”
“They underestimated us throughout the whole season I wanted to prove a point,” centerfielder Karyn Trice said. “I know everyone wanted to prove a point. I hoped we would come out on top, but we played hard and I think we really made a name for ourselves.”
The Oaks’ first three batters of the game all singled with Courtney Hoggard giving them a 1-0 lead. In the third inning Vaye Savage doubled home a run and two more scored on Rozak’s liner that hit hard off pitcher Shea Krebs’ upper body, was fielded in the infield and then thrown into foul territory.
The took their 8-5 lead in the fifth on a pair of two-run homers by Savage and Rozak. It was Rozak’s third homer in three tournament games (10 at-bats). The freshman catcher had hit only one during the regular season.
“The biggest thing is my swing,” Rozak said. “This past week we broke it down, we really changed it, we really harnessed all the power that I had and we put it into one nice full swing. I definitely think this year was me finding my power towards the end of the year. I’ve had base hits, I’ve had one other home run this year, but never like, OK, I’m consistently hitting it, we’re getting the ball out.”
The three-run lead left them nine outs away from a trip to the region championship round and a guaranteed berth in the Atlantic District playoffs next week at the Region X representatives.
But Mercer wanted a piece of that, too. The Vikings tied it with three in the bottom of the inning sixth on a two-run homer by Maya Patel and a throwing error trying to complete an inning-ending bases-loaded double play.
Hoggard made another nice stop at the third base bag on a hot shot, but instead of stepping on the base and firing home for a tag, she went home with the throw. Rozak took a short hop for the force, then fired on to first, but her throw sailed past Savage and into right field allowing the tying run to score.
“I definitely knew it was coming forward,” Rozak said. “We just had a time out about it and everybody was saying ‘4 then 1 (home then first base). That throw definitely was a throw I got nervous about because it was bouncy, the turf is hard and it bounced right before my glove and I was like I’ve just got to catch this ball, that’s all I have to do, I have to make this out.
“I probably shouldn’t have made the throw (to first). In my head I was like ‘hold it, hold it,’ and in the back of my head hearing everyone yelling ‘1, 1, 1,’ I thought maybe I still had a chance.”
The Vikings scored their two go-ahead runs on an RBI double by Cierra Acevedo that fell squarely on the right-field foul line and a sacrifice fly by Patel after both hitters fouled off a pair of 0-2 pitches from Morgan Mecham.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We played our best yesterday and they (Mercer) were going to be hungry coming out and wanting to make a difference. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“They did everything that we asked. They came into a week where they were the true underdogs and they battled. It didn’t come out our way – that’s softball – but they did everything we could ask.”
There were expectedly tears and hugs in the Mighty Oaks’ post-game huddle, but there also was a lot of pride in what the team showed this season in its second year back on the field and in the tournament.
The Mighty Oaks had a 30-win season, opened their new home at Pennsville’s Watson Field with a 14-game winning streak, went 18-2 at home, had a 19-game overall winning streak and won its first playoff game in school history.
“The biggest thing was how well we came together as a team,” Rozak said. “Coming from everywhere around the country, the world, and coming together as one and being there for each other, that’s a huge part of this game.”
“We had something to prove since Day One,” Trice said. “Since we’re a second-year program nobody thought we could do it and I’m just glad we put our name out there. We really showed what Salem’s all about. That’s what makes it so special to me, we’re a second-year program and doing all these things.”
Riverview Sports News 