Well-armed Pennsville

Pennsville All-Stars edge Elmer 5-3, go 2-0 in District 3 Little League Tournament for first time since winning the title in 2019

DISTRICT 3 TOURNAMENT
MONDAY’s GAMES
Pennsville 5, Elmer 3
South Vineland 17, Bridgeton 1
West Cumberland 6, Penns Grove 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

ELMER – Pennsville All-Stars manager Stephen Pangle went with a three-armed pitching plan in his team’s District 3 Little League Tournament opener because of the oppressive heat and it produced the program’s first tournament win since 2019.

He went with the same approach Monday in a game that was 14 degrees cooler at the start and windier – with the same pitchers, in the same order – and it netted a 5-3 victory over the Elmer LL All-Stars that put them in prime position to advance out of the American Division.

They’re now tied atop the division with South Vineland and have wins over current No. 3 Buena and T-4 Elmer. The teams play for the top seed in the division Thursday at South Vineland, where Pennsville could potentially use the three-armed approach again.

“It wasn’t the plan in the beginning, but it worked so well in the first game we figured why not try it again the next game and it worked,” Pangle said. “But you could see our middle pitching starting to struggle a little bit, so we went to our third pitching a little bit earlier than we would have liked, but it ended up working out.”

JoJo Mannino started for the second game in a row, worked the first two innings, threw 52 pitches, allowed one hit and struck out four. Caiden Colomy had the middle two, threw 25 pitches and allowed one hit. Nate Morrison close it again, throwing 31 pitches over the final two innings and striking out three.

In the first two games of the tournament the trio has given up four runs, seven hits and struck out and struck out 18.

“It’s worked out wonderful,” Colomy said.

“I think we’re dominating; we’re unstoppable if we all just work together and do whatever we needed,” Mannino said. “We’re an unstoppable trio.”

It didn’t start well for them – Elmer scored three runs in the first inning off Mannino – but over the next five frames, the three pitchers kept their hosts off the board on one more hit – a bunt single.

It gave Pennsville the chance it needed to come back. Colomy gave Pennsville a 4-3 lead with a two-run single in the fifth inning and Mannino provided an insurance run with a leadoff homer in the sixth.

It was a 3-2 game going into the fifth. Lauden Tighe got the go-ahead rally started with a pop single that fell into short right field. “If we didn’t get that hit in that spot, we may not have won that game,” Pangle said.

Morrison reached on a two-out error that put runners at second and third and Colomy brought them both home with a sharp single through the hole at short for a 4-3 lead. Colomy and Tighe both doubled earlier in the game.

“I was just trying to drive them home,” Colomy said. “I just wanted to get a good hit to the outfield and drive them in.”

Grayson Bingham pitched a complete game for Elmer. He threw 82 pitches, gave up seven hits and struck out three. “He threw an incredible game,” Elmer manager Matt Schneider said. “Any day of the week you’d take that pitching outing right there.”

Elmer scored its three runs in the first inning with the benefit of just one hit – a 23-foot single by Easton Aulffo with the bases loaded that gave his team a 2-1 lead. They scored their first run on an error and their third run when Raylan Baldissaro was hit by a pitch right after Aulffo’s short single.

But they managed only five more base runners the rest of the game, three who got in scoring position, but none past second base. Two of the runners were put out at third.

“We came out urgent and then kind of stood on our laurels,” Schneider said. “We got up early and just took our foot off the gas. They made the hits when they needed to and we didn’t. All the credit in the world to those kids. They played all 18 outs and they deserved to win.”

Pennsville 5, Elmer 3

Pennsville	110	021-	5	7	2
Elmer	300	000-	3	2	2

WP: Caiden Colomy (1-0). LP: Grayson Bingham (0-1). S: Nate Morrison (2). 2B: Lauden Tighe (P), Caiden Colomy (P). HR: JoJo Mannino (P).

District 3 LL Tournament

AMERICAN	W	L	RUNS	NATIONAL	W	L	RUNS
Pennsville	2	0	8-4	E. Vineland	2	0	21-10
S. Vineland	2	0	24-7	Millville Amer	1	1	13-12
Buena	1	1	13-3	W. Cumberland	1	1	10-8
Elmer	0	2	9-12	Penns Grove	0	2	5-18
Bridgeton	0	2	1-29

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Elmer at Bridgeton, 5:45 p.m.
East Vineland at West Cumberland, 5:45 p.m.
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville at South Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
South Vineland at Buena, 5:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Millville American, 5:45 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville at Bridgeton, 5 p.m.
Elmer at Buena, 5 p.m.

Pitted in Pitman

Woodstown, Pennsville paired in the final round of pool play in Saturday’s Coach Ginsburg 7×7 at Total Turf

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – Woodstown plays three of the other four football-playing Salem County teams this upcoming season and organizers of Saturday’s Coach Larry Ginsburg 7×7 Classic have given the Wolverines the chance to complete the set.

The event schedule-makers have placed the Wolverines and Pennsville in the same bracket for the 7×7 tournament that moves this year to the Total Turf Experience. They will meet in the final game of Bracket II pool play at 1 p.m.

The winners of each of the four brackets advance to the semifinals at 2 p.m. with those winners playing for the championship at 2:45. Woodbury defeated Penns Grove in last year’s championship game.

Woodstown, under the direction of new head coach Frank Trautz, plays the other three county teams – Penns Grove, Salem and Schalick – in division play during the regular season. The Wolverines and Eagles last played in the regular season in 2020 with Woodstown winning 6-0.

Woodstown is coming off a 9-3 season in which it won the South Jersey Group I title and lost to Glassboro in the last minute of the state semifinals. Pennsville is coming off its first winning season since 2016. The Eagles went 6-4, won both of their regional consolation games and returns most of that team.

The Classic benefits the Adam Taliaferro Foundation.

COACH LARRY GINSBURG 7×7
(Saturday, Total Turf Experience, Pitman)

Bracket I (Field 1A): Cherokee, Atlantic City, Gloucester City, West Deptford
Bracket II (Field 1B): Eastern, Bridgeton, Pennsville, Woodstown
Bracket III (Field 2A): Timber Creek, St. Joseph’s, Kipps, Nottingham
Bracket IV (Field 2B): Vineland, Kingsway, Tri-County, Woodbury

SCHEDULE OF GAMES
9:30 a.m.: Cherokee-Gloucester City, Eastern-Pennsville, Timber Creek-Kipps, Vineland-Woodbury.

10:00: Atlantic City-West Deptford, Bridgeton-Woodstown, St. Joseph-Nottingham, Kingsway-Tri-County

10:30: Break

11:00: Cherokee-West Deptford, Eastern-Woodstown, Timber Creek-Nottingham, Vineland-Tri-County

11:30: Atlantic City-Gloucester City, Bridgeton-Pennsville, St. Joseph-Kipps, Kingsway-Woodbury

Noon: Break

12:30 p.m.: Cherokee-Atlantic City, Eastern-Bridgeton, Timber Creek-St. Joseph, Vineland-Kingsway

1:00: West Depford-Gloucester City, Pennsville-Woodstown, Kipps-Nottingham, Woodbury-Tri-County

2:00: Semifinals (Bracket winners), Fields 1A & 1B

2:45: Championship Game, Field 1A

Cover photo: Woodbury won last year’s Ginsburg 7×7 Classic with a come-from-behind win over Penns Grove.

District 3 LL 12U

East Vineland takes upper hand in National Division with an 8-7 walk-off win over Millville American; game ended on an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh

District 3 LL Tournament

AMERICAN	W	L	RUNS	NATIONAL	W	L	RUNS
Pennsville	1	0	3-1	E. Vineland	2	0	21-10
S. Vineland	1	0	7-6	Millville Amer	1	1	13-12
Buena	1	1	13-3	W. Cumberland	0	1	4-6
Elmer	0	1	6-7	Penns Grove	0	1	3-12
Bridgeton	0	1	0-12

SUNDAY’S GAME
East Vineland 8. Millville American 7 (7 inns.)
MONDAY’S GAMES
Bridgeton at South Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Elmer, 5:45 p.m.
West Cumberland at Penns Grove, 5:45 p.m.

Historic start

UPDATED

Pennsville 12U All-Stars on game in all three phases, beat Buena in District 3 LL Tournament opener for first tournament win in five years

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The temperature on McLaughlin Field at first pitch was pushing 100 and the Pennsville All-Stars came out on fire.

The last team to play in the tournament this year was on point in all three phases of the game in its District 3 Little League Tournament opener Saturday and parlayed it into an historic 3-1 victory over Buena.

UPDATED INFO: It was their first win in the district tournament since 2019, when they swept the title in six games, and their first Little League Tournament win since taking their first elimination game in the 2019 section tournament. They had lost their last nine tournament games. There was no tournament in 2020.

“It’s a big step for Pennsville Little League baseball; it’s been a while,” manager Stephen Pangle said. “It puts our confidence right where it needs to be.

“Knowing the last couple years we have been winless for 12U and coming in and being able to get that first game, first win, just shows how much hard work they’ve put in the past three weeks to get where they’re at today.”

Pennsville got clutch performances from every element of its team. Three pitchers combined to hold a Buena bunch that scored 12 runs in its opener to one run and five hits with Nate Morrison locking down the final 2 1/3 innings for the save.

The pitchers were supported by strong defense that included several nice plays from second baseman Owen Whalen and a nifty unassisted double play by centerfielder Nathan Breeden to end the fifth inning.

Offensively, they got two hits apiece from Morrison and Breeden, an RBI single from Caiden Colomy in the third inning and a long solo homer by John Swiderski in the fourth that answered Buena’s run in the top of the inning. They never trailed.

“They were just ready to battle, they were ready to go,” Pangle said. “We looked like a well-oiled machine out there today. Everybody was doing their part. Everybody did what they were supposed to do. Everybody did their job. That was the biggest thing.

“We preach during practice all we want you to do is do your job … and they were able to deliver on that.”

Pennsville’s plan to go with three pitchers was predicated by the heat, giving each about 35 pitches to keep them from overworking. JoJo Mannino started and turned back a couple threats in his two innings. Colomy followed him and stayed until an two-out RBI triple by Cash Myers brought home Buena’s run on a close play at the plate.

Morrison came on at that point and, with Myers representing the tying run at the time, struck out the first hitter he faced on four pitches to end the inning. And then he finished the game, striking out the side in the sixth with the tying run at the plate.

“He’s a big-time pitcher,” Pangle said. “He pitches for me during our Little League season so I know what he’s capable of doing, and I know he’s able to throw strikes, throw heat, and have different pitches to throw them off balance.”

“(The mindset entering the game) was just to get out of the inning, to get that one out so the runner doesn’t score and help the team out,” Morrison said. “I really wanted to close out the game. When I start I really want to close it out as far as I can go.”

It didn’t take long for Pennsville to get the run back. Swiderski led off the bottom of the fourth with a long homer. It was his 16th of the summer and wasn’t even the longest one he’d hit this summer.

“Off the bat I knew it was gone because he crushed that,” Morrison said.

“If they hit you, you hit them back harder,” Swiderski said. “I was sitting on that curveball because I knew he had a good curve. I knew it was going to be first-pitch fastball and I was sitting on that curveball for my second pitch and went with my hitting mechanics I’ve been doing forever and I just drove the ball.”

And it drove Pennsville to an historic win.

Cover photo: Nate Morrison delivers a pitch to the final batter in Pennsville’s 3-1 District 3 Tournament win over Buena Saturday.

Pennsville 3, Buena 1

Buena	000	100–	1	5	1
Pennsville	101	10X–	3	6	2

WP: JoJo Mannino (1-0). LP: Dom Wargo (1-1). 2B: Nate Morrison (P). 3B: Cash Myers (B). HR: John Swiderski (P).

District 3 LL Tournament

AMERICAN	W	L	RUNS	NATIONAL	W	L	RUNS
Pennsville	1	0	3-1	E. Vineland	1	0	13-3
S. Vineland	1	0	7-6	Millville Amer	1	0	6-4
Buena	1	1	13-3	W. Cumberland	0	1	4-6
Elmer	0	1	6-7	Penns Grove	0	1	3-12
Bridgeton	0	1	0-12

SATURDAY’S GAME
Pennsville 3, Buena 1
SUNDAY’S GAME
Millville American at East Vineland, 5 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAMES
Bridgeton at South Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Elmer, 5:45 p.m.
West Cumberland at Penns Grove, 5:45 p.m.

Game of inches

South Vineland rallies for four in fifth to take the lead, then turns back an Elmer rally in the sixth in the District 3 Little League Tournament

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

ELMER – Baseball, they say, is a game of inches and that’s literally how close the Elmer All-Stars came to winning their District 3 Little League Tournament opener Friday night.

South Vineland staged a fifth-inning rally to take the lead and then turned back Elmer in the sixth with leftfielder Kayden Potts stretching out to snare the final out with the go-ahead runs in scoring position to preserve a 7-6 victory.

Elmer’s Adam McGovern came to the plate with two outs in the sixth, one run already home, the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second. He worked the count to 3-0 and manager Matt Schneider gave him the green light.

McGovern hit the ball solidly and it looked headed to the gap to give Elmer a momentum-stealing lead. Potts, a usual pitcher and catcher given the start in the outfield on a last-minute coach’s hunch, raced over and snatched the fly out of the air before it could cause any damage.

A few inches over and it would’ve given Elmer the lead. Instead, the next thing you knew the teams were going through the handshake line.

“The kids never hung their heads,” Schneider said. “Baseball’s a game of inches. We went out there, put charges in the ball and stayed in the game and ultimately gave ourselves a chance at the end there and that’s all you can ask for.”

Given the situation Schneider didn’t think giving McGovern the green light when South Vineland reliever Elijuah Perez had just walked Mateo Cummings ahead of him was a risk.

“At that point in the game you get the pitch you can drive and we go for it,” Schneider said. “Normally, yeah, you want to play (the percentages), but we had the momentum, he got a pitch he could drive and he drove it, but right to the guy. Sometimes you’ve got throw those fundamentals out the window when you get a pitch you can groove.”

“In travel I hit my first home run off a 3-0,” McGovern said. “I thought (this one) I had too much loft on it and I got under it too much. I was just thinking make it to the outfield and see what happens.”

McGovern had a softer swing two innings earlier that netted his team a better result. His slow roller with the bases loaded died in the infield grass for an RBI single that put Elmer ahead 4-3.

“I was really happy (about that) because I’d been on a slump,” he said.

The close calls weren’t just limited to Elmer. South Vineland retook the lead with two outs in the fifth on back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Joel Rodriguez and Perez that both were just out of the reach of Elmer centerfielder Clayton Bishop. They scored their two runs in the first inning with two outs, too.

“To be honest, that’s what we do,” South Vineland manager Hiram Cordero said. “We’re like a two-out team. It’s like when we have two outs that’s when the team wakes up because you have not room for error. That was a good team. Everybody who went up was hitting it. I was telling the guys that’s the way to win – to hit the ball.”

Elmer was the visitor in its own park and took the first lead in the game on Chase Moir’s two-out RBI double in the first inning. McGovern’s run-scoring slow roller was part of a three-run fourth and Elmer extended its lead to 5-3 in the fifth on Ryan Schneider’s RBI ground out.

“If you like baseball that was a fun game to watch, regardless of the outcome,” Matt Schneider said. “We were on the losing end of that, but we told the guys there are good wins and there are good losses and that was a good loss. We were never out of that game to the end.

“Now we’ve got the weekend (free). We told the guys clear their heads; you’ve got to have the memory of a goldfish. Monday we come back (at home against Pennsville). We’re going to play hard, we’re going to go at them and we’re going to attack them like we do.”

South Vineland 7, Elmer 6

Elmer	100	311–	6	10	3
South Vineland	210	04X–	7	9	2

WP: Elijuah Perez (1-0). LP: Brandon D’Agostino (0-1). 2B: Chase Moir (E); Joel Rodriguez (SV), Elijuah Perez (SV), Mylus Moore (SV). 3B: Ronald Leverette (SV).

District 3 LL Tournament

AMERICAN DIV.	W	L	RF-RA	NATIONAL DIV.	W	L	RF-RA
Buena	1	0	12-0	East Vineland	1	0	13-3
South Vineland	1	0	7-6	Millville American	1	0	6-4
Pennsville	0	0	0-0	West Cumberland	0	1	4-6
Elmer	0	1	6-7	Penns Grove	0	1	3-13
Bridgeton	0	1	0-12

FRIDAY’S GAMES
South Vineland 7, Elmer 6
Millville American 6, West Cumberland 4
SATURDAY’S GAME
Buena at Pennsville, 5 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Millville American at East Vineland, 5 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAMES
Bridgeton at South Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Elmer, 5:45 p.m.
West Cumberland at Penns Grove, 5:45 p.m.

Starting strong

Candelario, Perkins hit and pitch East Vineland All-Stars to 13-3 victory over Penns Grove in District 3 LL Tournament opener

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Jim Smith is confident his East Vineland Little League All-Stars have all the ingredients to be a dominant team in the District 3 LL Tournament and have a nice run up the line.

Decorum, of course, prevents him from actually saying it, but you can’t help think the manager fully believes it.

East Vineland wasted no time putting those pieces on display Thursday, pounding 14 hits overall – eight for extra bases – regularly stealing or taking the extra base and holding their hosts to three hits in a 13-3 Opening Night win over Penns Grove.

“I’ve got a lot of strong bats on the team, a lot of speed on the team and pitching depth,” Smith said. “We’ve got a 1-2-3 (rotation); I think we only saw the 1-2.

“Our bats are really what jumped out for everything. I was getting hits through my entire lineup and that’s what we work on. And baserunning, too.”

Carter Perkins and Enzo Candelario led the way on the mound and at the plate. Candelario went 4-for-4 with two homers and two ground-rule doubles. Perkins had two doubles, a first-pitch leadoff triple and scored four runs. And they combined for the three-hitter with 10 strikeouts off the mound.

Perkins opened the game with a triple on the first pitch and stole home under the nose of the pitcher and catcher. He doubled in the third, stole third and scored when the toss back to the pitcher got away. His speed also created runs in the fifth and sixth.

Candelario hit ground-rule doubles in the first and sixth innings and launched long solo homers in the third and fifth. He now has 40 homers this summer between rec ball, travel ball and the tournament with a goal of hitting 50 for the year.

“They (Perkins and Candelario) were on the team I played in the (league) championship,” Smith said. “We won the first game, but lost the second and third. I tried to pitch around them and there is no pitching around them.”

“I felt good today,” Candelario said. “I made hard contact with the ball. When I go to the plate I look to get a hard hit.”

“He just hits bombs,” said Perkins.

“Give all the credit in the world to that team,” Penns Grove manager B.J. Painter said. “They’re stacked, especially the first half of that lineup. And you can’t say enough about 33 (Candelario). We couldn’t get away from him on either side of the ball. I knew they were coming with three really good players and they absolutely lived up to it today.”

The winners opened a 5-0 lead in the third, but the Killer Ps – Carneys Point, Penns Grove and Pedricktown – scored three in the home half of the inning when Zac Dordell drew a bases-loaded walk to end Candelario’s day on the mound and Bryce Painter greeted Perkins with a two-run single.

They looked to have something going with one out in the sixth, but Perkins got out of it with a game-ending double play started by Candelario.

“I knew we could hang with these guys,” Painter said. “Unfortunately the next inning when we were on offense we had a four-pitch inning that was one of those that takes a little bit of air out of the sails.“We’re going to use this as a learning experience. We’ve got another game Monday (against West Cumberland at the Carneys Point Rec Park) and we’re going to come out ready to play.”

Cover photo: East Vineland’s Enzo Candelario hit two homers and a pair of doubles, pitched the first 2 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and started the game-ending double play Thursday night.

East Vineland 13, Penns Grove 3

East Vineland	212	152–	13	14	3
Penns Grove	003	000–	3	3	4

WP: Enzo Canderlario (1-0). LP: Achillus Vong (0-1). 2B: Carter Perkins 2 (EV), Enzo Canderlario 2 (EV), Chase Hassler (PG). 3B: Carter Perkins (EV), Barry Garcia (EV). HR: Enzo Candelario 2 (EV).

District 3 LL Tournament

AMERICAN DIV.	W	L	RF-RA	NATIONAL DIV.	W	L	RF-RA
Buena	1	0	12-0	East Vineland	1	0	13-3
Elmer	0	0	0-0	Millville American	0	0	0-0
Pennsville	0	0	0-0	West Cumberland	0	0	0-0
South Vineland	0	0	0-0	Penns Grove	0	1	3-13
Bridgeton	0	1	0-12

THURSDAY’S GAMES
East Vineland 13, Penns Grove 3
Buena 12, Bridgeton 0
FRIDAY’S GAMES
South Vineland at Elmer, 5:45 p.m.
Millville American at West Cumberland, 5:45 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Buena at Pennsville, 5 p.m.

Salem CC softball moves

Pennsville’s Watson, former D-III All-American Bryszewski join Mighty Oaks’ coaching staff

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – What started off as a simple phone call just to gauge interest in coaching at the next level developed into an unexpected opportunity for Pennsville Little League softball coach Chris Watson.

Watson, the Pennsville LL president and head coach of the league’s 2023 Senior Softball World Series team, is joining Salem Community College coach Angel Rodriguez’ staff as an assistant coach.

“It kind of came as a surprise,” Watson said. “I never really thought about it before; I’m super thankful by wife was OK with it. I wasn’t expecting it to go over very well, but she’s actually kind of excited. I’m pretty pumped.”

Watson has developed this latest wave of Pennsville LL softball players into a state and regional summertime power. Last year’s team continued its progression through district, sectional and state titles, swept through the East Regional and finished seventh in the Little League Senior Softball World Series. Current Salem CC assistant Mackenzie Freas is one of Watson’s assistants.

It is about to embark on the defense of all those titles in a couple weeks.

The Mighty Oaks had an historic season in 2024. They won a school-record 31 games, enjoyed a school-record 19-game winning streak in the middle of the season and won a game in the Region XIX Tournament. Shortstop Ella Hayes was the Region XIX Player of the Year.

Assistant coach Chad Zearfoss has left the staff after three seasons to become the head softball coach at Cecil (Md.) College.

Rodriguez said adding Watson and Josie Bryszewski to the staff “will help tremendously.” He said specific coaching roles will start taking shape once off-season meetings begin, but Watson is eager to start. Bryszewski, a standout pitcher at Immaculata, was a Division III All-American at Moravian, where she most recently served as pitching coach.

“I want to learn all this stuff, all the recruiting and how colleges run practices and games,” he said. “I’m interested in all the little things they do differently.”

Earlier in the week, the Oaks announced several of their veterans have signed to play at four-year schools: Karyn Trice (Chestnut Hill), Haylee Pickrell (Chestnut Hill), Courtney Hoggard (Elizabeth City State), Morgan Mecham (Delaware Valley), Vaye Savage (Rider) and Caitlin LaGreca (Rosemont).

Among the signees they have landed to fill those spots include Pennsville’s Bella Rappa and Lilly Peverelle.

“We’re excited to get the incoming and returners on campus and begin rolling … should be a great squad we have ready to roll,” Rodriguez said. “Adding in Josie and Chris to our staff will help tremendously.”

Getting to know …

Pennsville’s Robbie McDade

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the latest in a recurring series of in depth interviews with athletes in Salem County. Coaches, if there is a player in your program with an interesting background or backstory the community would be interested in “Getting to Know …,” forward details in an email to Riverview Sports News at al.muskewitz@gmail.com.

By Brian Tortella
For Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Robbie McDade played a major role in turning around the Pennsville football program last season. As only a sophomore, he led the Eagles to a 6-4 record as the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Not only did he lead Salem County in passing yards (1,282), the six victories matched the program’s win-total from the previous three seasons combined.

“Robbie is one of the hardest workers on the team, but more importantly, he is always trying to get others together to work with him,” Eagles head coach Mike Healy said. “He never misses a workout, is always getting kids together to work on routes, and has been working with a QB coach this offseason. I couldn’t be happier with his dedication and the fact that having success last year has made him work even harder.”

Not only is McDade a hard worker on the football field, but the 5-foot-10 gunslinger also performs on the mat, notching 20 individual wins wrestling this winter. He played baseball his freshman year, but decided to step aside to put a full focus on elevating his football game.

The McDade name is well-known throughout Pennsville Township. His grandfather, Robert E. McDade was the mayor of Pennsville up until last year. Get to know Robbie as he continues to live up to his last name, making Pennsville proud while preparing for the upcoming season on the gridiron.

RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: Did you always want to play quarterback growing up or did you just have a knack for throwing the football?

ROBBIE McDADE: I actually played running back my whole life but naturally had an arm. My eighth grade year we didn’t have a quarterback so I decided to try it out and we went to the championship. After that I loved it ever since.

RSN: What do you like most about playing football compared to other sports?

RN: The thing I like the most is the team bonding and chemistry you can build. It also teaches you to work together. It’s different from wrestling because wrestling it’s just you out there and no one can help you. There’s just nothing like football and the friends you make from it.

RSN: What do you like most about Coach Healy?

RM: I like how he doesn’t care how old you are; if you’re good enough you will play. He makes you earn everything you get, nothing is given to you when he is your coach and that’s what I like the most. He motivates you to get better and doesn’t take lazy people. You have to give full effort at all times.

RSN: How have you been practicing to prepare for the season, and what is your expectation for your team this upcoming campaign?

RM: I have been putting in the most work I ever have. I have been lifting five days a week and going to my trainer every week. I throw with my receivers so much to get the chemistry down and to be the best I can be. This offseason has been a grind and it’s going to pay off. This team is going to shock people this year and make a big playoff run.

RSN: What do you do away from the field? What do you do for fun in your down time? Any extracurricular activities?

RM: I like to go boating and being out in the water. It is time for me to relax and not think about anything. Also family is a big part of my life, my family BBQ’s a lot and it’s a good time.

RSN: Do you fish then? If so, have you caught anything recently?

RM: No, I don’t go fishing a whole lot, I like to go crabbing. I caught a couple dozen crabs recently.

RSN: Who is someone you looked up to or continued to growing up?

RM: I really look up to Tom Brady; he just has that mindset to be the best you can be. His story is great: He was never the best and he never had the best arm but he just kept working and he overcame a lot of adversity and eventually got the starting job. It just tells me to never stop working.

RSN: So, to settle the debate, is Brady the GOAT?

RM: Yes, I do think he is the GOAT. I mean, he has the most rings.

RSN: What’s your favorite hype song?

RM: Dreams and Nightmares by Meek Mill is my favorite pre-game song. It gets me fired up and ready for the game.

RSN: Tell me a little bit about your future. Do you see yourself playing football at the next level and what school is your realistic “dream” college?

RM: Yes, I do see myself playing at the next level. I am grinding to get to where I need to be to play at the next level. One of my dream colleges would be the University of Delaware.

RSN: You guys were put in a lighter division when they reshuffled the West Jersey Football League, but appealed to move up to a harder one to have a better chance at making the playoffs this season. What are your thoughts on that?

RM: I love that we did that. It gives us an opportunity to go to the playoffs. Now, it is our job to win games so we can accomplish the goals that we want.

RSN: Looking into the future, how would you like to be remembered in Pennsville athletics history?

RM: I would like to be remembered as a hard-working person, and I want people to remember me as one of the best QBs to go through Pennsville.

Meet of Champions

Salem’s Jackson, Schalick’s O’Neill bring top 10 finishes back to Salem County

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSAUKEN – Salem’s DaviYonn Jackson and Schalick’s Grace O’Neill both posted top 10 finishes – the highest finishes among Salem County athletes – at Wednesday’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Pennsauken High School.

Jackson, the Group I champion, finished fifth with a jump of 46 feet, 6.5 inches. O’Neill finished eighth in the girls discus with a throw of 134 feet, 3 inches that broke a 12-year-old school record. Her throw was two feet better than her third-place throw in the Group I meet.

Here is how the Salem County athletes fared at the TOC Meet.

BOYS
Triple jump: 5. DaviYonn Jackson, Salem, 46-6.5); 14. Khalim Smith, Penns Grove, 43-7.25.
4×800: 18. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Joshua Crasford, Jacob Marino, Cole Lucas), 8:15.98).

GIRLS
4×100: 11. Salem (Sairis Jiminez, Karima Davenport-White, Morgan VanDover, Rhionna Timmons), 49.3.
400: 13. Anna Buzby, Salem, 59.11.
3200: 13. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 11:05.33.
Discus: 8. Grace O’Neill, Schalick, 134-3.
Pole vault: 21. Megan Morris, Pennsville, 10-0.
Long jump: 26. Karima Davenport-White, 16-0.

Back to the Bank

Tri-Cape All-Stars score second win in Carpenter Cup, reach semifinals in Citizens Bank Park for fourth year in a row; all 3 Salem County players contribute

CARPENTER CUP
Thursday’s Games
Urban Youth Academy Fields, FDR Park
Inter-Ac/Independents 18, SEPA 5
Jersey Shore 9, Chester County 6
Tri-Cape 5, Philadelphia Catholic 2
Delaware County 10, Philadelphia Public 9

June 24 Semifinals
At Citizens Bank Park
Inter-Ac/Independents vs. Jersey Shore, 9 a.m.
Tri-Cape vs. Delaware County, 12:30 p.m.

June 25 Championship Game
At Citizens Bank Park
Semifinal winners, 9:30 a.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PHILADELPHIA – D.J. Gore has taken the Tri-Cape All-Stars to the Carpenter Cup rounds in Citizens Bank Park so much the last couple years he could probably set up shop next to Rob Thomson’s office and nobody in the Phillies’ organization would think twice.

Meanwhile, the three Salem County players on the team have all been in the Bank before but never from the place they’ll be come next Monday.

The Tri-County/Cape Atlantic League stars coached by Gore punched their ticket to the Carpenter Cup semifinals for the fourth year in a row Thursday when they beat the Philadelphia Catholic League 5-2 on the Dick Allen Urban Youth Academy Field in FDR Park.

They’ll now play the Delaware County stars in the 12:30 p.m. June 24 semifinal at Citizens Park Bank, looking to reach the finals for the fourth year in a row. Inter-Ac/Independents will play Jersey Shore in the 9 a.m. semifinal. Jersey Shore beat Tri-Cape in last year’s championship game. The finals are 9:30 a.m. June 25.

“We’ve been fortunate because we’ve had a run of really good, successful kids and they’re extremely talented,” said Gore, the head coach at Highland Regional. “It really is easy to have them in the dugout. That’s how we’ve been able to have the success that we’ve been able to have.

“It’s always a big deal to get a new group of kids there. There are probably 10 kids who haven’t been there, so you get a new group to experience Citizens Bank Park and were all still probably little boys at heart so any time you can walk on the field and get on the field and get into the bullpens, get on the home plate, the pitching mound, it’s a memory that lasts a lifetime.”

All three of the Salem County players on the team – Pennsville’s Peyton O’Brien and Chase Burchifield and Schalick’s Luke Pokrovsky – have been in Citizens Bank Park before. O’Brien has even been on the field once for a meet-the-players session, but for the most part all of their experience has been from the stands.

Now, they’ll be able to experience it from a whole different perspective.

“That’s going to be really cool,” Burchfield said. “I’m going to have to take some videos of that.”

“It’s going to be crazy,” O’Brien said. “A field you grew up watching, now you have the opportunity to play on that field, it’s going to be awesome.”

Pokrovsky hadn’t really given any thought to throwing of the CBP mound before, but after Thursday’s win, he said, “I’m going to start thinking about it now.”

“We have a really good team,” he said. “I feel like we’re going to win the next one and get to the championship.”

All three Salem players played a part in Thursday’s victory.

O’Brien and Burchfield each collected their first hit of the series in the sixth inning. Burchfield beat out an infield single to third with one out and in somewhat a reversal of fortunes, O’Brien punched an opposite-field single into left to score his high school teammate and extended Tri-Cape’s lead to 4-1.

During the high school season it was usually Burchfield, the Eagles’ cleanup hitter, knocking in O’Brien, who hit third.

“Tuesday I struck out with a guy on third base and I was not happy about it,” O’Brien said. “I wanted to get a run home, so I tried to do whatever I could and put the ball in play and it found a spot. To be able to hit him in is awesome.”

“It was pretty cool to have that happen, especially in this game where not all of us are from the same (high school) team.”

Pokrovsky pitched for the second game in a row. This time, instead of finishing the game, the left-hander pitched two innings of one-hit shutout middle relief immediately behind starter and winner Tate DeRias (Gloucester Catholic/Miami).

Pokrovsky was lifted in mid-count for Mainland’s Brady Blum after putting the first two runners on in the sixth, but, in one of the biggest moments of the game, after he loaded the bases with none out Blum got out of the jam with three straight strikeouts similar to what he did in the opener.

“Today was a lot better due to the fact I was more loose,” Pokrovsky said. “Tuesday I warmed up in the beginning of the game and it was like three hours later that I threw on the mound. Throwing in the middle of game it felt way better than Tuesday.”

The PCL stars hit DeRias’ first pitch for a triple and scored a run in the first inning, but got not more. They were 2-for-21 with runners on base, 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base.

Tri-Cape took the lead with three in the second. They tied the game on an RBI infield single by Chris Smith (Washington Twp.), took the lead when Hunter Ray (Lower Cape May) scored on a wild pitch and extended the lead on another RBI infield single by Evan Taylor (Ocean City).

“it’s fun playing with all these kids,” Burchfield said. “You know they’re all so good. I feel like I’ll be up to bat and the next thing I’ll be right back up because all the kids are hitting. It’s fun.”

Phila. Catholic (1-1)	100	000	001-	2	7	0
Tri-Cape (2-0)	030	001	01X-	5	11	1

WP: Tate DeRias (1-0). LP: Kyle Tuthill (0-1). S: Matt Kouser (1). 2B: Noah Danza (TC), Jake Cagna (TC), Frank Master (TC). RBI-Phila. Catholic: Harry Carr, Michael Coleman; Tri-Cape: Evan Taylor, Noah Danza, Peyton O’Brien, Chris Smith.

Cover photo: Pennsville’s Peyton O’Brien is poised to take a cut during his plate appearance for the Tri-Cape All-Stars in the eighth inning of Thursday’s Carpenter Cup game.