Ghosting the Phantoms

Salem CC sweeps twinbill, series from Delaware County CC, takes good vibes into trip to Florida

SATURDAY REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 13-10, Delaware County 2-6
Macomb CC 13, Ocean 4
Clark State 19, Ocean 1
Northampton 12, Clark State 5
Macomb CC 4, Northampton 2
Delaware Tech 11-12, Monroe Bronx 4-4
Middlesex 14-11, Lakeland CC 2-1
Monroe 6-3, Lackawanna 5-11
RCSJ-Gloucester 10-11, Bergen 1-0
Harford 4-15, Mercer 3-4 (G1, 8 inns.)
Camden 10-14, Bucks County 4-3
Cecil 11-16, Morris 4-12
RCSJ-Cumberland at Brookdale (2)
Sussex 8-5, Northern Essex 6-0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

MEDIA, Pa. — The Salem CC baseball went into their weekend series with Delaware County CC looking to prove a point. They did it, emphatically, the old fashioned way — by winning.

The Mighty Oaks completed the sweep of their series with the Phantoms by sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader, 13-2 and 10-6.

The team didn’t take kindly to the way the Phantoms messed with them late in a game the Mighty Oaks were winning big in their late-season run to a playoff berth last year and more than a few of their personnel advocated burying them the next time they played.

To their credit, they didn’t resort to stealing bases or bunting runners over with a big lead or doing any of the other untoward things against the unwritten rules of the game. They simply played to win the game.

“We just played baseball,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “We had a guy get hurt (in that game) and that was the thing that kind of upset us a little bit. But it’s baseball, at the end of the day we’ve gotta play the game and we’re going to play the game the right way.

“There were things I wanted to get accomplished this weekend in regards to getting better and working on some of the fundamentals we had been lacking. We needed to prove to ourselves that we were better than what we had been playing. We had to work on some things and we had an opportunity to work on those things and I think we got better by seeing a little bit of success.”

They certainly set the tone early, like first-pitch early. Back in the leadoff spot for the first time this season, Yen Rodriguez opened the game by hitting the first pitch to right for a home run. The sophomore outfielder had two hits in each game, stole four bases in the opener and hit for the cycle in the doubleheader.

The leadoff homer touched off a five-run first that had the Mighty Oaks (3-5) off and running.

“We had to move him back to the leadoff spot because of Jason LeBold’s hamstring issue and he was a little nervous,” Holt said. “He talked to the coaches prior and we basically said in an 0-0 count, it’s a damage count, so it doesn’t matter if you’re the leadoff guy or the 3 guy or the 2 guy have a good approach and he really did focus on his approach today and it paid off for him.”

Rodriguez wasn’t the only Salem player to have a big day. 

Demetrius DeRamus reached base three times in the opener, had two hits in the nightcap and stole five bases in the doubleheader. Tyler Hacker went 4-for-4 with four runs and five RBIs in the doubleheader. Cole Dawson went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases from the 9-hole in the opener and had four hits on the day.

Both starting pitchers gave the Mighty Oaks a chance. Game 1 starter J.D. Wilson started off a little shaky after waiting out the long visitors first, loading the bases with a single and two walks, then roared back to strike out the side. He finished with seven strikeouts in three innings and the four relievers that followed him gave up one earned run and fanned five more.

Nightcap starter Jared Vandersteur kept the Phantoms off the board through the first three innings and the Mighty Oaks gave him an 8-0 lead, so the four runs he allowed in the fourth were just an annoyance. He went five innings and struck out seven.

“We played well,” Holt said. “We’re not satisfied yet. We can continue to get better. Approach at the plate has gotten better and that’s something we’ve been trying to focus on. Defense we’re working on. Pitching, obviously, did a lot better.

All in all I’m happy with the sweep, but in the things we’re working on and the things we’re trying to get  better I did see some significant improvement.”

The Mighty Oaks head out to Florida at 5:30 Sunday morning. They open play Monday with a doubleheader against Alexandria Tech & CC. Freshmen Pat Seitzinger and Seth McCormick are Salem’s scheduled starters. At some point in the 12-game trip the Mighty Oaks hope to see the much-anticipated debut of Fernando Rodney Jr., the son of the former MLB All-Star pitcher known for his 11 teams and crooked hat, out of the bullpen. 

“Historically we normally like to get those games in before conference play,” Holt said. “With the conference expanding this isn’t so much a preparation for conference any more. It’s an opportunity to get ready for the rest of the conference season and kind of sure things up.”

GAME ONE
Salem CC 13, Delaware County CC 2

Salem CC (2-5)	512 200 3-	13	10	1
Delaware County CC (1-2)	000 010 1-	2	5	4

GAME TWO
Salem CC 10, Delaware County CC 6

Salem CC (3-5)	103 411 0-	10	11	3
Delaware County CC (1-3)	000 401 1-	6	9	3