Tough way to learn

Salem CC baseball battles back from late six-run deficit to get within one, but loss to Mercer CC gets away in the ninth

REGION 19 BASEBALL SCORES
Mercer 18, Salem CC 11
Middlesex 11, Montgomery 1
Lackawanna 7, Delaware County 4
Union 7, Raritan Valley 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The last two games the Salem CC baseball team played at their Treehouse have been steeped in high drama that went down to the last inning. One of them the Mighty Oaks found a way to win. The other, the most recent one Wednesday, got away.

The Mighty Oaks came from six runs down in the seventh inning to get within one and then came within one strike of giving themselves a chance to win it in the ninth, but a two-out throwing error opened the door for a six-run Mercer ninth that sent them to an 18-11 loss.

“We’ve got to learn from this; it’s got to be a lesson,” Salem head coach John Holt said. “Any loss that you can learn from is not necessarily a loss. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned here today … We’ve got to learn to compete for every pitch.”

The Mighty Oaks (10-13) had leads of 5-2 and 6-3 in the first two innings, but Mercer (16-6) tied the game with three runs in the fifth, then scored six in the seventh off Seth McCormick to take the lead.

McCormick started the inning as the Mighty Oaks’ third pitcher, but had to leave after all the damage because of a shoulder/lat injury. Ironically, he entered Saturday’s doubleheader opener with RCSJ-Cumberland mid-at bat due to a pitcher’s injury and left Wednesday the same way. Jon Gambone got the final out of the inning and kept the Vikings off the board in the eighth to give Salem any kind of chance.

And the Mighty Oaks rallied. They cut two off the deficit in the bottom of the seventh and then scored three in the eighth on Yen Rodriguez’ two-run triple and Matt Murphy’s sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. They had the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position with two outs, but Hunter Cohen grounded sharply to second to end the threat.

Holt made wholesale defensive changes in the ninth to provide “what I thought was going to give us our best defense” after bringing hand-throwing Tyler Hacker to the mound from first base. The moves included sending Cohen across the diamond from third to first and inserting Chris Kelly at the hot corner.

The Vikings had runners at second and third with two outs. Hacker, who hadn’t given up an earned run in four previous appearances (six innings), got ahead of Geno Bianco 0-and-2, but Bianco bounced a ball in the infield that Kelly moved to his left to collect.

The pick up was clean and it looked like the inning was going to end safely, but Kelly’s throw to first was low and wide and got away from Cohen allowing the two insurance runs to score. The Vikings reloaded the bases against Hacker, then Donald Gallagher, hitting in the 9-hole, hit a grand slam to break it open.

“Hack hadn’t given up an earned run all year; we expected a little better there,” Holt said. “Chris was cold coming off the bench today. As I said, we’ve got to learn a lesson there. There are opportunities to go after even if you’re not in the starting lineup, you’ve got to understand your number may get called.”

Kelly had a rough weekend series at the plate against RCSJ-Cumberland and Cohen replaced him in Wednesday’s starting lineup. The Mighty Oaks completed the sweep of that series by winning Game 3 in the bottom of the 12th after tying the game on Demetrius DeRamus’ two-run homer in the 11th.

“Chris is a kid who has come a long way,” Holt said. “He’s really bought into a lot of the ideology we teach here. He works hard. There’s not a lot of consoling there. He’s a great teammate. He’s been a leader for us. I don’t think there’s anything to console there. I think he’s going to flush it and get after it.”

In addition to their rallies in the seventh and eighth innings, the Mighty Oaks answered Mercer’s two in the first with five in the bottom of the inning highlighted by Hacker’s go-ahead two-run single.

Holt said the rallies show the potential the Mighty Oaks have “if we play the game the way they’re taught that we can play with anybody and compete against anybody.”

ACORNS: Hacker still hasn’t given up an earned run as all six Mercer runs in the ninth were unearned. Only five of Mercer’s runs in the game were earned … Rodriguez hit his fifth homer of the season in the second inning and was 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs; he’s now hitting .397 for the season … Hacker had two hits and three RBIs. Murphy drove in two runs.

Mercer County CC	210 030 606-	18	12	0
Salem CC	510 000 230-	11	12	5