Another nail biter

Salem CC baseball wins in bottom of ninth to split DH, but win series with Montgomery; softball splits at Morris

SATURDAY REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 5-4, Montgomery County 9-3
Morris 7-13, Delaware Tech 6-5
RCSJ-Cumberland 17-5, Ocean 4-0
Lackawanna 18-21, Raritan Valley 10-1
Union at Middlesex
Camden 28-10, Bergen 6-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 12-12, Northampton 8-0
Mercer 8-12, Sussex 5-2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Just another sensational Saturday at The Treehouse.

For the second straight Saturday on their Carneys Point Rec Complex field, Salem CC won the second game of a Region 19 doubleheader in their last bats in extra innings. This time, it was 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth to split the twinbill with Montgomery County CC.

Last week, the Mighty Oaks beat RCSJ-Gloucester 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th to sweep that doubleheader and the series. It wasn’t nearly as dark or as cold when the winning run crossed this time, but the score and circumstances were eerily the same.

“Baseball‘s a strange sport, that’s all I can say,” said sophomore first baseman Lee Rodriguez, whose two-out single deep into the right centerfield gap scored Yen Rodriguez from third with the winning run. “Are you not entertained?”

After dropping the opener 9-5, it took the Mighty Oaks (12-15) a while to come around in the nightcap. They rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game and then get the split. Yen Rodriguez got them on the board with a leadoff homer off the scoreboard in the fourth inning and they tied it in the fifth on Tim Bowlby’s RBI ground out and Cole Dawson’s sacrifice fly.

Yen Rodriguez got their eighth-inning rally started with a walk and stolen base. He moved to third on Demetrius DeRamus’ grounder to second and was held at third on Angel Velez’ grounder to the same place.

Lee Rodriguez, who entered as a pinch runner for Tyler Hacker in the fourth (hamstring), saw two pitches from Chris Tomlinson and then ripped a 71-mph fastball into the gap to score Yen. The shot was as hard as any ball Lee has hit with the Mighty Oaks and would have been a double in any other circumstance, but since it only took one base to score the winning run he was credited with just a single.

He figured it was his first walk-off hit since he was 14 years old.

“I’m usually the one who’s on base and somebody walks to bring me in or something,” he said. “I’m usually the one who scores it.

“With two outs my goal was really just to try and get Yen in. I was like, play small ball. First pitch I took was a ball. When I saw the first strike something in me was like, ‘you’re ready’. I got to looking at third and said I’m going to get you in no matter what. The next pitch, he threw it and I hit it. I thought it was going (out), too The umpire said it’s no home run, but it’s all right. At least we won the game.

“I’m going to be thinking about this all week now til the next game.”

The win went to Seth McCormick, a freshman righthander who earlier in the week entered a 6-6 game in the seventh but was lifted in mid-inning with right shoulder pain after giving up six runs. He showed no signs of the ailment Saturday, striking out the top of Montco’s lineup in order on 13 pitches, one of which was a career-best 87-mph fastball.

“I’ve struggled before with shoulder injuries,” McCormick said. “What I think it was was I pinched something and something happened. I did a little bit of rehab with our athletic trainer and I came in and it felt good today. I just tried to throw it as hard as I could where I needed to be and it worked.

“Going through my mind was getting out with as few pitches as possible. Don’t overstrain the arm and get out and give us a chance to win. It was definitely a stressful situation coming in after Pat (Seitzinger) threw a hell of a game and you’ve got to come in and throw as well if not better than he did. It’s a stressful situation, especially as the game rides on your shoulder.”

McCormick got the ball after starter Seitzinger threw seven strong innings and was brilliant over his last five. After giving up three consecutive doubles that produced the Mustangs’ 3-0 lead, the freshman lefthander retired 16 of the last 19 batters he faced and 14 of the last 15. He and McCormick retired the last 13 Mustangs in a row.

“My mechanics got better as the game went on,” Seitzinger said. “I was leaving pitches right down the middle, so I figured I’d change my mechanics a little bit, try to keep them more off balance. I felt good going into the game so I felt like I was going to have success, but after that second inning I knew we were struggling a little bit hitting so I had to pick up my teammates and throw strikes.”

“I’ve known Pat since he was 11; I coached him in 11U baseball,” Salem coach John Holt said. “I’ve been waiting for him to graduate when I got this job. I know he’s got the tenacity and the killer instinct as a lefty that when he gets the opportunity nothing fazes him. A true bulldog.”

ACORNS: Former major leaguer Fernando Rodney made it to The Treehouse in time to catch his son’s team play in the second game. The Mighty Oaks are undefeated this season when the former MLB All-Star is in the stands. They are off until Friday and aren’t back at home until next Saturday … Seitzinger dropped his ERA almost a run and a half to 7.14 with his outing … The Mustangs took the lead in the opener with a four-run fifth marred by a two-run fielding error in the outfield and extended it with Brett Minnick’s three-run homer in the sixth.

GAME ONE: MONTGOMERY 9, SALEM 5

Montgomery County	020 043 0-	9	9	1
Salem CC	101 012 0-	5	7	4

GAME TWO: SALEM 4, MONTGOMERY 3 (8 INNS.)

Montgomery County	030 000 00-	3	6	1
Salem CC	000 120 01-	4	5	0

Softball

Hayes big game helps Mighty Oaks split

SATURDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem CC 4-18, Morris 5-6
Bergen 15-1, Ocean 2-9
Middlesex 9-1, RCSJ-Gloucester 6-10
Brookdale 4, Orange 1
Lackawanna 8-6, Sussex 0-2
Monroe Bronx 8-19, Raritan Valley 7-15
Mercer 9-4, Delaware Tech 1-5
Northampton 15-10, Camden 1-2

RANDOLPH – Ella Hayes hit a grand slam in the fifth inning and drove in six runs and Tiana Wilson went 3-for-3 with five RBIs as the Salem CC softball team crushed Morris 18-6 in the nightcap of their doubleheader after losing the opener to a two-run seventh-inning rally.

Hayes’ slam capped a six-run inning after the Mighty Oaks broke away from a 5-5 tie with seven runs in the fourth. Rozak broke the tie with a two-run homer and Wilson extended the lead with a two-run double.

Wilson had a big doubleheader, going 3-for-3 in both games. She is 9-for-9 with two sacrifice flies over her last four games since going hitless in Game 2 against Raritan Valley.

The Mighty Oaks took a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning of the opener. Morris got closer with a run in the sixth and then won it with two in the seventh. The Titans produced the tying and winning runs on back-to-back two-out singles.

GAME ONE: MORRIS 5, SALEM 4

Salem CC	103 000 0-	4	11	2
Morris	110 001 2-	5	9	4

GAME TWO: SALEM 18, MORRIS 6

Salem CC	023 76-	18	14	4
Morris	302 10-	6	5	5