Race to the finish

Mighty Oaks show grit, but drop wild one with Northampton, still looking to clinch a home series in opening round of playoffs

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – A little more than a week ago Salem CC baseball coach John Holt was pretty confident about the Mighty Oaks hosting a Region 19 playoff series for the first time since they brought the program back. Now, heading into the final series of the season this weekend, he’s a little less sure.

The Mighty Oaks are in the playoffs, but whether they play at The Treehouse in the opening round or go on the road to open post-season play won’t be determined until the weekend after they lost a wild 16-12 runniest to Northampton Wednesday.

The loss eliminated the Mighty Oaks (23-22, 17-11) from being able to finish third, but with one or more wins over Ocean (8-26) this weekend and one Middlesex loss to Bergen (7-31) they will clinch fourth. If Middlesex (27-17, 15-12) sweeps, Salem will have to win two.

The loss also means the earliest Holt can claim his 400th career coaching win is Monday in the Mighty Oaks’ regular-season finale at Atlantic Cape.

“We can’t take anything for granted right now,” Holt said. “Middlesex is going into a Bergen series (and) Bergen is kind of down this year. I think it’s going to come down to us continuing to prove that we belong there. We’ve got to grind and go get it. We’ll see what happens. We’ve just got to find a way.”

Playing with a makeshift lineup and an even more makeshift pitching plan, the Mighty Oaks showed more fight against the Spartans (20-18, 14-13) than they have in recent games. They rallied from deficits to one (twice), two (twice), four and six to tie the game in the seventh inning. They just didn’t have one more rally in them in the ninth inning after the Spartans put four more on them in the top of the inning.

“Compared to the way the games have gone the last two weeks I feel like this is the first time we’ve actually clawed back and fought,” second baseman Tim Bowlby said. “I like that out of us. Obviously we’re not happy with the results, but I’m happy with how the guys came out and fought.”

The Mighty Oaks trailed 1-0, 2-1. 6-4, 8-4, 8-6 and 12-6, but tied the game with runs six in the seventh inning. They also were tied 1-1 and 4-4 and led 4-2 in the third.

“They showed heart today,” Holt said. “We showed some heart. We haven’t played like that in a little bit. I hate losing more than I like winning, but at the end of the day we have to look for the positives where we can find them and they competed most of the day. We had a talk after the Camden game and the big point of that was we wanted them to compete harder and grind harder and they did that today. And they needed to. It’s a step.”

Singles by Tyler Hacker and Chris Kelly and Hunter Cohen’s groundout drove home the first three runs of the seventh-inning rally, Joe Fekete scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-10 and the two tying runs scored when Tim Bowlby’s bouncer up the middle went through shortstop John Pushkar.

Pushkar’s vision and focus likely were disrupted by Jones racing past to avoid being hit by the batted ball.

“In those situations you can’t make the moment too big,” Bowlby said. “It’s kind of like what we’ve all been saying: We don’t need a hero. I was just trying to put the ball in play and it worked out for us.”

The Mighty Oaks were missing two of top four hitters in their lineup and only three starters were batting in their usual spot in the order. Even starting pitcher Jared Vandersteur was uncertain about 30 minutes before game time. Cleanup hitter Matt Murphy, their top RBI producer, was serving a one-game suspension for his home-plate collision Monday night and 2-hole hitter and leftfielder Yen Rodriguez was out with a wrist injury.

The Mighty Oaks used seven pitchers. The most effective was seldom-used Brady Sweeney who gave them a shutdown inning in the eighth after the offense tied the game with six runs in the seventh.

Sweeney was making only his fourth appearances of the season, first since April 14 and second since March 11. The lean freshman righthander from Springfield, Pa., faced four batters at the bottom of Northampton’s lineup, threw 15 pitches and walked one. He dropped his ERA from 11.57 to 8.18.

“I didn’t know who was even going in to start the inning; it was me and Nando (Fernando Rodney Jr.) warming up down there,” Sweeney said. “Once he called my name for a second I got all nervous, but once I got on the mound and looked around for a second, I was like, all right, it’s time to go. First pitch, the dude popped it up so after that I was good to go.

“I had something to prove this game. Proving that I could be here.”

Catcher Kyle Stoner led the Spartans’ 16-hit attack with five hits (three doubles) and six RBIs. He had a three-run double off an 0-2 pitch from Jon Gambone in seventh inning to make it 12-6 and an RBI single in the ninth that broke the 12-12 tie. Cody Miller hit a bizarre three-run homer in the sixth when he lifted a fly ball to left that hopped out of Will Jones’ glove and over the wall after the leftfielder hit the fence.

Stoner was 1-for-11 in his previous five games before breaking out against the Mighty Oaks.

“I came into this game knowing that this team needed a fire,” he said. “I know I’ve been struggling a little bit and I just thought going into today I’ve just got to realize it’s a game and I’ve got to have some fun.

“I feel like a lot of the guys on our team, kind of like me lately, aren’t taking it as a game and taking it a little too seriously and I wanted to set an example to make sure everyone knows it’s still a game and have fun. That’s when we’re best, when we’re out there and playing the game we love instead of thinking about it too much.”

Northampton	101 024 404-	16	17	2
Salem	103 002 600-	12	8	0

WP: Brad Rissmiller. LP: Alex Newman. 2B: Kyle Stone 3 (N), Cody Miller (N), Jack Smale (N), Pete Hrousis (N), Angel Velez (S), Joe Fekete (S) HRs: Cody Miller (N), Chris Kelley (S)

REGION 19 PLAYOFF RACE	ALL	REG
RCSJ-Gloucester	41-4	27-0
Brookdale	33-8	24-6
RCSJ-Cumberland	29-12	21-7
Salem CC	23-22	17-11
Camden	25-14	17-13
Middlesex	27-17	15-12
Northampton	20-18	14-13
Montgomery	12-16	11-16

WEEKEND SERIES
Salem vs. Ocean
RCSJ-Gloucester vs. RCSJ-Cumberland
Middlesex vs. Bergen
Montgomery vs. Delaware County
Northampton vs. Union
Morris vs. Brookdale
Camden vs. Atlantic Cape

Dreadful defeat

Mistake-prone Mighty Oaks lack fight in loss to Camden, but still in position to get a home playoff series

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Chip Chapman didn’t really feel like talking after the game. Nobody did. Actually, there really wasn’t much to say.

Chapman ran the team Monday night with Salem CC head coach John Holt serving a one-game suspension following Saturday’s ejection and what he endured was one of the Mighty Oaks’ most dreadful defeats of the year.

They fell to Camden CC 19-8 in a game they were never really in or into. They scored enough to runs to win most games, but just made too many mistakes on the bases and in the field for it to matter.

And this was just hours after receiving votes in the JUCO Division III baseball poll for the second week in a row.

“We just didn’t fight. We didn’t come out to play,” Chapman said. “They were more prepared than we were today.”

The Mighty Oaks gave up four runs in the first inning and fell behind 9-1 in the third. They lost one run in the second inning when Matt Murphy was thrown out and ejected on a home-plate collision and another when Tyler Hacker didn’t get to the plate before Ben Charbonneau was thrown out at third tagging up on Chris Kelly’s fly to right.

And that was before things got really bad. The Mighty Oaks were charged with a season-high nine errors in the game by independent scoring, six in a forgettable fourth inning that ran the score to 13-4. Holt couldn’t be on site during his suspension and was said to be watching the live stream of the game from his office. No one would have blamed him if he turned it off at that point.

He declined to comment when reached after the game.

The Cougars took the game into run-rule territory with a six-run sixth.

The loss may have been more costly to the Mighty Oaks than they know. It wasn’t immediately known how long Murphy will be suspended following his ejection. Salem CC softball second baseman Jocelyn Melendez was suspended four games for her home-plate collision in their April 5 home doubleheader with Mercer. The length of the suspension will be determined by the severity and intent of the hit.

Murphy got caught in a pickle between third and home by Camden starter Garrett Gordy and ran through catcher Kyle Leiser who was standing at the plate with the ball. Leiser suffered a bloody nose, was evaluated for a concussion and came out of the game.

A four-game suspension would leave the Mighty Oaks without their clean-up hitter and top RBI producer through the weekend. In that scenario he would be eligible to return for the Mighty Oaks’ regular-season finale at Atlantic Cape May 5.

Despite the loss, the Mighty Oaks (23-22, 17-10) held onto fourth place in the Region 19 Division III standings, but are tied with Camden (25-14, 17-13) in the win column and have four region games remaining – Northampton Wednesday and three with Ocean.

With one win and one Middlesex loss, they will clinch fourth place and a projected first-round home series in the playoffs. If they win all four and RCSJ-Cumberland gets swept by No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester, they’ll be third.

“Hopefully ithis game) just fuels the fire, gives us something to play for the next couple days; gets us in there, gets us where we want to be,” Chapman said.

ACRONS: Chapman had been given the reins one time before, as a high school assistant at Olney Charter. He won that game … The Mighty Oaks had two games of seven errors last year … Ian Monteith hit a two-run homer for Camden in the second inning and leftfielder Tyler Gavura pulled a two-run homer back from Hacker in the fifth inning … Yen Rodriguez moved within six hits of 100 for his career with his third-inning RBI single … Tim Bowlby reached base all four times he batted for Salem … The Mighty Oaks used six pitchers in the seven-inning game.

Photo: Camden CC catcher Kyle Leiser braces for impact as he’s about to collide with Salem CC sophomore Matt Murphy in the second inning. (Screenshot of Salem CC live stream)

Camden	423 406 0-	19	11	3
Salem	013 100 3-	8	9	9

WP: Garrett Gordy. LP: Pat Seitzinger. HRs: Ian Monteith (CA),

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 28-May 3; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

APRIL 28
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
LEAP at Salem
SOFTBALL
Paulsboro at Penns Grove
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Cumberland, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Glassboro
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Timber Creek, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Camden at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

APRIL 29
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Gateway
GOLF
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Wildwood at Penns Grove
TRACK
Glassboro at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.

APRIL 30
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Salem
Penns Grove at Pitman
SOFTBALL
Salem at Overbrook
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Cumberland, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Glassboro at Schalick
Woodstown at Penns Grove
TRACK
Pennsville at Overbrook
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Northampton at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 1
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Bridgeton
Wildwood at Salem
Diamond Classic
Haddonfield at Schalick, 3 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Lindenwold
Salem at Wildwood
GOLF
Carl Arena Tournament
TRACK
SJTCA at Delsea, 5 p.m.

MAY 2
BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at LEAP
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Wildwood
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Ocean CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region 19 Tournament at Mercer
Salem CC vs. Delaware Tech, 10 a.m.
Lackawanna vs. Mercer, noon
Losers, 2 p.m.
Winners, 4 p.m.

MAY 3
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Millville, 11 a.m.
Salem at Mastery Charter, noon
TRACK
Schalick girls in SJTCA, Rancocas Valley, 1 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Ocean CC at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region 19 Tournament at Mercer
Elimination game, 10 a.m.
Championship game, noon

More than a sweep

Salem CC clinches a spot in Region 19 baseball playoffs, but that was only part of the story in bizarre sweep of Union

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 8-3, Union 0-2
RCSJ-Gloucester 22-24, Delaware County 4-0
Brookdale 15-17, Ocean 0-4
Delaware Tech 11-7, Westchester CC 7-3

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The simple thing to say was there was a lot to digest from Salem CC’s second straight Saturday sweep, but there really was nothing simple about it.

The Mighty Oaks clinched a spot in the Region 19 Division III baseball playoffs in the first game of their 8-0, 3-2 sweep of Union and that should’ve been the headline of the day. But that was only the half of it.

Angel Velez collected his 100th career hit in the opener and then delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit in a nightcap. The Mighty Oaks threw their second no-hitter of the season in the second game. But there’s even more.

Salem head coach John Holt got ejected in the seventh inning, right after Union broke up the no-hitter – or so it seemed – on a bases-loaded triple to take the lead. As Holt was leaving the field, a lightning strike was detected in the area right before a 15-minute deluge rendered the field unplayable reverting everything back to the sixth inning to preserve the Mighty Oaks’ win, the no-hitter and the sweep.

And it just so happened the Mighty Oaks scored in that sixth inning to snap a 2-2 tie.

“After yesterday we were kind of down so it’s cool to have some of this stuff happen that’s kind of uplifting,” first-game starter Jared Vandersteur said after the opener, unknowing, of course, the bizarre events that were to follow.

“This has been the craziest day of baseball I’ve ever played in my life,” Velez added, “and I’ve played a lot of baseball being an old man.”

Vandersteur pitched his best game of the year in the opener. The sophomore right-hander took a perfect game into the fourth inning and retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. He gave up two hits, allowed only four base runners and struck out seven in his 69 pitches over six innings. Andre Stewart pitched the seventh and completed the shutout.

“Every fastball I threw I knew where it was going for the most part, just getting ahead early,” the Pennsville product said. “Pretty much everything I was throwing was in the strike zone, so it makes it easy to pitch when you’re doing that.”

Second-game starter Seth McCormick took a no-hitter in the fourth inning of the nightcap, too, but the Owls put two runs on the board under the weight of his seven walks. Tyler Hacker was dispatched to keep the Owls silent and he pitched the fifth and sixth without allowing a hit. Leftfielder Yen Rodriguez kept the gem alive and the game tied at 2 with a diving catch in the fifth inning the Mighty Oaks turned into a double play.

The seventh inning started in the rain, turning the mound into a mess and making any ball Hacker threw slippery. He loaded the bases with three walks that included some pitches of debatable location, then Fraelyn Rosario lined a shot into the right field corner that cleared the bases and put Union up 5-3.

“I was slipping,” Hacker said. “Dirt accumulated on my cleats, you couldn’t even see the spikes, I kept slipping. Ball got wet, those things combined you don’t practice too much.”

After Rosario’s hit, Holt and the Mighty Oaks directed their ire at the umpires, which got Holt hooked. Descriptions of “overmatched” and “not a college level umpire” were used.

“I’m not a guy that’s gonna argue balls and strikes and I get ejected for it,” Holt said. “I mean, when both teams are mad about the strike zone there’s a problem.”

Just as Holt was leaving the field a lightning strike was detected in the area, and then the skies opened. As the quagmire that became the Carneys Point infield grew, ended the game and left the facility.

By rule, the game reverts back to the last completed inning and that was the sixth.

That’s when Velez gave the Mighty Oaks the lead, singling home Demetrius DeRamus after falling behind 0-2. It was his third hit of the game and fourth of the doubleheader. Since the team returned from Florida, he is 16-for-23 in doubleheader nightcaps coming from behind the plate in the opener to DH, 9-for-11 in the last three.

His first hit of the day, an RBI single in the opener, was the 100th of his career. He’s the third Salem player to reach the milestone this season (DeRamus and Matt Murphy). Rodriguez needs seven hits to become the fourth.

“It was a great feeling,” Velez said of the milestone. “Being the first one my family to play baseball in college, to get 100 hits, not a lot of people it’s going to mean something to, but to me it was a big deal. So it was great to get that.”

The rain stopped and the skies cleared shortly after the game was called. The Owls wondered why the game couldn’t have continued with work – the field has lights and there was plenty of time in the day – but were told by the umpires they couldn’t compel the home team to do yard maintenance.

“We don’t need the win with respect that it’s not going to move us up or anything like that,” Union coach Rich Martin said. “The only thing, and I have to blame the umpires, is we’re here, we’ve got lights, it’s 5 o’clock, if we can get this field in shape in two or three hours then let’s play the last inning or if we can’t do that let’s come back.

“The idea the umpires called it as opposed to anybody else I’m going to look into and write up myself. What he said to me – and this is a quote — I can’t force the other team to fix the field.”

Holt has a reputation for going to the wall to make sure his field is game ready, but said in this situation “there’s nothing I could have done to get this right.”

Since the seventh inning of the nightcap technically didn’t happen, it’s uncertain if Holt’s ejection even formally exists. If it is upheld, it’s also uncertain if his subsequent suspension is just for the next game or three games as softball coach Angel Rodriguez served after his ejection in the April 5 Mercer doubleheader. Holt is four wins shy of 400 for his coaching career and the Mighty Oaks have six games left in the regular season.

The Mighty Oaks have a special night game scheduled with Camden CC Monday to honor the memory of Rob Andrey and his family. Andrey, a South Jersey baseball coach and close friend of both head coaches, passed away unexpected in February. The game and ceremonies are expected to continue whether or not Holt is in attendance.

Winning the opener Saturday guaranteed the Mighty Oaks a winning record in region play, one of the criteria for making the playoffs. The currently hold the fourth spot.

“That was the expectation all along,” Holt said. “Going into the season the expectation was playoffs. We have a tough road the next few games, but we want to play for the highest seed we can possibly get and that was kind of the goal going into this, to maybe get a home game first round.

“We’re still in OK shape for that, but we’ve got to play better baseball. We’ve got to tighten up a little bit. We’ve just got to keep grinding.”

Photo: Salem CC catcher Angel Velez delivers his 100th career hit in Saturday’s opener against Union.

REGION 19 DIVISION III PLAYOFF CONTENDERS	REG	ALL
x-RCSJ-Gloucester	27-0	40-3
x-Brookdale	24-6	32-8
x-RCSJ-Cumberland	20-7	27-12
x-Salem CC	17-9	23-20
x-Camden	16-13	24-14
x-Middlesex	15-12	27-17
Northampton	13-13	19-18
Montgomery	11-16	12-16

x-clinched spot; standings updated Sunday

Softball sweep

BRANCHBURG – The Salem CC softball team should feel a little better about themselves going into the Region 19 Division II playoffs after sweeping Raritan Valley in its final regular-season doubleheader, 18-4 and 12-1.

Ella Hayes, Chantelle Haskie and Bella Rappa all had two hits and three RBIs in the opener and Callie Rozak hit a game-tying homer. The Mighty Oaks (19-23) erased an early 2-1 deficit with eight runs in the second inning.

Hayes continued to pound the ball in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Lilly Peverelle also went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Tiana Wilson went 3-for-3 and Val Hatterer and Haskie each had three RBIs.

Friday roundup

Woodstown baseball, girls lacrosse pick up wins; Schalick girls run at Penn Relays

BASEBALL

WOODSTOWN – Woodstown came out of the gate swinging, scored nine runs in the first inning and rolled over Gloucester Christian 11-0 Friday for its fifth win in a row. The big blows in the inning were Blake Rodriguez’ three-run double and a two-run double by Rocco String.

It was the fourth shutout delivered by the Wolverines’ pitchers this season.

GIRLS LACROSSE

WOODSTOWN 17, WEST DEPTFORD 12: Delaney Walker scored a career-tying eight goals for the Wolverines. Walker, who now has 117 career goals, scored eight times in a loss at Haddon Heights last season.

PENN RELAYS

PHILADELPHIA – Schalick’s girls 4×100 relay team of Gia Martellacci, Caileigh Schalick, Brooke Valentine and Phoebe Alward posted their best time of the season with a 51.65. The Cougars finished sixth in their heat and 71st in the elite field.

Their 4×400 relay team is scheduled to run Saturday.

This one hurt

Gambone has no-hitter, lead through six, but Salem CC gives up 5 runs in next two innings and falls to Union

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Union 5, Salem CC 2
RCSJ-Gloucester 25, Delaware County 10
Northampton 12, Camden 9
RCSJ-Cumberland 17-26, Bergen 2-6
Montgomery 5-7, Middlesex 3-11
Brookdale 12, Ocean 9
Raritan Valley 28, Rockland 1
Harford 11, Mercer 5

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CRANFORD – Jon Gambone had it going on for six innings, then as these things sometimes do, it got away from him in a hurry.

The Salem CC ace took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Union Friday, but he lost the gem and the shutout in the inning and the Mighty Owls eventually lost the game 5-2 to delay clinching a spot in the region playoffs.

Gambone had allowed a few baserunners in the first six innings, but still looked strong enough to record his second no-hitter of the season striking out eight on 76 pitches. But Union opened the seventh with back-to-back singles, then the right-hander either lost his focus or certainly his command briefly and the Owls ultimately tied the game.

A sacrifice advanced the baserunners in the seventh, then Gambone walked the next two hitters to force in a run. The Owls tied on Fraelyn Rosario’s single to right, but the Mighty Oaks avoided further damage when rightfielder Matt Murphy cut down Brandon Brito at the plate. But the storm was brewing.

The Mighty Oaks (21-20, 15-9 Region 19) threatened in the eighth, putting runners at first and second with two outs, but with designated hitter J.D. Wilson at the plate Murphy was tagged out after getting caught between second and third.

Gambone got the first two outs in the eighth, then the Owls (11-21, 7-18) got to him again and ultimately got him out of the game.

They put runners at second and third on a single, walk and wild pitch. Robert Mateo knocked in the go-ahead run when he singled. He fell coming out of the box but had plenty of time to get to first.

Holt lifted Gambone at that point – after 112 pitches – for fireman Alex Newman. Brito greeted Newman with a two-run double and suddenly a game the Mighty Oaks looked to have in hand with their ace on the mound had gotten away 5-2.

Demetrius DeRamus drove in both of Salem’s runs with a first-inning ground out and a fifth-inning triple. Angel Velez had two hits, leaving him with 99 for his career.

The Mighty Oaks had runners in scoring position in each of the three innings between the runs they scored, but left them all stranded. They had a runner at third with two outs in the second, a runner at second with one out in the third and a runner at second with one out in the fourth.

The teams play a doubleheader at the Carneys Point Rec Complex Saturday at noon. One win will guarantee the Mighty Oaks a winning record in Region 19 and mathematically clinch a spot in the region playoffs.

REGION 19 DIVISION III PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
x-RCSJ-Gloucester (38-3) 25-0
x-Brookdale (30-8) 22-6
x-RCSJ-Cumberland (27-12) 20-7
Salem (21-20) 15-9
x-Middlesex (27-17) 15-12
x-Camden (22-14) 14-13
Northampton (19-17) 13-11
Teams .500 or better either in region or overall qualify
x-clinched a spot

Taking the fifth

Thursday roundup: Pennsville softball uses a five-run fifth inning to take down Gloucester Catholic; Woodstown 4×400 third in Penn Relays, includes baseball, tennis, golf, lacrosse and Salem CC softball

THURSDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 6, Gloucester Catholic 1
Woodstown 18, Penns Grove 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Savannah Brewer-Palverento is determined to throw her pitch when she’s in the circle. She approaches hitting the same way.

After falling behind 0-2 and fouling off two more pitches to the right side of the field, Brewer-Palverento straightened one out over the first baseman into right field for an opposite-field two-run single. It broke a 1-1 tie and sparked a five-run fifth inning that helped Pennsville take down Gloucester Catholic 6-1 for sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Classic Division.

“I think she put herself in hole 0-2, but that’s her call,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “Some (hitters) want to wait until they see that good pitch. I don’t know if she’s one of them, we don’t talk about it, but some want to see all their pitches, all the strikes they get. Some of them feel like they perform better when they have that stress on them.”

Interestingly, the Rams intentionally walked Kylie Harris, the state leader in hits, to load the bases for Brewer-Palverento. Jackson did the same thing to Madelyn McGinn with a runner on second in the fifth inning to set up a force and the Eagles got an inning-ending ground out on the next hitter.

The Eagles weren’t done after Brewer-Palverento’s tie-breaking hit, though. A walk to Sawyer Simmons reloaded the bases and Avery Watson followed with a bases-clearing, opposite-field triple to right make it 6-1.

“My dad kept telling the girls to hit it to right field, take the outside pitch because that’s where she was throwing most of the balls,” Jackson said. “He kept saying hit the ball to right field. Avery’s ball went out there and the girls wasn’t anywhere near it because she had shaded more towards right center. It fell in the right spot.”

The Rams scored the game’s first run in the first inning, but the Eagles tied it in the fourth on Watson’s RBI single. In the Eagles’ last eight games Watson is 14-for-23 with seven walks and 16 RBIs.

Brewer-Palverento pitched the first four innings giving up two hits, an unearned run and striking out six. Graillyn Weber threw two perfect innings of relief behind her.

After playing four games in four days for the second week in a row, the Eagles now have 10 days off. They did the same thing last year and when they returned won 10 in a row all the way into the South Jersey semifinals, so Jackson isn’t worried about rustiness when they come back.

“We did it last year, too,” she said. “I think we’ll be fine.”

WOODSTOWN 18, PENNS GROVE 0: The first six batters in the Wolverines’ lineup all had two hits and combined for 12 RBIs and pitchers Maddie Roback and Ava White combined on a four-inning no-hitter with five strikeouts.

The three Pennsville runners who scored ahead of Avery Watson’s triple applaud their benefactor at home plate. Top photo, Savannah Brewer-Palverento pushes her tie-breaking hit into right field. (Screen shots from Gamechanger video)

Track: Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA – Woodstown’s boys 4×400 relay team finished third in the South Jersey Small Schools race and just missed qualifying for the Philadelphia Area final at the Penn Relays.

The team of Joshua Crawford, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz and Karson Chew ran 3:22.25 and finished behind Camden (3:20.26) and Deptford (3:20.89). They were leading the race after usual anchor Crawford’s opening 400 meters (49.50).

Camden made the Philadelphia Area final as a flight champion and Deptford is one of three alternates.

The Schalick and Salem boys ran in the same flight of the High School Boys 4×100. The Schalick team of Michael Eberl, Kenai Simmons, Reggie Allen and David Stewart ran a 43.126 and finished second in their heat. Salem’s team of Jelani Beverly, Omarion Pierce, Terrance Smith and Anthony Parker ran a 43.7.
Schalick’s boys 4×400 team of Allen, Eberl, Stewart and Steve Chomo ran 3:39.99 and finished 13^th in its flight.

The Schalick and Salem girls 4×100 teams run Friday and the Schalick 4×400 runs Saturday.

Woodstown’s Kyle Reitz passes the baton to Karson Chew in the final exchange of their boys 4×400 New Jersey Small Schools race at the Penn Relays. The Wolverines placed third in their flight behind Camden and Deptford (Submitted photo)

Baseball

Woodstown 13, Penns Grove 2
Schalick 9, Glassboro 1

WOODSTOWN 13, PENNS GROVE 2: The Wolverines’ bats came alive in the fourth inning, erupting for seven runs to break it open. Blake Bialecki, Noah Williams and Walker Battavio had two-run singles in the inning and Tommy Tucci had an RBI triple.

SCHALICK 9, GLASSBORO 1: The Cougars broke open a close game with six runs in the sixth inning. J.T. Fleming had two hits and two RBIs, Luke Pokrovsky had a pair of doubles and Ricky Watt had two RBIs. Starting pitcher Jamari Whitley scattered six hits and gave up one run over five innings and struck out six.

Golf

Kingsway 153, Pennsville 222
Schalick vs. Cumberland
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown
Woodstown vs. Overbrook

KINGSWAY 153, PENNSVILLE 222: Kingsway’s Christopher Parris was low medalist with a 5-under-par 31 at RiverWinds GC.

Tennis

Pennsville 5, Clayton 0
Schalick 3, Haddon Heights 2

PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Chase Fronczkiewicz, 6-2, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Troy Hollis, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. James Mai, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Saywer Humphrey (P) def. Ian Johnson-Jacob Turpin, 6-0, 6-0
Jacob Cheeseman-Ian Peacock (P) def. Michael Tummings-Eliut Ramirez, 7-5, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 10-0, Clayton 1-5.

SCHALICK 3, HADDON HEIGHTS 2
Owen Peakes (H) def. George Gould, 6-7 (0-7), 6-3, 10-8
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Jackson Zalkind, 6-2, 6-0
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Mike Pender, 6-1, 6-3
David Santana-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Gavin Ewing-Milan Stocker, 6-2, 6-3
Aske Hammer-Nibal AlKhaltib El Baayni Abou (H) def. Kaden Barnes-Christian Negron, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11
Records: Schalick 8-4, Haddon Heights 6-3.

Lacrosse

Washington Twp. 14, Woodstown 3

College softball

REGION 19 SCORES
Lackawanna 11-8, Salem CC 2-7
Raritan Valley 10-7, Sussex 4-5
Middlesex 18-6, Bergen 6-4

SCRANTON, Pa. – Kizbelth Ortiz singled home Laniah Tasker with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give Lackawanna an 8-7 walk-off win over Salem CC and a sweep of their doubleheader.

The Mighty Oaks (17-23) are guaranteed a spot in the Region 19 Division II playoffs despite a losing record, but they’ll be limping into post-season play. Going into their final doubleheader of the season Saturday at Raritan Valley, the Mighty Oaks have lost nine of their last 10. They are 7-15 in April.

They led the nightcap 7-3 in the sixth inning, but Lackawanna tied it with four in the bottom of the sixth before winning it in the seventh.

Ella Hayes had four hits in the nightcap and six hits in the doubleheader for Salem. Callie Rozak three RBIs in the nightcap.

Lackawanna won the opener 11-2.

Mighty Oaks cut down

Top-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester rides a big second inning to complete midweek sweep of Salem CC

REGION 19 BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester 14, Salem CC 4
Brookdale 12, Montgomery 8
Northampton 10, Bergen 0
Middlesex 9, Camden 4
RCSJ-Cumberland 20, Union 10

By Riverview Sports News

SEWELL – Top-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester erupted for eight runs in the second inning and that’s all it really needed to turn back Salem CC 14-4 and sweep their midweek Region 19 series.

The Roadrunners sent 11 batters to the plate in the second. Gabriel Reyes delivered the big blow, a three-run homer that made it 8-0. They tacked on three more runs in the third against Salem starter Will Jones, who gave up eight hits and walked seven in his first career start.

With the win, the Roadrunners (37-3) formally clinched the Garden State Athletic Conference title.

The Mighty Oaks finally got on the board in the fourth. Demetrius DeRamus led off with a homer and Tyler Hacker delivered an RBI single. They added one in the fifth on Cole Dawson’s RBI single and another in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk.

Hacker had two of the Mighty Oaks’ seven hits.

The Mighty Oaks return to action Friday at Union.

REGION 19 DIVISION III BASEBALL STANDINGS	R19	ALL
RCSJ-Gloucester	24-0	37-3
Brookdale	20-6	29-8
RCSJ-Cumberland	18-7	25-12
Salem CC	15-8	21-19
Middlesex	14-11	26-16
Camden	14-12	22-13
Northampton	12-11	18-16
Montgomery	10-14	10-15
Union	6-18	10-21
Ocean	5-16	7-22
Bergen	4-19	6-27
Delaware County	2-22	3-26-1

So close, yet far

Pennsville softball rallies twice from two-run deficits, but comes up just short in a third attempt; Woodstown baseball holds off Collingswood; includes tennis, golf, lacrosse results

SALEM COUNTY SOFTBALL
Haddon Heights 8, Pennsville 7
Kingsway 10, Woodstown 2
Cumberland 19, Salem 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – With the type of lineup Pennsville softball has built to get to this season no deficit is out of reach. But sometimes the well just comes up dry.

The Eagles came back from two-run deficits twice Wednesday and were on the verge of doing it a third time in the seventh inning, but their bid to either walk it off or keep it going came up just short and they lost to Haddon Heights 8-7 to end a nine-game winning streak.

The Eagles erased deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to tie the game at 2-2 and then take a 6-4 lead after five innings. The Garnets went back up 8-6 in the seventh and for one of the rare times this season, Pennsville couldn’t catch up.

“That’s something we talked about,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “It’s a dangerous life to live. You get all these hits and score all these runs and then you’re making mistakes in the field, you can kind of get away with it, but sometimes, at some point, that might end.

“You’re not going to always have all those hits. You might run into a really good pitcher. You might only squeeze out one or two runs. You’ve gotta be up to defense. You’ve got to play well and not give the other team outs and not give them extra outs in the field.”

Sophomore Ruby Caviston gave the Garnets a 2-0 lead in the first with the first of her two home runs, but the Eagles tied it on Mackenzie Widener’s two-run single in the second.

Caviston’s second homer gave the Garnets a 3-0 lead in the fifth and they added another later in the inning on a ball that got under third baseman Savannah Brewer-Palverento’s glove. This time, the Eagles answered with four in the bottom of the inning to take the lead.

The two tying runs scored when Kylie Harris, the state’s hits leader, hit a ball that stayed down and through on Heights second baseman Kayla Kellogg. Brewer-Palverento tripled home Harris with the go-ahead run and Brewer-Palverento scored on a passed ball.

The Garnets answered with four in the sixth for their third two-run lead of the game.

Both Jackson and junior infielder Avery Watson had “absolute confidence” in the Eagles being able to come back again – even when they got down to their last out. They were behind four times during their winning streak and had no trouble overcoming those deficits.

“I have no doubts in us at all,” Watson said. “With the way our energy was and how we’ve been playing recently I had zero doubts that we could come back, even at the end (with) two outs I didn’t have any doubt in myself and nobody had any doubt in me.”

Watson kept the inning alive and got the rally started with a single to left. Mackenzie Widener kept the line moving with a single and Reagan Wariwanchik singled home Watson to make it a one-run game. Widener went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

“Facing a really good team like that, our energy was high all game and that kept me going,” Watson said. “Going into the seventh, I really wanted to win this game; we all really wanted it.

“I wanted to get anything out there. I wanted to just poke a ball out there if I had to. I hardly remember what I did, my adrenaline was pumping so much.”

Now, the Eagles had the tying run at second and winning run at first, but the game ended on a comebacker to the circle.

The loss stung, of course, but it was hard for Jackson to be angry. She called the game “a great measuring stick” for her team and how it compares to the other SJ Group I contenders Heights plays regularly in the Colonial Conference.

Despite the loss, Pennsville (11-3) remained the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. Haddon Heights (6-2) moved into the No. 1 spot in South Jersey Group 2 after the win.

“You go out there and you’re swinging and you put it all on the line and walk away,” Jackson said. “Even with what we had with the loss you can still be proud, if you go out and give it 110 percent and you play your good game. Sometimes you come out on the short end of the stick; unfortunately, that’s just a part of the game. From today’s loss I want them to take the positive into tomorrow.”

The Eagles play their fourth game in four days Thursday against Gloucester Catholic in a big TCC Classic Division game.

KINGSWAY 10, WOODSTOWN 2: Lila Bowling’s leadoff homer in the second inning gave Woodstown an early lead, but the Dragons (7-0) answered with three in the third and put a competitive game out of reach with five in the seventh. Ava Snyder gave up three hits and struck out 12 over six innings for the top-ranked team in the South Jersey Group 4 power points standings.

CUMBERLAND 19, SALEM 2: The first 16 batters off the bus for the Colts reached safely and 12 scored to decide this one. Lizzy Pflieger had two run-scoring hits in that first inning and finished with three hits and three RBIs. Salem had three hits – a double by Isla Bohn and singles by Kyla Henderson and Rylee Doerr.

SALEM COUNTY BASEBALL
Woodstown 3, Collingswood 2

Rocco String homered on the first pitch of the fifth inning for what was at the time was an insurance run that ultimately became the winning run

It was his first homer or the season and eighth in 203 career at-bats.

Woodstown starter Aaron Foote was perfect through three innings before that Panthers broke up the gem with the first of three singles in the fourth inning that produced their 1-0 lead.

The Wolverines rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the inning on Tommy Tucci’s sacrifice fly and a bad throw by the pitcher on Lucas Fulmer’s grounder. String extended the lead in the fourth.

Foote gave the Wolverines 5 2/3 solid innings and Michael Valente came behind him with 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief. They ended the game on a hard-charging play by shortstop Tucci, who snagged a chopper over Valente’s head and threw on to first in the same motion for the final out.

GOLF
Gateway 193, Salem Tech 207

Alton Rattle (44) and Daniel Romero (45) shot the two low rounds to lead Gateway to its first win of the season. Mason Griffith (47) had Salem Tech’s low round.

TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 5, PITMAN 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-1, 6-0
John Farrell (WO) def. Nolan Russell, 6-1, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis (WO) def. Jaron Scott, 7-5, 6-0
Luke Shaw-Mason Shimp (WO) def. Ben Williams-Jonah Raymer, 6-1, 6-3
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Spencer Bianchini-Liam Etter, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 9-2, Pitman 1-10.

GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield 16, Woodstown 2

Finding a way

D’Agostino, Pokrovsky help Schalick baseball stay unbeaten with big win over Pitman; Schalick sweeps county track titles, all 3 county tennis winners sweep, and more

BASEBALL
Schalick 4, Pitman 2
Pennsville 14, Penns Grove 1
Woodstown 11, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – Lucas D’Agostino didn’t have a lot of pitches to play with when they handed him the ball Tuesday for one of his team’s biggest regular-season games of the year, so he knew he had to be efficient. Not perfect, but efficient.

The Schalick senior had only 66 pitches left on his weekly limit and he didn’t waste many. The RCSJ-Cumberland signee threw four innings of shutout ball to give his team a chance and his defense and Luke Pokrovsky did the rest as the Cougars beat Pitman 4-2 to remain undefeated through its battle of top five South Jersey Group I schools.

“I probably would’ve given him another day’s rest but he was willing to step up,” Cougars coach Sean O’Brien said. “If he would’ve had more pitches he might’ve gone longer.”

As it was, the RCSJ-Cumberland signee gave the Cougars all he had — and a little more. Because the rules allow him to finish a batter once he hits his threshold, he threw 69 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four.

“They eliminated us last year in the playoffs and that was pretty much in the back of everyone’s mind,” D’Agostino said. “I knew I only had 66 pitches left and couldn’t get too ahead of myself going for strikeouts. I had to let my defense work and they did a pretty danged good job.

“I had the same idea the whole time: Pitch to contact to get weak ground balls, weak fly outs, really rely on my defense. That’s important to me. I trust all seven guys behind me.”

The defense played a big part in helping him keep the Panthers (9-4) off the board. Jamari Whitley made a nice play at third on Jake Sharrow’s swinging bunt with runners at second and third to end the second inning and the Cougars turned a bases-loaded double play in the third.

“That (Whitley) play determined a lot,” D’Agostino said. “If they score two runs there you have the meat of the lineup coming up and maybe a tied game. That helped me lock it down.”

With 12 pitches left in his pocket, D’Agostino got through the fourth inning with little excitement then left it to the bullpen with a 4-0 lead. The Cougars got him three unearned runs in the second inning to grab the lead and then Pokrovsky led off the third with his fourth homer of the season and third in four games, tying his two brothers for the Schalick career home run lead (16).

Evan Glaspey came behind D’Agostino and gave up two runs in the fifth but Pokrovsky closed the door with two innings of one-hit shutout relief.

“Especially with us limited pitching wise, they dug deep and found a way to win,” O’Brien said.

The win solidified the Cougars’ hold on No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They are now 9-0 sending observers to scramble to find a better start. The loss dropped Pitman to fifth behind Pennsville, a team it had beaten earlier this season.

“The idea is hopefully to be the best team in Schalick history,” D’Agostino said. “I’m really excited to not have a loss under our belt going into May. You compare us to last year, the amount of improvement we’ve seen is awesome. I don’t know who the top Schalick team ever was, hopefully we’re inching pretty close if we’re not already there.”

PENNSVILLE 14, PENNS GROVE 1: Connor Starn and Mason O’Brien both had two hits and two RBIs and three pitchers struck out 15 while holding the Red Devils to one hit as the Eagles won their last varsity game of the month. Logan Cowperthwait pitched three no-hit innings behind starter Logan Streitz and struck out seven. Chase Burchfield hit a pair of rockets to left field that were misplayed into errors and will remain at 98 career RBIs at least until the Eagles return to varsity action May 5.

WOODSTOWN 11, SALEM 0: Walker Battavio had two hits and two RBIs and Ty Coblentz drove in a pair of runs as the Wolverines won for the second day in a row. Blake Rodriguez and Tommy Tucci combined on a five-inning two-hitter. Chase Davis had both of Salem’s hits.

TRACK: Schalick sweeps county crowns

PENNSVILLE – Schalick sprinter Gia Martellacci was named the most outstanding athlete among the girls while David Stewart and Salem’s Anthony Parker shared the boys award as Schalick swept team titles in the Salem County Track and Field Championships at Pennsville.

Martellacci won three individual events and ran a leg on the winning 4×400 relay to help the Schalick girls score 133 points. She tied for first in the 100 (12.83) with Salem’s Raniyah Parsons-Smith and won the 200 (26.41) and 400 (1:00.26). The relay team won in 4:15.44.

Teammate Jordan Hadfield also won three events (800, 1600, 3200) and ran a leg on the relay. She broke her own meet record in the 1600.

Stewart and Parker both won three events in the boys meet. Stewart won the 100 (11.22), 400 (49.19) and triple jump (43-1.5) to help the Cougars score 102 points for the team win. Parker won the 110 hurdles (14.32), 400 hurdles (56.35) and long jump (20-8.5).

Woodstown edged Salem by a point for second place in the boys meet. Jacob Marino won both distance races and the Wolverines’ 4×400 relay team that’s heading to the Penn Relays (Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz) broke the 10-year-old meet record.

SALEM COUNTY TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 102, Woodstown 72, Salem 71, Penns Grove 55, Pennsville 35
MVP: Anthony Parker, Salem; David Stewart, Schalick.
100: David Stewart, Schalick 11.22
110 hurdles: Anthony Parker, Salem 14.32200: Zaeshawn Mills, Schalick 22.41
400: David Stewart, Schalick 49.19
400 hurdles: Anthony Parker, Salem 56.35
800: Joshua Crawford, Woodstown 1:58.20
1600: Jacob Marino, Woodstown 4:46.83
3200: Jacob Marino, Woodstown 10:37.60
4×400: Woodstown (Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz) 3:27.05 (meet record, old record 3:27.90, Schalick, 2015)
Discus: Ethan McLean, Schalick 138-3
High jump: Reggie Allen, Schalick 5-10
Javelin: Connor Ayars, Pennsville 171-1
Long jump: Anthony Parker, Salem 20-8.5
Pole vault: Gradin Buzby, Salem, 11-0
Shot put: Sheldon Goldsborogh, Schalick 45-2
Triple jump: David Stewart, Schalick 43-1.5

GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 133, Woodstown 70, Pennsville 58, Salem 54, Penns Grove 20
MVP: Gia Martellacci, Schalick
100: (tie) Gia Martellacci, Schalick; Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Salem 12.83
100 hurdles: Lia Covely, Woodstown 17.82
200: Gia Martellacci, Schalick 26.41
400: Gia Martellacci, Schalick 1:00.26
400 hurdles: Audrey Boggs, Salem 1:10.65
800: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2:21.84
1600: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 5:15.02 (meet record, old record 5:16.54, Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2023)
3200: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 11:55.47
4×400: Schalick (Brooke Valentine, Sophia Harris, Jordan Hadfield, Gia Martellacci) 4:15.44
Discus: Tatiyonna Crawford, Pennsville 96-2
High jump: Kallie Morrison, Pennsville 4-10
Javelin: Allyson Green, Schalick 100-6
Long jump: Phoebe Alward, Schalick 15-10.25
Pole vault: Megan Morris, Pennsville 10-6
Shot put: Ava Rodgers, Salem 32-11
Triple jump: Jaelynn Jarmon, Schalick 32-9

TENNIS: Three 5-0 winners

TUESDAY’S SCORES
Pennsville 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 5, Pitman 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0

PENNSVILLE 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Rene Ruiz, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Adan Gonzalez-Juan Ortiz, 6-1, 6-1
Matthew Forino-Carter Willis (P) def. Jesus Arredondo-Jayden Murga Santos, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 9-0, Penns Grove 1-4.

SCHALICK 5, PITMAN 0
George Gould (S) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-0, 6-1
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Nolan Russell, 6-1, 6-1
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Jaron Scull, 6-4, 6-0
Cayden Brzozowski-David Santana (S) def. Jonah Raymer-Ben Williams, 6-1, 2-6, 10-4
Kaden Barnes-Christian Negron (S) def. Spencer Bianchini-Liam Etter, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
Records: Schalick 7-4, Pitman 1-9.

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Connor Kustera, 6-2, 6-1
John Farrell (WO) def. Thomas Mason, 6-3, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis (WO) won by forfeit
Mason Shimp-Luke Shaw (WO) def. Alan Marcos-Gabe Martinez, 6-4, 7-5
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Mohammed Shihab-Gerardo Trinidad-Palillero, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 8-2, Overbrook 1-7.

SOFTBALL: Pennsville, Woodstown win

TUESDAY’S SCORES
Pennsville 19, Penns Grove 0
Pitman at Schalick
Woodstown 11, Salem 4

WOODSTOWN 11, SALEM 4: Talia Guardascione hit a two-run inside-the-park homer in the second inning to give the Wolverines a 5-0 lead. Guardascione, Shyann Higinbotham, Hannah Hitchner and Sadie Moore all scored twice.

LACROSSE

KINGSWAY 15, WOODSTOWN 2: Keegan Borkowski scored five goals and Owen Dougherty had three for the undefeated Dragons (8-0).

GIRLS LACROSSE

WOODSTOWN 18, KINGSWAY 5: Delaney Walker and Jaime Deal each scored six goals and Emma Morgan had four for the Wolverines. Walker, a junior, now has 108 career goals.