Filling big shoes

With head coach suspended, assistant Smith gets a taste of life in the big chair, directs Mighty Oaks to run-rule sweep of Howard CC; Wise walks it off in both games

REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem CC 12-14, Howard CC 4-6
Harford 5-8, Lackawanna 1-15
Dutchess 14-10, Raritan Valley 1-6
Brookdale 24-16, Monroe Bronx 1-2
Orange CC 10-19, Sussex 1-4
RCSJ-Gloucester 2-15, Camden 1-7

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Like every assistant coach in the game Mack Smith aspires to be a head coach someday. She is hopeful of an opportunity in time, given a suitable amount of experience and seasoning. She certainly wasn’t expecting it on a cold, damp day in April two years into her college coaching career.

But there she was Thursday, a 24-year-old mom-to-be making the in-game decisions and keeping things together for the Salem CC softball team that had to play without head coach Angel Rodriguez for the day. 

It was a day that carried a lot of emotion, but in the end it was a successful debut as the Mighty Oaks scored a pair of run-rule victories over Howard CC 12-4 and 14-6. Tessa Wise had the walk-off hits in both games.

“Definitely nervous,” said Smith, whose only previous head coaching experience was one year with the Pennsville High track program. “I knew what was coming yesterday so I kind of had time to sit back and get in that head space that now it’s kind of falling on you.

“But I have full faith in our staff that I knew with or without Coach Angel we can get this done and we can do it for our girls. And they can do it, too.”

Smith was thrust into the position with Rodriguez serving a three-game suspension for arguing – correctly – a play in Game 1 of last weekend’s doubleheader with Mercer. The umpire initially ran Rodriguez, but brought him back for the nightcap after owning up to his rules error. The region office, however, upheld a three-game suspension, meaning the head coach also will be out for the opener of Saturday’s Sophomore Day twinbill against Delaware Tech or Sunday’s set with Orange CC if the Del Tech games are postponed.

Rodriguez spent Thursday’s twinbill in the Pennsville Little League Complex clubhouse alongside freshman second baseman Jocelyn Melendez, suspended four games for a home-plate collision in the Mercer game, properly out of “sight and sound” of the umpires while their teammates played on Watson Field below. He left Smith with one simple but specific instruction before retreating – “Don’t lose” – and talked to the team after the sweep as he would if he were with them in the dugout.

“It was tough, but we knew it was coming; we were prepared for it yesterday,” Rodriguez said. “It was a weird feeling, but I have trust in our coaches and they did what we talked about all week for our game plan and the players executed.

“It wasn’t fun sitting away, but it was fun watching them do what they do. It was a rollercoaster, just like I would be on the field. It was sad not to be on the field to cheer with them, but it was definitely exciting to still watch.”

Wise admitted it felt a little strange playing a game without her head coach, but she said the situation brought the players closer together.

“It was definitely an adjustment, so we had to get used to it,” the sophomore outfielder said. “We have other coaches making the play calls, so it was more playing as a team, rallying together.”

Smith’s head coaching debut didn’t start out well. The Mighty Oaks fell behind in the opener 4-0 in the second inning before their bats came to life. Bella Rappa got them on the board in the third with a two-run double and they added another run in the fourth, but they still trailed.

They won it with nine runs in the fifth. Wise gave them the lead for good with a three-run double just inside the third-base bag and walked it off later in the inning with a squibber off the end of the bat that the Dragons’ infield couldn’t handle.

“There was a little bit of stress there,” Smith said of the slow start, “but we always say they like to make chaos happen and they like to see our hair get gray. I think they find enjoyment in that sometimes. We knew our offense really wasn’t showing up. We were only one time through the lineup and we knew once they got on that it was game over.”

Wise had similar heroics in the nightcap. She capped a four-run first inning with a two-run triple that rolled into the right field corner and turned into a “Little League home run” when she scored on a bad throw and then she walked it off in the fifth with a ball similar to the one she had to end the opener.

“Never in my life” has she had two walk-off hits in the same doubleheader, she said.

“It’s pretty cool, but it takes a team,” Wise said. “If my teammates never got on base, I never would have had that opportunity. We’re battling here for Jocelyn and Coach Angel, so it was a team effort at that point.”