Salem CC baseball swept by Ocean Saturday, still holds No. 4 spot by winning percentage but tournament committee determines seeding
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — It set up to be a day of celebration, but at the end of it the Salem CC baseball team left with more questions than answers about their playoff future.
The Mighty Oaks needed to win just one game in Saturday’s home doubleheader with Ocean to solidify its hold on the fourth-best record in the Region 19 Division III standings and a presumptive home series in the opening round of the region playoffs.
Instead, they were swept out to sea by the Vikings 6-5 in eight innings and 17-9 to put a damper on their Sophomore Day festivities and uncertainty into their postseason plans.
“We struggled,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “We struggled beginning to end today. We couldn’t really put it together.
“It’s disappointing. I think we’re a better baseball team than what we’ve shown the last couple games, but the new season starts next week. Season No. 2. Anything can happen at that point.”
They still locked up the fourth-best region record (18-13), only thanks to Bergen’s 23-16 win over Middlesex in Game 1 of their wild doubleheader, but whether that translates into the No. 4 seed and a first-round hosting opportunity is a matter left for the seeding committee, and they’re not expected to act until the final two games that most assuredly will impact the standings are played Monday.
And there’s a big question that hangs over the proceedings. Because of a quirk in the schedule, created by two teams that opted into the master schedule and then pulled out after it was completed, Salem and RCSJ-Cumberland played 31 region games or one more than the other six tournament teams.
Does the committee leave the standings as is, based on winning percentage, giving Salem a half-game edge over Middlesex, Camden and possibly Northampton (which has two winnable games at Union Monday) or does it make a ruling on the odd game and seed the field off a 30-game result? And if they take the odd game out, which game do they choose — the 31st, which in Salem’s case would give it an even better record and a full game edge over the potential three teams behind it? Do they base the seedings on the losses?
In a four-way tie among the 13-loss teams, under traditional tiebreaker procedures, Camden would be 4 and Salem would be 5 (based on best record among the remaining three)
“I think the region’s going to have to rule on that,” Holt said. “I’m sure it’s going to come down to the best team losses as opposed to the wins. I’m real curious to see what’s going to happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s kind of up in the air.
“We didn’t exactly make it easy. We had the route, all we had to do was win a game. They knew that and we didn’t get it done.”
And they had the early lead in both games.
They took a 4-1 lead in the third inning of the opener, but couldn’t hold it. Sebi Susinno’s RBI single in the seventh put the Vikings ahead and the Mighty Oaks needed Matt Murphy’s two-out RBI single in the home half to force extra innings. Anthony Eckerson’s single up the middle put Ocean ahead 6-5 in the eighth.
The Mighty Oaks scored four in the first inning of the nightcap, highlighted by RBI doubles from Yen Rodriguez, Murphy and Angel Velez, but the Vikings answered with six in the second and scored in every inning through the sixth. Tom Laspina led the Vikings’ 15-hit attack against four Salem pitchers with four hits and five RBIs.
After the doubleheader the Salem program recognized its 16 sophomores.
“This group is a special group,” Holt said. “Arguably the most successful sophomores that the school has had in a very, very long time.
“I attribute them to helping build our culture. I’ve been a believer my entire career that good teams come and go but culture stays. This group took huge steps in building the culture that we’re trying to build at Salem. They’re a special bunch.”
Photo: The heart of Salem CC’s lineup — (from left) Matt Murphy, Angel Velez, Demetrius DeRamus and Yen Rodriguez — were among the sophomores celebrated by the program Saturday. Look for Rodriguez to join the other three with 100 hits in a Salem uniform before the season ends. (Photo by Haylee Pickrell).
Region 19 Division III Playoff Field
| TEAMS | REG | ALL |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 30-0 | 45-4 |
| Brookdale | 24-6 | 35-8 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 21-10 | 29-15 |
| Salem | 18-13 | 24-24 |
| xy-Middlesex | 17-13 | 30-18 |
| z-Camden | 17-13 | 26-15 |
| Northampton | 15-13 | 21-18 |
| Montgomery | 13-17 | 14-17 |
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Ocean 6-18, Salem 5-9
RCSJ-Gloucester 17-13, RCSJ-Cumberland 3-2
Bergen 23-18, Middlesex 16-20
Montgomery 10-6, Delaware County 5-10
MONDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Atlantic Cape
Northampton at Union (2)
Riverview Sports News 