Style to dye for

Pennsville uses late rally to take down Lenape, play reminds coach they’re buying into ideals he’s preaching

SATURDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 5, Lenape 4
Schalick 24, Paulsboro 1
Delran 6, Woodstown 4

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Pennsville rallied from an early four-run deficit to score five runs in its final two bats and beat Lenape 5-4 Saturday afternoon. The way the Eagles came back reminded coach Matt Karr of all the things he’d been preaching to his players about winning games after he found himself getting frustrated with their recent lack of production.

The blonde-topped Eagles, 12-7 and currently No. 3 in the South Jersey Group I power points, trailed 4-0 going to the home fifth, but put together enough quality at-bats late in the game to score three in the bottom of the inning to get close and then two more in the sixth to win it.

The three runs they scored in the fifth ended a string of 12 consecutive scoreless innings, a drought exacerbated by an unnerving string of setbacks at the plate, on the bases and in the field that keep a team from being successful.

“We’re just going to the plate and we’re not competing,” Karr said. “I felt like we were on cruise control, just going through the motions, then I catch myself over there counting … 8 … 9 … 10 innings without a run.

“Things were going bad. Everything that could go wrong … I felt like it was one of those days where it was going to go wrong. I told the boys out in the outfield, you guys kind of had to remind me through your play today the things we preach to you – a baseball game is seven innings long, the runs you score in inning one count the same as the runs you score in the seventh.

“We settled in and started grinding out at bats at the plate. The at bats at the end were awesome.”

The Eagles loaded the bases in the sixth on a leadoff walk, misplayed bunt and hit batsman from the bottom of the order. With the Pennsville bench erupting in the Florida State/Atlanta Braves tomahawk chant, Logan Streitz worked a bases-loaded walk to force home the tying run and Peyton O’Brien fought off several payoff pitches before delivering a one-out sacrifice fly to right to put his team ahead. O’Brien also doubled home their first two runs in the fifth.

“I knew I was going to eventually get one to handle,” O’Brien said. “I was saying to myself just don’t strike out because I knew I had to do a job for my team and I did it, so I’m glad.

“Before I went up there (on the double) coach told me just remember you’re one of the best hitters in the state, so I went up with that confidence and got a pitch I could hit, put a good swing on it and got us going.”

Perhaps their biggest play of the game didn’t come at the plate. The Indians were threatening to break it open with two runners in scoring position with two outs in the fifth but Jake Layfield kept Dante D’Ambra’s rocket to short in the infield preventing a second run to score that would’ve made it 5-0.

“When we were down in Ocean City we had a conversation about productive innings at the plate,” Karr said. “On the flip side, you guys hear me all the time saying belly down, keep it in. It’s for that reason right there. He makes an awesome play, keeps the ball in the infield. Doesn’t get an out, but he saved a run and today that’s the difference. The little things.

“When we play these playoff games, you get in the second, third, championship rounds, it’s those little things that are going to be the difference.”

The Indians scored three in the first inning off Luke Wood after he got the first two hitters out, but the Pennsville ace buckled down after that. He allowed only four hits, struck out five and faced only three batters over the minimum over the final six innings.

“I don’t feel like anything really changed (after the first inning), I think I just kept attacking the zone,” Wood said. “You’re going to give up hits, you’re going to give up runs, that’s the game of baseball. I’ve just got to trust that my stuff is going to be better than their lineup over the course of seven innings. You can’t let one inning bother you like that.”

Blonde ambition

Don’t look now but nearly every player on the Pennsville roster sports a dyed blonde head of hair underneath their caps.

It’s a look they’ve sported since their win over Pitman. It grew out of several players – Streitz, Jay Nickles, Mikey McClincy, Aidan Geary, Cohen Petrutz and Stevie Fatcher – sliding down to Streitz’ mom Pam’s Salone Di Bellezza on Broadway for a dye job before joining the team at O’Brien’s house for pizza, and once there convincing the rest to join them.

“It’s been brewing for a few weeks,” Karr said. “Then (Gavin) Spears shows up one day with the blonde hair and I say are you the guy in the group chat that didn’t get the hint it was a joke and they made you do it. He was like, no, no, no, we’re going to do it.”

So far the new look has been met with a curious but favorable response. Streitz reports there have been no negative comments. “I think everybody likes it,” he said. The Eagles won their first two games in the new do’s and are now 3-2 with them.

“They want to be like me,” said Wood, who has been regularly dying his hair blonde since his freshman year. “I like not being the only one. You’re looking at our whole group of guys and everyone looks the exact same. My mom tells me all the time she can’t tell anybody apart.”

“It’s growing on me,” O’Brien said. “At first I was a little upset about it, but it’s growing on me. Sometimes I think it looks a little stupid, but we’re a team.”

The only player who hasn’t done it is leftfielder Jeff Wagner and that’s because he has a senior portrait sitting soon.

Karr hasn’t done it, either, but he’s on board and will sit in the chair under one condition.

“I told them if you win a South Jersey championship,” Karr said, “I’ll go to the Salone 10 minutes after the game and do whatever you want.”

The Eagles have a busy week next week. They host current SJ-1 No. 2 Schalick Monday, play a free admission game against Tome School of Maryland in Wilmington’s Frawley Stadium Tuesday night and visit Salem with a chance to clinch their first outright TCC Classic Division title since 2023 Wednesday, the new cutoff date for playoff seedings.

SCHALICK 24, PAULSBORO 1: Luke Pokrovsky hit his fourth homer in four games, Ricky Watt hit a grand slam and four pitchers combined on a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Both homers came in a 13-run third inning. Cole Hartley homered in the fifth inning. The Cougars (17-1) have won seven in a row and scored 84 runs in their last five games.

DELRAN 6, WOODSTOWN 4: The Bears broke a 3-3 tie on Jackson Veneziano’s RBI single in the fifth and extended their lead on RBI singles by Jackson Hager and Andrew Reim in the sixth. Woodstown tied the game in the top of the fifth on Rocco String’s RBI double and Dante Holmes’ bases-loaded walk. String had three hits for the Wolverines.

SJ sectional track

Despite having his routine thrown out of whack, Pennsville’s Ayars wins boys javelin; among 12 Salem County sectional champions, 64 state qualifiers

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSAUKEN – Imagine spending all day mentally preparing for the only event you’re competing in at the biggest meet of the year so far, getting to the site and fine-tuning your game face only to have the event pulled out from under you.

And then having to go through it all again the next morning. And still having it within yourself to produce a gold-medal result.

That’s what Pennsville’s Connor Ayars faced this weekend as he competed in – and won – the boys javelin in the South Jersey Group I track and field sectionals at Pennsauken High School.

Ayars had been gearing up all day Friday for his event, but wet weather and field conditions, combined with the time it took to complete an 88-man field in the Group 4 javelin prompted officials to call it a night shortly before the Pennsville senior’s flight was scheduled to throw.

He had to come back Saturday morning and although the throw wasn’t quite up to his usual standards, he still won the event with a throw of 161 feet, 1 inch – some 12 feet shorter of his best throw ever, but still six feet better than his closest competitor.

“I was a little upset because I was ready to throw, there was still some daylight left, but …,” he said. “It definitely was disappointing because I get out of school early, I go up there, I’m waiting five plus hours to throw and I don’t get to throw after I’ve been stretching, prepping myself, doing my technique work with Cole (Campbell) and then five minutes before I’m about to throw they say they’re going to postpone it.

“I’m pretty bummed out because I’ve been working all week to be ready to throw Friday and not expecting to throw today, and it ended up being a disappointing throw today as well. It was a total kill.”

On Friday Ayars was “as loose as I’ve ever been” and was expecting to post something in the high 170s at or better than the school record. His best-ever throw is 173-2, this year at the Woodbury Relays.

His winning throw Saturday came on his fifth attempt. He followed it with a 159-11, which still was better than the runner-up’s best.

“I wouldn’t say it was really off, it just wasn’t what I was expecting to throw,” he said. “It is a disappointing throw for me, but I got first place so I can’t put myself down for that.”

Now he has two weeks to bring it back. After a disappointing showing in the state meet last year Ayars plans to change what he does to get ready.

“I’ve just got to be more locked in this season,” he said. “It’s my last outing if I don’t do well. I’m going to have to push myself to take these two weeks and really focus on what I need to get better at.”

Ayars won one of eight boys and four girls sectional champions from Salem County and 64 total qualifiers to the state championship meet from the county.

Among the boys champions crowned Saturday were Ayars, Schalick’s Ethan McLean (discus) and David Stewart (triple jump); Salem’s Anthony Parker (long jump); and Woodstown’s 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams.

Josh Crawford, looking every bit in like the Atlanta Braves’ Flash who gives random fans a big head start and then runs them down in his between innings promo on the warning track, took the baton in sixth place and made up some 60 meters on the final leg to edge Camden in the 4×400 relay. He ran a 47.095 final leg. He won the 800 on Friday.

“With every race I run, whether it is a relay or an open it is never about me. It’s about me doing my part for the team and my coach,” Crawford said. “They did their part. it was my turn to do mine. I didn’t even think. I was calm and knew what I had to do.

“I loved the celebration with my team at the end. Opposing runners came up to me. I do the same to them. We have respect for each other. Most importantly, I know that every stride I take is partly hard work and discipline, but is mostly the strength from God and some good genes.”

Among the girls champions crowned Saturday were Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield (1600); Woodstown’s Kami Casiano (high jump); and Pennsville’s Megan Morris (pole vault). Hadfield’s win the 1600 gave her a double after winning the 3200 the day before.

Woodstown and Schalick finished 2-3 behind champion Glassboro in the boys team standings. Schalick was third in the girls teams standings, just two points behind runnerup Haddon Twp. Woodstown was sixth.

Stewart and Hadfield were second in their respective Group I MVP standings. Hadfield was second in girls Group I track scoring and Crawford was second in boys Group I track scoring.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
TRACK SECTIONALS

BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Glassboro 135, Woodstown 66.5, Schalick 57, Camden 44, Haddon Twp. 33, Audubon 33, Clayton 32, Palmyra 28, Woodbury 23, Gateway 22, Penns Grove 19, Pennsville 14, Maple Shade 12, Buena 11, Burlington City 10, Salem 10, Paulsboro 8.5
EVENTS (winners and Salem County state qualifiers)
100: 1. Xavier Sabb, Glassboro 10.69; 6. Colin McGlinn, Pennsville 11.07
200: 1. Alexander Osayemi, Clayton 21.67; 4. David Stewart, Schalick 22.18; 6. Zaeshawn Mills, Schalick 22.52
400: 1. Alexander Osayemi, Clayton 46.91; 2. Josh Crawford, Woodstown 49.01
800: 1. Josh Crawford, Woodstown 1:53.59; 2. Cole Lucas, Woodstown 1:54.87; 5. Karson Chew, Woodstown 1:59.92
1600: Ty Blackman, Glassboro 4:27.73; 3. Cole Lucas, Woodstown 4:34.08
3200: 1. Ty Blackman, Glassboro 9:47.48; 3. Jacob Marino, Woodstown 10:00.32
4×100 Relay: 1. Schalick (Reggie Allen, Michael Eberl, Zaeshawn Mills, David Stewart) 42.34 (Group I sectional record)
4×400 Relay: 1. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Kyle Reitz, Anthony Costello, Josh Crawford) 3:26.84; 5. Penns Grove (Kylee Goodson, Sebastian Hernandez, Bryan Garlic, Knowledge Young) 3:28.42
4×800 Relay: 1. Woodstown (Karson Chew, David Farrell, Pacey Hutton, Jacob Marino) 8:20.34; 6. Penns Grove (Messiah Allah, Connor Duggan, Bryan Garlic, Robert Sanchez-Gomez) 8:43.15
100 Hurdles: 1. Andres Santiago, Haddon Twp. 14.92
400 Hurdles: 1. Alexander Osayemi, Clayton 53.14; 2. David Stewart, Schalick 54.22; 5. Bryan Garlic, Penns Grove 56.09
Discus: 1. Ethan McLean, Schalick 139-6; 4. Aidan Taulane, Woodstown 131-4; 5. Jackson McFarland, Pennsville 130-8
High Jump: 1. Jaleel Latimore, Palmyra 6-4; T-6. Elijah Caesar, Woodstown 5-10
Javelin: 1. Connor Ayars, Pennsville 161-1; 3. Nyzier Wynder, Schalick 147-11; 5. Lorenzo Dignee, Woodstown 140-5; 6. Cole Campbell, Pennsville 140-3
Long Jump: 1. Anthony Parker, Salem 23-2; 5. Will Roy, Penns Grove 20-5
Pole Vault: 1. Jacob George, Haddon Twp. 14-0; 4. Salvatore Longo, Schalick 12-0
Shot Put: 1. Sam Adams, Palmyra 46-3; 2. Raymond Brown, Penns Grove, 46-1; 4, Sheldon Goldsborogh, Schalick 45-7.5
Triple Jump: 1. David Stewart, Schalick 45-4.25; 4. Bryan Garlic, Penns Grove 42-9; 6. Zaeshawn Mills, Schalick 41-9.5

GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Clayton 86, Haddon Twp. 74, Schalick 72, Audubon 65.5, Woodbury 55, Woodstown 45, Maple Shade 42, Glassboro 28, Riverside 18, Burlington City 18, Pennsville 12, Buena 10, Salem 9, Camden 8, Wildwood 6, Paulsboro 4, Pitman 4, Gateway 1.5.
EVENTS (winners and Salem County state qualifiers)
100: 1, Miyana Johnson, Clayton 12.40; 6. Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Salem 12.99
200: 1. Leila Ortiz, Clayton 25.24; 6. Gia Martellacci, Schalick 26.44
400: 1. Leila Ortiz, Clayton 56.39; 5. Gia Marellacci, Schalick 1:00.04
800: 1. Riley Fayer, Audubon 2:17.09; 2. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2:18.67; 4. Lilian Norman, Woodstown 2:22.57
1600: 1. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 5:04.83; 5. Lilian Norman, Woodstown 5:30.23
3200: 1. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 11:16.14; 2. Anabel Schaal, Woodstown 12:24.42; 3. Abby Marino, Woodstown 12:27.02; 5. Samantha Sterner, Woodstown 12:34.84
4×100 Relay: 1. Woodbury 49.70; 2. Schalick (Jaelynn Jarmon, Phoebe Alward, Caileigh Schalick, Gia Martellacci) 50.87; 6. Salem (Angelina Fothergill, MaKayla Smith, Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Kashira Patterson) 52.63
4×400 Relay: 1. Haddon Twp. 4:06.29; 5. Schalick (Brooke Valentine, Sophia Harris, Jordan Hadfield, Gia Martellacci) 4:14.06; 6. Pennsville (Taylor Bass, Molly Gratz, Ariana Charles, Megan Morris) 4:16.64
4×800 Relay: 1. Audubon 9:55.24; 2. Woodstown (Abby Marino, Samantha Sterner, Sarah Seiden, Lilian Norman) 10:04.31; Schalick (Caylen Taylor, Sarah Torpey, Helen Lilli, Allyson Green) 10:48.66
100 Hurdles: 1. Ciani Floyd, Maple Shade 15.93
400 Hurdles: 1. Emily Madden, Buena 1:07.74; 4. Audrey Boggs, Salem 1:09.88; 6. Sarah Seiden, Woodstown 1:10.77
Discus: 1. Sunny Moore, Glassboro 137-1; 6. Sebrina Bradford, Schalick 106-10
High Jump: 1. Kami Casiano, Woodstown 5-2; 4. Navaeh Robinson, Schalick 4-10
Javelin: 1. Rainelle Blocker, Clayton 114-7, 3. Allyson Green, Schalick 105-1, 5. Navaeh Robinson 97-7
Long Jump: 1. Denirah Jones, Woodbury 17-4.5; 3. Phoebe Alward, Schalick 16-6; 4. Emma Perry, Woodstown 16-0
Pole Vault: 1. Megan Morris, Pennsville 10-6; 5. Gabriella Simonini, Schalick 8-0
Shot Put: 1. Antonia Federici, Woodbury 38-4; 5. Ava Rodgers, Salem 32-9; 6. Tatiyonna Crawford, Pennsville 32-8.75
Triple Jump: 1. Nyima Burley, Burlington City 35-9; 4. Jaelynn Jarmon, Schalick 34-7.25; 6. MaKayla Smith, Salem 33-5.

Beating the weather and the clock

Woodstown’s Crawford sets sectional record in winning SJ Group I boys 800, Schalick’s Hadfield wins 3200

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSAUKEN – It really didn’t seem like a good day to run, but Woodstown junior Josh Crawford fought through the challenges and ran one of the best times in county history in his specialty Friday while setting a South Jersey Group I sectional record.

Crawford won the South Jersey Group I boys 800 in a personal best 1:53.59 that broke a 28-year-old hand-timed meet record set by Paulsboro’s Fred Sharpe. It was the second-fastest 800 in Salem County history, behind only the 1:52.97 Penns Grove’s Jaymes Dennison ran in 2013

Truth be told, Crawford wasn’t even sure they would have a meet as he sat in the middle of the school day. The skies were dark and the students were sheltering in place from the storm that was raging outside.

The skies eventually cleared and Crawford made his way to Pennsauken High. Once he got there he found the track dry, but the field turf was wet and spongy making it difficult to warm up.

“As soon as I got to the meet I was a little out of it mindset wise, but as soon as I saw the track I knew it was time to get my game face on it,” Crawford said. “That was me and my friends putting our best time down even though the circumstances were kind of iffy.”

He credited the pace of the race and the push from the field for helping raise the standard.

Woodstown teammates Cole Lucas and Karson Chew finished second and fifth, respectively, in the race. Lucas ran a 1:54.87 – the third fastest time in meet and Salem County history – and Chew ran a 1:59.92.

“It was mostly just me trusting my coach,” Crawford said. “He told me how I should run it along with my teammates. He told us to go 54 first lap and then we heard him throughout the entire race cheering for us and that really encouraged me.

“Plus having my teammates on my back the entire race. I know what they’re like and I know they have the ability to push me and that’s exactly what they did today. They pushed me. I wouldn’t have been able to reach that time if they weren’t on top of me the entire race.”

Crawford wasn’t the only Salem County athlete to win an event on the first day of sectionals. Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield won the girls 3200 in 11:16.14. She finished second in the girls 800.

All told, the county advanced 25 athletes and relays (11 boys, 14 girls) to the state meet. The sectionals continue Saturday.

With seven of the 18 events scored in each gender, Schalick leads the girls team race with 31 points, but is only three points ahead of Clayton. Woodstown and Schalick are second and third in the boys race behind Glassboro.

Here are Friday’s finals from the South Jersey Group I track sectionals; includes event winners and Salem County scorers/state qualifiers

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
TRACK SECTIONALS

BOYS
TEAM SCORES (7 events scored): Glassboro 55, Woodstown 26.5, Schalick 22, Palmyra 20, Camden 17, Clayton 12, Gateway 10, Burlington City 10, Penns Grove 10, Audubon 9, Woodbury 8, Maple Shade 6, Paulsboro 4.5, Haddon Twp. 4, Buena 2, Pennsville 1

100: 1. Xavier Sabb, Glassboro 10.69; 6. Colin McGlinn, Pennsville 11.07
400 Hurdles: 1. Alexander Osayemi, Clayton 53.14; 2. David Stewart, Schalick 54.22; 5. Bryan Garlic, Penns Grove 56.09
800: 1. Josh Crawford, Woodstown 1:53.59; 2. Cole Lucas, Woodstown 1:54.87; 5. Karson Chew, Woodstown 1:59.92
3200: 1. Ty Blackman, Glassboro 9:47.48; 3. Jacob Marino, Woodstown 10:00.32
4×100 Relay: 1. Schalick 42.34
High Jump: 1. Jaleel Latimore, Palmyra 6-4; T-6. Elijah Caesar, Woodstown 5-10
Shot Put: 1. Sam Adams, Palmyra 46-3; 2. Raymond Brown, Penns Grove, 46-1; 4, Sheldon Goldsborogh, Schalick 45-7.5

GIRLS
TEAM SCORES (7 events scored): Schalick 31, Clayton 28, Woodbury 22, Audubon 22, Haddon Twp. 21, Woodstown 21, Glassboro 19, Maple Shade 14, Riverside 10, Burlington City 10, Buena 10, Salem 7, Camden 2

100: 1, Miyana Johnson, Clayton 12.40; 6. Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Salem 12.99
400 Hurdles: 1. Emily Madden, Buena 1:07.74; 4. Audrey Boggs, Salem 1:09.88; 6. Sarah Seiden, Woodstown 1:10.77
800: 1. Riley Fayer, Audubon 2:17.09; 2. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2:18.67; 4. Lilian Norman, Woodstown 2:22.57
3200: 1. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 11:16.14; 2. Anabel Schaal, Woodstown 12:24.42; 3. Abby Marino, Woodstown 12:27.02; 5. Samantha Sterner, Woodstown 12:34.84
4×100 Relay: 1. Woodbury 49.70; 2. Schalick 50.87; 6. Salem 52.63
Discus: 1. Sunny Moore, Glassboro 137-1; 6. Sebrina Bradford, Schalick 106-10
Triple Jump: 1. Nyima Burley, Burlington City 35-9; 4. Jaelynn Jarmon, Schalick 34-7.25; 6. MaKayla Smith, Salem 33-5.

Swept out

After scoring a huge opening-round upset, Salem CC swept out of Region 19/North Atlantic District tournament

REGION 19 TOURNAMENT
At Rutgers-Camden
Friday’s Games
Brookdale 12, Salem 2 (5 inns.)
RCSJ-Gloucester 16, Salem 0 (5 inns.)
Saturday’s Games
RCSJ-Gloucester vs. Brookdale, noon
Second game, if necessary, 3 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CAMDEN — You might be able to sneak up on the best teams in the country every once in a while, but unless something magical is in the works it’s not going to happen two days in a row.

The Salem CC baseball team was brimming with confidence after knocking off the No. 1 team in the country in the opening round of the Region 19/North Atlantic District Tournament. But the second day back against two of the top three teams in JUCO Division II just wasn’t the same.

The Mighty Oaks were five-inning run-ruled out of the tournament at Rutgers-Camden, losing to No. 3 Brookdale in the winner’s bracket 12-2 and then getting eliminated 16-0 by the No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester team they knocked off the day before.

“I don’t know if we recovered from yesterday,” coach John Holt said. “We were feeling pretty good and might have been too overconfident. We’ve got to play clean baseball against good teams and we didn’t do that. I think we can play with both of those teams, we didn’t have enough gas today to get through it.”

“I think it was the energy; that’s really it,” sophomore centerfielder Demetrius DeRamus said. “The energy was just low and brought everything down.”

“We tried to keep the energy up, but there was only so much in the tank for us,” corner outfielder Yen Rodriguez said.

It probably didn’t help their mindset that the Brookdale game started more than two hours after its scheduled noon start time due to storms that blew through the area shortly after the Mighty Oaks arrived at the facility. With the teams evacuated from the field — and Salem in the middle of batting practice — the Mighty Oaks waited out the entire delay in the cramped comfort complex on the concourse with players reportedly falling asleep in the stalls.

“When our guys are stuck in a men’s bathroom for over an hour, standing like that, and we were warmed up already,” Holt said, “(outfielder) Jay LaBold may not get hurt if he doesn’t tighten up for an hour and a half. Obviously, that effects the game pretty big. I had to leave (starting pitcher Jared) Vandersteur in longer than I wanted to (127 pitches) because we had pulled the DH. I think it had a little bit of an impact, but we’ve got to be able to overcome that. We were thrown off.”

The Mighty Oaks beat Gloucester in the tournament’s opening game 6-5 in 12 innings Thursday. It gave them enormous confidence going into Day 2, but it also lit a fire under the Roadrunners. Gloucester has outscored its two opponents since the loss 28-1 and given up just five hits in 10 innings.

The Runners must beat Brookdale twice Saturday to win the championship and earn the district’s automatic bid to the national tournament. As the No. 1 team in the country you’d expect them to get the one at-large bid to the national tournament if Brookdale takes them down.

“We were really disappointed in ourselves the way we played yesterday and we felt to be honest we handed the game away,” Roadrunners coach Rob Valli said. “And to be honest, they woke us up. They allowed it to turn from us being mad at ourselves to getting woken up and being ready to perform today.”

Gloucester (49-5) jumped on Salem for four runs in the first inning, then broke it open with eight in the second. Second game Salem starter Seth McCormick had four straight batters in 1-2 counts in the first inning, but all four reached base and either scored or drove in a run. “It just comes down to execution,” McCormick said.

The Mighty Oaks (28-26) were held to one hit in the elimination game, Matt Murphy’s leadoff double in the second inning. They loaded the bases with three walks in the fifth, but Gloucester got Demetrius DeRamus to end the game.

DeRamus, who hit a game-saving two-run homer in the ninth inning of the first Gloucester game, was in a position to close his Salem career with a hit to give him 100 career RBIs.

Brookdale walked off the winner’s bracket game with five runs in the fifth. The walk-off run scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch.

The Mighty Oaks took a 1-0 lead in the visitors first when Yen Rodriguez scored on Tyler Hacker’s bases-loaded walk. Ball four on the walk was a wild pitch and DeRamus tried to score from second but was out at the plate that at first glance looked like he slipped a foot on the dish before contact with the pitcher covering.

DeRamus’ 98th career RBI got the Mighty Oaks to within 7-2 in the top of the fifth.

While the losses brought a disappointing close to the Mighty Oaks’ season, there was a lot to remember.

Their 28 wins were a single-season school record against arguably the most challenging schedule in program history. They hosted and won a playoff series and won a game in the district tournament. They beat the Nos. 1 and 14 ranked teams during the season and played No. 2 close in two games with one of the losses decided on a controversial walk-off balk. Holt scored his 400th coaching victory and 100th at Salem during the season and four of the sophomores collected the 100th hits of their career.

“Hindsight, it’s a good year,” Holt said. “We’ve played a challenging schedule to prepare us for this weekend and it paid off. We were able to give Gloucester its first conference loss; that’s always a plus. We hung with the best teams in the country all year long. For a program that’s only been around for five years that says something. I think this thing is in the right direction. I think we’re building something here that could end up being special. We just have to work to improve every year.

“Last year we made the playoffs, this year the playoffs was the expectation and then the goal was to make some noise and I think we did that. Going into next year it’s continue to take a step forward with the program. I’m proud of this team. I think this group has had a lot of heart, a lot of guts. This is going to be a bunch that sticks with me regardless of how long I coach.”

Salem	100 01-	2	6	5
Brookdale	202 35-	12	11	1

WP: Tyler Mendez. LP: Jared Vandersteur. HR: Gary John Perone (B)

Salem	000 00-	0	1	2
RCSJ-Gloucester	480 4x-	16	13	0

WP: Landon Edwards. LP: Seth McCormick.

Salem shocks the system

Mighty Oaks give a performance for the ages, stun No. 1, two-time reigning national champs in opening round of Region 19 D3 Final Four

REGION 19 TOURNAMENT
Thursday’s Games
Game 1: Salem 6, RCSJ-Gloucester 5 (12 inns.)
Game 2: Brookdale 9, RCSJ-Cumberland 8 (10 inns.)
Game 3: RCSJ-Gloucester 12, RCSJ-Cumberland 1 (5 inns.)
Friday’s Games
Game 4: Salem vs. Brookdale, noon (winner to championship)
Game 5: RCSJ-Gloucester vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Championship (2 if necessary), noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CAMDEN — John Holt had one simple message for his blue-collar Salem CC baseball team before it boarded the bus for the trip up 295 for the Region 19 tournament.

We just have to win three, fellas.

Now they just have to win two – as long as they keep winning.

The Mighty Oaks shocked everyone in the JUCO baseball world except themselves Thursday when they stunned top-ranked, top-seeded and two-time reigning national champion RCSJ-Gloucester 6-5 in 12 innings at Rutgers-Camden.

The benefit of the win was to happily go back home early without having to play another game today and will play second-seeded No. 3 Brookdale Friday at noon. Jared Vandersteur, the region’s leader in ERA, is expected to draw the start for the Mighty Oaks (28-24) with Seth McCormick slated for their third game, which could be Friday’s 3 p.m. elminational game or Saturday’s championship game.

The win was Salem’s record 28th of the season and 401st of Holt’s coaching career. The Roadrunners fell to 47-5; they hadn’t lost to a Region 19 opponent since last May.

The Mighty Oaks (28-24) won despite striking out 21 times in the game.

“Our boys showed up today,” Holt said. “They played their hearts out, they really did. I’m as proud as I’ve been of a group in almost my entire career. These guys laid it all out there today. They played a tough game against a great team and they just out-toughed them today.”

It was the second time the Mighty Oaks have knocked off a No. 1-ranked team under Holt, the last being RCSJ-Gloucester in 2021.

The Mighty Oaks were defeated handily by the Roadrunners during the season, but they showed they could play with the best teams in the nation by hanging with now No. 2 SUNY-Niagara twice on their Florida trip in mid-March.

“Great that we get to go home early, enjoy the rest of the day, chill out, get ready to come back tomorrow,” third baseman Chris Kelly said. “It means a lot.

“It means everything, from 1 through 28, including the coaches, coming out here beating the No. 1 team in the country. No one else thought we could do it. We believed 1 through 28. We came into this weekend thinking we know we got it, we’re going to come in, dominate, and we did it. We did what we had to do.”

Heroes were plentiful, with Demetrius DeRamus and Matt Murphy at the top of the list.

Kelly brought Angel Velez home from third with the winning run on a two-strike sacrifice fly in the 12th.

DeRamus was down to the Mighty Oaks’ last strike of the game, but gave them life with a two-out, two-run homer over the park’s version of the Green Monster in right to tie it 5-5 in the visitors’ ninth. He had three RBIs in the game, leaving him three shy of 100 for his career.

Cole Dawson got the rally started with a one-out single, then stole second and went to third on a passed ball.

“I’ve been in that situation so many times, it’s just routine at this point,” said DeRamus, who hit a two-run game-tying homer in the 11th inning of a 12-inning win over RCSJ-Cumberland earlier in the season. “We work on it a lot in practice, two-strike approaches. I think it’s just something about RCSJ in general that lights the fire in me. I’m just lost for words right now, just happy we get to go to the next game.”

Jon Gambone gave the Mighty Oaks six strong innings as the starter, throwing 115 pitches on the heels of a 133-pitch effort in his previous tournament start. Pat Seitzinger pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings through the 11th and Murphy, pitching for only the second time in college, closed it out like a veteran in the 12th.

“We knew the last time we played them that wasn’t our team,” Seitzinger said. “I didn’t do good (in that series), but I did good today and that’s what matters more.”

Murphy had pitched only one Inning previously in his college career (March 8), but he had been getting up to 90 in his bullpens and Holt thought that velo in that situation with Murphy’s closer mentality was just what they needed. The head coach shifted the day’s lineup to put Murphy at DH – with Yen Rodriguez in rightfield and Jason LeBold in left (his first action since April 13) – for just such a circumstance.

The sophomore righthander worked through the 12th on 15 pitches. He ended the game on a double-play grounder that shortstop Dawson took himself to second and then fired to first to set off a raucous celebration in the dugout.

“I’ve been telling coach all year I’ve wanted to pitch,” said Murphy, whose last extended pitching appearance was June 1, 2022, at Eastern Regional High School. “He’s been telling me to get ready every series. I’ve been ready every series, I’ve just been waiting for it. He gave me the call and I did the best that I could. I was doing it for my team.

“All day we were picking each other up. I didn’t want to let my teammates down so I went in there, gave it all I had and a great outcome happened.”

**Demetrius DeRamus reaches the plate after his game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning. (Screenshot from Gamechanger video)**

Wolverines walk one off

Bialecki’s 12th-inning single lifts Woodstown over Glassboro, 2-1

By Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Blake Bialecki made a spectacular catch in center field in the top of the 12th to keep the go-ahead run off the bases and then delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the inning as Woodstown walked off Glassboro 2-1 Wednesday.

Bialecki’s game-winning hit, a scorcher past first baseman Aidan Evangelisti into right field, came with one out after Tommy Tucci singled to center and Lucas Fulmer walked. It made a winning pitcher of Rocco String, the Wolverines’ fifth pitcher of the game.

Bialecki’s catch took potential extra bases from Jude Dempster for the second out of the inning.

Woodstown scored the first run of the game in the third inning on String’s two-out double to left. Glassboro tied it in the seventh on Brennan Crosbee’s one-out double, but the Wolverines prevented further damage with an inning-ending double play.

The Wolverines (13-8) also turned an inning-ending double play in the 11th to turn back another threat. They made four twin killings in the game.

This story will be updated.

Repeat feat

Salem CC shortstop Ella Hayes repeats as Region 19 Player of the Year; Mighty Oaks land 4 on all-region team

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Ella Hayes did not rest.

After bursting on the scene as the best player in the region last year as a freshman, the Salem Community College shortstop easily could have settled in for a comfortably productive second season as she progressed towards the next level. But she wanted more.

She elevated her approach to the game and in many ways had an even better year that paid off even bigger dividends.

For the second year in a row, Hayes was named the Region 19 Division II softball Player of the Year, a feat rare if not unprecedented.

“It’s definitely an honor and I’m super grateful,” Hayes said. “I worked hard. I may not have had the exact same stats as last year, but I improved on a lot of things. My goal was to be better than I was last year and I feel like I accomplished that for the most part.”

The sophomore from Kansas City may not have reached her ambitious goal of hitting .700, but she still led the region in batting for the second year in a row (.577) – she was fifth nationally – as well as hits (79) and stolen bases (23-of-24). She was second in the region in extra-base hits and fourth in RBIs.

While her batting average dipped a few points, she still had more runs (60), hits (79), doubles (22), triples (4) and stolen bases than the year before. And once again she was like Tony Gwynn to strike out, fanning only twice in 168 plate appearances.

“She had the kind of year that we were hoping to get out of her,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “One thing about her freshman year, no one knew who she was; the teams we were playing were getting to know her for the first time. Her talent showed a lot, getting Player of the Year last year, and this year they all knew who she was so they pitched to her differently, they approached her a lot differently, so you weren’t able to hide.

“This year she was a returning player who threw these great numbers up and that’s what she continued to do. It’s always hard to want to be your best and do better than you did the year before. I know for her it was like a battle she had with herself, a little self-competition, but she gave us everything she’s always given us. Her dedication to the game is unmatched. She was always a hard out and that’s what she continued to be.”

It all can be tied to her desire to be “quite a bit” more aggressive in every aspect of the game. That didn’t mean being a risk-taker, just being aggressive. Attacking pitches, stealing bases, reading the field to take the extra base when presented.

“I told Coach Angel I was going to be more aggressive this year,” she said. “I told them this year I was really going to hit hard and prove that I can play at the higher level of D-I or D-II and compete at that level, too. I don’t think there’s a better way to show it than laying out for everything.”

Hayes was one of four Mighty Oaks named to the all-region teams. Sophomore catcher Callie Rozak (.434, 7 HRs, 40 RBIs) joined Hayes on the first team, while freshmen Bella Rappa (.372, 39 runs, 32 RBIs) and Chantelle Haskie (.327, 26 RBIs) were second-team picks. They were the Mighty Oaks’ top four hitters.

“For us it was good,,” Rodriguez said. “Callie had a little more of a larger role this year, taking on a majority of our catching, and she handled that really good. We get two freshmen on the list for second team. It’s always good, especially building that confidence heading into next year and also for the returning players, too, to see that hard work is noticed and putting in the effort goes a long way. It was nice to see the recognition they deserve.”

SALEM CC All-REGION PLAYERS	BA	H	HR	RBI	SB
Ella Hayes, First Team	.577	79	7	54	23
Callie Rozak, First Team	.434	49	7	40	7
Bella Rappa, Second Team	.372	48	0	32	5
Chantelle Haskie, Second Team	.327	36	0	26	5

Hall of Fame level

5 Schalick pitchers combine on no-hitter, get all outs by strikeout, walk-off Bridgeton 13-3 in five innings

MONDAY BASEBALL
Schalick 13, Bridgeton 3
Woodstown 9, Clayton 1
Pennsville 12, Glassboro 7
Wildwood 11, Penns Grove 1
MONDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 19, Glassboro 8
Woodstown 11, Clayton 1
Schalick 19, Salem 0
Wildwood 21, Penns Grove 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The Schalick baseball team went to the home of baseball, got the tour and (presumably) the T-shirt, and then put on a Hall of Fame performance Monday morning, dispatching Bridgeton 13-3 in five innings.

Five Schalick pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter, retired 12 of the first 13 batters they faced and got all 15 outs by strikeout. The Bulldogs did not put a ball in play against them, getting all their baserunners via walk.

Aptly-named Cooper Willoughby’s long bases-loaded single to left with one out in the fifth inning walked it off after the Bulldogs intentionally walked Luke Pokrovsky to load the bases, denying Schalick’s all-time home run and RBI king the opportunity to walk it off.

“I think it’s pretty special what we did today,” senior pitcher Lucas D’Agostino said. “No matter what the circumstances are, 15 strikeouts in 15 outs to go along with a no-hitter is something special and I believe it reflects how dominant our pitching staff has been all year. Especially in Cooperstown, that definitely meant a lot to me personally, as well as the team as a whole.”

Cougars coach Sean O’Brien gave his two senior aces the first two innings on historic Doubleday Field and they put on a Hall of Fame performance.

Starter Pokrovsky and D’Agostino both struck out the side in their inning. On his final pitch, D’Agostino’s windup looked like something you might’ve seen from one of the pitcher inductees inside the Hall. He wrapped his arms around his back, came around and tucked and then fired his final strike.

“I figured I’d pay some homage to some of the great pitchers that are immortalized and have some fun with an old-timer windup,” D’Agostino said. “I didn’t have anyone in mind. In my head I thought to myself ‘something in the ballpark of Walter Johnson’ and I guess that pitch is what ended up coming out.”

Cole Hartley got the next two innings and he struck out his six batters. He fanned the side in the third on 10 pitches.

Senior Matthew LaMazza started the fifth inning but had trouble locating the plate and walked the four batters he faced. He was replaced by senior Eli Cummings, who struck out his first two batters and eventually the side, but walked in a run and allowed another when a pitch got away at the plate.

The Cougars (15-1) answered with three in the bottom of the inning to walk it off. Their first three batters reached to load the bases. Travis Snodgrass’ ground out brought home the first run, Cummings’ RBI single made it 12-3 and Willoughby followed the walk to Pokrovsky with his game-winner.

Cummings sacrifice fly in the fourth got the game into run-rule territory. Pokrovsky had two hits and Ricky Watt went 3-for-3.

“The team’s experience will be one the players won’t forget,” O’Brien said. “Touring the museum and having the opportunity to play on Doubleday Field is something they will aways remember. Every player on the team got at least one at bat.”

“You really can’t have a bad time when you’re in Cooperstown,” D’Agostino said.

This story will be updated.

WOODSTOWN 9, CLAYTON 1: The Wolverines erupted for six runs in the first inning. Rocco String went 3-for-3, Caiden Spinelli had two hits and Lucas Fulmer and Nate Williams each had a pair of RBIs.

PENNSVILLE 12, GLASSBORO 7: The Eagles opened 9-0 lead in the fourth inning, then held off the Bulldogs’ comeback bid. Cohen Petrutz had two hits and four RBIs at the plate and set the Bulldogs down in order in the seventh with two strikeouts to close out the game. Logan Streitz and starting pitcher Luke Wood both had two hits, while Connor Starn, Jeff Wagner and Stevie Fatcher all had two RBIs.

WILDWOOD 11, PENNS GROVE 1: The Warriors erupted for seven runs in the second inning after Penns Grove grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. Liam Irvin doubled home Elijah Crespo for the Red Devils’ run :

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 19, GLASSBORO 8: Kylie Harris, Savannah Brewer-Palverento and Makenzie Widener had perfect days at the plate, combining to go 12-for-12 with 12 RBIs as the Eagles (17-3) pounded 20 hits. Harris went 5-for-5 to tie her career high, Brewer-Palverento went 3-for-3 with six RBIs and Widener went 4-for-4 with four RBIs

WOODSTOWN 11, CLAYTON 1: Aubrie Rennie and Talia Guardascione both went 3-for-4 for the Wolverines. Leah Clark scattered six hits and struck out eight in her six-inning complete game.

SCHALICK 19, SALEM 0: The Cougars took advantage of 23 walks.

WILDWOOD 21, PENNS GROVE 0: Emma Contreras homered, had six RBIs and spun a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the circle. She had a perfect game for 3 1/3 innings, until Jarlene Vichi-Torres broke up the gem with a fourth-inning single for Penns Grove’s only hit.

Photo: Schalick’s Luke Pokrovsky delivers the first pitch in the Cougars’ game with Bridgeton this morning at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y. (Submitted photo)

**The Schalick baseball team stops at the gates of Doubleday Field before making their entrance in today’s game. (Submitted photo)**

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 12-17; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MAY 12
BASEBALL
Salem vs. Bridgeton, Doubleday Field, Cooperstown, N.Y., 10 a.m.
Clayton at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
Wildwood at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Wildwood
Schalick at Salem
Woodstown at Clayton
GOLF
Salem Tech vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. OLMA, White Oaks GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Haddon Heights, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pitman
Pennsville at Schalick
Timber Creek at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Schalick at Penns Grove
Salem at Deptford, 5 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Maple Shade at Woodstown

MAY 13
BASEBALL
Woodstown at Delran
GOLF
Schalick vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Collingswood, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Pennsville at Woodstown
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Clearview, 5 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.

MAY 14
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Pennsville at Salem
Schalick at Cumberland
SOFTBALL
Cumberland at Schalick
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Salem at Pennsville
Woodstown at Glassboro
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Pitman, Pitman CC, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Delsea, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m.
LACROSSE
Rancocas Valley at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m.

MAY 15
BASEBALL
Buena at Schalick
Pennsville at Triton
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Buena
Triton at Pennsville
GOLF
Schalick vs. Hammonton, Pinelands GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Sterling, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Woodstown at Highland, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Eastern
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden
Salem CC vs. RCSJ-Gloucester or Brookdale, TBA

MAY 16
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Cedar Creek
SOFTBALL
Salem at Cape May Tech
Triton at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Millville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Woodstown at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Millville
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden, TBA

MAY 17
BASEBALL
Schalick at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden, TBA

Salem County Saturday

Here are the results from Saturday’s Salem County sports calendar

BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown
Washington Twp. 11, Woodstown 0
Cherry Hill East 7, Camden Catholic 1
Consolation: Woodstown 11, Camden Catholic 7
Championship: Cherry Hill East 4, Washington Twp. 1

WOODSTOWN – After being silenced the last four games, Woodstown’s bats came alive and outscored Camden Catholic 11-7 in the consolation game of the Lee Ware Tournament.

Ty Coblentz led the Wolverines’ 12-hit attack with three hits and two RBIs. Sam Chard and Rocco String had two hits apiece and Thomas Tucci drove in a pair of runs.

The Wolverines (11-8) broke a 5-5 tie with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. Noah Williams’ RBI single broke the tie. Caiden Spinelli and String each had a two-run double. And Coblentz had an RBI double.

Cherry Hill East won the tournament with a 4-1 win over Washington Twp. in the championship game.

SOFTBALL
Pitman Tournament
Pennsville 6, Pitman 5
Pennsville 9, Deptford 4

PITMAN – Kylie Harris and Savannah Brewer-Palverento drove home runs in the sixth inning to finally give Pennsville the lead and the Eagles held on to claim a division win over Pitman 6-5.

The Eagles trailed 2-0, 4-1 and 4-3 at various points in the game. Harris, Lily Edwards, Avery Watson and Makenzie Widener had two hits apiece for Pennsville.

They followed that with a 9-4 win over Deptford. Edwards had two hits and two RBIs, while Sawyer Simmons and Reagan Wariwanchik had two hits apiece.

Fred Powell Tournament
Absegami 18, Woodstown 6
Woodstown 9, Cumberland 8

Ellie Wygand’s RBI double with none out in the bottom of the seventh scored MMMM LaPalomento with the winning run in Woodstown’s 9-8 walk-off win over Cumberland.

Kendall Young and LaPalomento got the winning rally started with singles. Young was caught stealing, leaving only LaPalomento on the basepaths. She scored on Wygand’s double. Wygand went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

Cumberland tied the game 8-8 with four runs in the top of the seventh.

In their first game, the Wolverines fell behind Absegami 14-0 after two innings. Lila Bowling had two hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs for Woodstown.

GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown 20, Haddon Heights 3: Delaney Walker scored five goals and Jaime Deal and Angelina Lindenmuth each scored four to lead the Wolverines. Sienna Land had five assists.