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Stress reliever
After blowing big lead in opener, Salem CC splits softball doubleheader with Delaware Tech; Aguirre sets modern-era single-season HR record
SUNDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL Salem CC 14-15, Delaware Tech 18-11 RCSJ-Gloucester 18-12, RCSJ-Cumberland 4-4 Lackawanna 26-22, Morris 0-2
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The Salem CC softball team saved themselves a lot of what interim head coach Mackenzie Freas called “emotional damage” when it won Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader with Delaware Tech after suffering a crushing loss in the opener.
The Mighty Oaks blew a nine-run lead in losing the opener 18-14, but bounced back in the nightcap even with a repeat brewing to win 15-11.
“It definitely showed what our girls have been the whole year – they’re resilient no matter what’s in front of them,” Freas said. “We had the Angel incident, we’ve had a lot of deaths throughout our team, our girls are doing things at home, all over the board, cross the country, so they are just resilient and showing up every day and being here and I think that proved it Game Two that no matter what the circumstance Game One you still come back and you’re got to be the one to take the first punch and you can’t go down without swinging.”
J.J. Aguirre hit three home runs for the Mighty Oaks in the doubleheader, setting the modern-era single-season home run record. She tied the old record with a three-run homer in the opener, then broke it with a pair of two-run shots in her first two at-bats in the nightcap.
She now has a Region 19-leading 11 homers on the season; the Mighty Oaks only hit 13 as a team as recently as 2023. Her 54 RBIs already match two-time Region Player of the Year Ella Hayes’ total of a year ago; Hayes’ 61 RBIs in 2024 is the modern-era school record.
The freshman from Texas went 4-for-7 with three homers and nine RBIs in the doubleheader. Lilly Peverelle went 6-for-9 with seven RBIs, homered in the first game and came within inches of a grand slam in the nightcap.
“I honestly don’t know anything (about the record),” Aguirre said. “I know my goal. I came in today I want double digits in home run and I did it.”
She got Nos. 10 and 11 in her first two at-bats of the nightcap. The first one tied the game 2-2. The second one gave them a 5-2 lead and was part of a 10-run third inning.
The loss in the first game can only be described as crushing. The Mighty Oaks scored 10 runs in the third inning to open an 11-2 lead, but Del Tech answered with nine the next inning to tie the game. It went back and forth from there until the seventh when the visitors scored five runs to take their first lead since the first inning and then closed it out with a game-ending double play.
The Mighty Oaks’ woes in the opener were exasperated by four fly balls dropped in the outfield, prompting them to take fly balls between games, a practice that had done previous but gotten away from for various reasons. Jordyn Busch threw 187 pitches in going the distance the circle for Salem, but at no time did the coaches consider lifting her from the game.
The second game went almost the same way. The Mighty Oaks scored 10 runs in the third inning again to take a 10-2 lead. They were three outs away from a run-rule win when Del Tech scored six in the fifth to extend the game. The Mighty Oaks were one hit away from walking it off in the bottom of the fifth with two already in and runners at second and third with two outs, but Del Tech shortstop Abby Marsh kept her team in the game by snaring Chantelle Hiskey’s sharp liner that was headed into left field.
Del Tech kept the pressure on with Maggie Hubbard’s three-run homer in the sixth (14-11). The Mighty Oaks got one back in the home sixth, then Savannah Palverento got them out of the game by retiring the side in the seventh without incident.
Had they lost the nightcap in a similar fashion to blowing the opener, there’s no telling what kind of emotional spiral they may have fallen into.
With the day’s split, the Mighty Oaks split the season series with Del Tech. They had never beaten the Georgetown school since the revival of the program before winning the second game of their doubleheader there earlier this season.
This story will be updated.
Delaware Tech
200
920
5-
18
20
7
Salem CC
10(10)
210
0-
14
9
6
WP: Faith Jiminez. LP: Jordyn Busch. HRs: Madison Fox (DT), J.J. Aguirre (S), Lilly Peverelle (S).
MONDAY’S GAMES Salem CC at Harford CC TUESDAY’S GAMES RCSJ-Gloucester at Cecil College Lackawanna at Mercer Sussex at Morris Raritan Valley at Delaware Tech Camden at Brookdale RCSJ-Cumberland at Northampton Bergen at Middlesex THURSDAY’S GAMES Mercer at Salem CC Monroe at RCSJ-Gloucester Bergen at Dutchess Lackawanna at Frederick CC Middlesex at Orange County CC Bucks County at RCSJ-Cumberland Brookdale at Morris Morris at Sussex
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