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Mighty Oaks chop one down
Salem CCbaseball rallies behind ‘war chant’ to chop down Bergen, Mighty Oaks softball sweeps Morris in dominant fashion
COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC 9, Bergen 7 COLLEGE SOFTBALL Salem CC 29-21, Morris 1-1
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — John Holt has had some lively dugout in his tenure as a college baseball coach, but the one he commands this year at Salem CC may be one of the liveliest.
Whenever the Mighty Oaks get something cooking — or need to get something cooking — there’s always some kind of chant coming from the dugout to get their players hyped and if rattles the opposition along the way, so be it.
Usually it’s the Tomahawk Chop, but they’ll occasionally break out in the “uh, uh-uh-uh oh” number for a change of pace.
The Chop was most effective in Tuesday’s 9-7 come-from-behind Region 19 win over Bergen. Every inning the Mighty Oaks scored runs, the Chop was the soundtrack of the rally. When they didn’t do it and needed it, a threat died on the vine.
“I think when you hear your dugout up to bat you kind of remember to have fun, because that’s all we’re doing, especially in those tight moments,” said first baseman Tyler Hacker, whose two-run double in the eighth put the Mighty Oaks up for good. “When you hear the Tomahawk Chop it feels like we’re going to war. That’s our war cry. We’re ready to kill these guys. I think it really unites us as a team and keeps us going.”
“It’s effective, for sure,” DH Rocco String agreed.
It was uncanny the way it worked. The Mighty Oaks were no-hit for the first three innings by Bulldogs starter Shane Snell, but broke it out in the fourth when they got something going and scored three runs to take their first lead. They started it again in the seventh and got another run. They did it in the eighth and rallied for five to win the game.
They didn’t do it fifth with bases loaded and one out in a 3-3 game and left them there with an infield fly rule and foul pop to first.
“We have other chants, but I think we do the best when we Chop,” starting pitcher Andre Stewart said. “I 100 percent believe that. The Chop is definitely the best chant we’ve got. We definitely do the best when we’re Choppin’.”
This story will be updated.
Bergen
200
010
220-
7
7
1
Salem CC
000
300
15x-
9
6
5
WP: Louie Rivera. LP: Dom Maucione. 2B: Michael Baez (B), J.J. Pankowski (S), Tyler Hacker (S). 3B: Michael Baez (B).
Softball
RANDOLPH — The Mighty Oaks softball team enjoyed their second 50-run doubleheader of the season, overwhelming CC of Morris for the second time this season, 29-1 and 21-1. The 29 runs in the opener matched the record they set against Morris on March 28. The 50 runs in the doubleheader fell one shy of that modern era record, set on April 10 at Raritan Valley.
“We set the tone for this week about making adjustments and continuing to prepare for ending the season strong while getting ready for postseason,” coach Angel Rodriguez said. “This team has a lot of talent. They continue to want to get better.”
Savannah Palverento had a big doubleheader. She went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the opener and 3-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored in the nightcap.
J.J. Aguirre drove in a pair of runs in the opener to set the program’s modern-era single-season RBI record (62) and added two more in the nightcap. Lilly Peverelle had six RBIs. Pahola Chavez had a pair of doubles and drove in four runs. Emme Witter and Jocelyn Melendez both had two hits.
In addition to Palverento’s big game in the nightcap, Ava Ortiz and Jalyn Rambally both had two hits and three RBIs, while Chantelle Haskie and Jordyn Busch both had two RBIs.
The Mighty Oaks used two pitchers in each five-inning game and both sets spun two-hitters. Raegan Wilson picked up the 100th strikeout of her career in the opener. Busch notched her 100th strikeout of the season while throwing three no-hit innings in the nightcap.
In the four games against the Titans this season, the Mighty Oaks have scored 96 runs, collected 54 hits and batted .505. Palverento went 9-for-13 with 13 RBIs in the series.
TUESDAY’S GAMES Salem CC 9, Bergen 7 Monroe CC 8-12, Lackawanna 6-7 RCSJ-Cumberland 7, Camden 1 Montgomery 15, Atlantic Cape 1 Raritan Valley 24, Westchester CC 15 RCSJ-Gloucester 12, Brookdale 3 Northampton 14, Middlesex 7 Sussex 12, Dominican 2 WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Salem CC at Bergen Mercer at Rockland CC RCSJ-Cumberland at Camden Atlantic Cape at Montgomery Northampton at Middlesex Union at Delaware County Brookdale at RCSJ-Gloucester Sussex at Suffolk THURSDAY’S GAMES Monroe-Bronx at Sussex Bronx CC at Raritan Valley Montgomery at Brookdale
DIVISION II SOFTBALL
R19
ALL
GSAC
Mercer
16-2
35-3
12-0
Delaware Tech
17-5
23-11
Lackawanna
15-5
34-13
SALEM CC
12-10
24-18
10-4
Sussex
4-14
5-19
4-6
Morris
3-15
3-17
3-9
Raritan Valley
1-17
1-17
1-11
TUESDAY’S GAMES Salem CC 29-21, Morris 1-1 Lackawanna 19-12 Sussex 0-4 Mercer 5-8, Monroe 3-7 Camden 7-6, Northampton 5-14 Brookdale 14-19, Middlesex 0-2 RCSJ-Gloucester 17-16, Bergen 0-5 Ocean 7-11, RCSJ-Cumberland 0-3 WEDNESDAY’S GAME Raritan Valley at Sussex THURSDAY’S GAMES Salem CC at Brookdale RCSJ-Gloucester at Camden Raritan Valley at Lackawanna Morris at Mercer Sussex at Orange County CC
Riverview Sports News 