Salem CC softball coaches take, share encouragement from team’s play despite being swept by current region leader Mercer
REGION XIX SOFTBALL Mercer 8-7, Salem CC 4-6 RCSJ-Gloucester 9-0, Monroe 8-12 Lackawanna 10-6, Frederick CC 1-0 Bucks 12, RCSJ-Cumberland 5 Bergen at Dutchess Brookdale at Morris Middlesex at Orange County CC Morris at Sussex
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — The Salem CC softball team came ever so close to giving acting head coach Mackenzie Freas an early birthday present by knocking off a team they haven’t had much luck against in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader.
The Mighty Oaks had a lead after a big inning with six outs to go, but then Mercer did what Mercer always does against the Mighty Oaks and rallied to complete a sweep of their Region 19 twin bill and regular-season series, 8-4 and 7-6.
Under any other circumstances it would have been an occasion to hang heads and put on a brave face when it came to talking about what transpired over the last four and a half hours of softball. But this time, the Mighty Oaks were encouraged by the things they saw against a team they had only beaten only once in 12 previous meetings, never in the regular season, and hadn’t score a run the last four times they played, including both games the day before Easter.
The Mighty Oaks (20-18) scored three runs in the seventh inning of the opener to make that one close and had the tying run at the plate when it ended, then they scored six in the fifth inning of the nightcap to take a 6-3 lead with six outs to go and just had to get out of the seventh to earn the win.
“Obviously we lost, but it was, I don’t want to say a good loss, but it was like a ‘we needed that,” said Freas, who remains the face of the program while head coach Angel Rodriguez awaits clearance from the college to return. “I think our girls had some doubt, not doubt in themselves because they knew they could do it, but the first time we played them we didn’t even get six walks, or six hits, we didn’t get anything.
“This game we got six runs in one inning. The game before we had three runs on two outs. I think it was almost like an eye-opener to them in like we can do this. We just said to them this is such a good team and you are realizing it now. Now that we’re going into the postseason … during the postseason you don’t want the team that’s red hot, we’re getting red hot. We’re getting so close. We’re getting right there.
“This is the best team in the region and to hold them like we did and then to almost beat them, that felt a little bit good.”
Mercer (29-3) led 3-0 in the nightcap before the Mighty Oaks flipped the game with six in the fifth. Bella Rappa single home the first run, then J.J. Aguirre gave them the lead with a three-run double. But the Mighty Oaks weren’t finished. They reloaded the bases and then Jocelyn Melendez ripped a two-run single up the middle to make it 6-3. Rappa had three hits in the game and Melendez had two.
“Oh my God, that felt great,” Freas said. “I don’t think we felt like that against them since the year (they beat them in the playoffs, 2024). The body of them was so similar and our girls were just like fueling off of it. it was their best way of (thinking) this is what post-season can feel like. That was their taste of it and they want it.”
The Mighty Oaks just had to get six outs to secure the win. Mercer scored two in the sixth, although Aguirre made a diving stop at third with the bases loaded to keep a ball from going down into the corner and really hurting the Mighty Oaks, and two more in the seventh to take the lead.
Karisa Krawiec raced home with the tying run on a wild pitch that was ball four to Isabella Cornish-Didonato. Cornish-Didonato continued around the bases on pitches that got away and finally came home with the go-ahead run when Jamie Kozarski hit a sharp grounder past third that shortstop Lilly Peverelle collected but couldn’t make a throw.
“I just think we tried to get too big in a moment, we tried to do too much in the moment,” Freas said. “When we had that six-run inning nobody was trying to do anything crazy. Everybody was just gotta get on base, gotta do my job, gotta stay patient. And then when we get to the sixth and seventh inning it’s I’ve got to do too much. Before, it was just like you’re just playing to play.
“Come playoffs you can feel this again. You’re going to feel this pressure opportunity again. You have to now get comfortable with that uncomfortable now when we’re in the regular season. Come postseason you’re going to knock it out of the park.”
The Mighty Oaks went down in order in the seventh, but not before making it interesting. Aguirre, the modern-era single-season home run record holder, led off with long fly Krawiac flagged down in right field. Megan Koski lofted a fly into shallow right that Krawiac raced in just as hard to snare and then Witter flew to center to end the game.
The Mighty Oaks hadn’t scored a run against Mercer since the third inning of an April 5, 2025 run-rule loss, but they broke that 27-inning drought in the third inning of Game One on Emme Witter’s sacrifice fly. They could have gotten a lot more early. They had bases-loaded, no-out situations in the first and third innings, but only got the one run out of them.
They finally capitalized on a bases-loaded situation in the seventh, but by then trailed 8-1. Witter delivered a two-run single to make it 8-3 and Jordyn Busch scored the final run on a wild pitch. They brought the tying run to the plate, but the game ended on a grounder back to the pitcher.
“We saw what we can be; we saw that we can play up here,” Freas said. “That’s the No. 1 team in the region and we saw we can get ahead and we can hang with the big dogs. And come playoff time we are going to beat the big dogs. It’s coming. I know it’s coming. This reminds me so much of that (2024) team. It is so similar and we’re starting to see the spurts now.”
ACORNS: The Mighty Oaks are now 1-13 in the series with Mercer since reviving their program. Their only win came in the first round of the 2024 Region 19 playoffs (6-0) … Game 2 Thursday was the closest game in the series … Aguirre is two RBIs shy of tying the modern era single-season school record (Ella Hayes, 61) … Freas continues to serve as the Mighty Oaks’ head coach while Rodriguez awaits clearance to return by college HR, although he has been medically cleared by his cardiac surgeon to return to his full-time job as a Salem CC advisor and fulfill his daily coaching responsibilities. He spoke to the team after the doubleheader … Freas’ birthday is Friday.
Woodstown boys hand Mason 399th T&F coaching win, milestone could come vs. former team; Schalick wins girls meet in final 200 meters of 4×400; includes scores from Wednesday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Pennsville 15, Penns Grove 1 Schalick 16, Pitman 4: Woodstown 10, Salem 0 Salem Tech 10, Cape May Tech 2 SOFTBALL Pennsville 21, Penns Grove 0 Woodstown 14, Salem 0 Schalick 11, Pitman 10 BOYS GOLF West Deptford 162, Schalick 178 Gloucester Catholic 157, Salem Tech 220 GIRLS GOLF Schalick 206, Delsea 246 TENNIS Woodstown 5, Timber Creek 0 Pennsville 5, Schalick 0 BOYS TRACK Woodstown 88, Schalick 46 Pennsville at Glassboro Penns Grove at Overbrook Salem 77, Pitman 6 GIRLS TRACK Schalick 74, Woodstown 66 Salem 66, Pitman 40 GIRLS LACROSSE Mainland 15, Woodstown 3
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – For the last couple years, at least during the cycle of its current seniors, the success of Woodstown’s boys track program was carried on the legs of its long and middle distance runners. “The Four Horsemen” as they’ve been called garnered the points the Wolverines scored every meet through the various events in which they competed and anything else was considered a bonus.
They’ve won some, contended in most, with that approach. But since longtime county track coach Tom Mason came out of retirement to take over the team this spring, the Wolverines have added more elements to their arsenal, elements that make them much more dangerous in the major meets that follow the rest of the spring.
One of the first things Mason expressed upon arrival was a desire to develop jumpers and throwers and sprinters and technical hurdlers to go with the headline runners. Those pieces were on full display Wednesday as the Wolverines ran past rival Schalick 88-46 in a meet that was Mason’s 399th career dual meet victory.
Thrower Aidan Taulane won the shot put and discus, breaking his own school record in the latter. Eli Ceasar and Andrew White posted personal bests in going 1-2, respectively, in the high jump. They also went 1-2 in the triple jump, with White winning the event.
“I’m going to say this and try to say this humbly,” Mason said. “For the county meets it puts us in a better position against the powerhouse Schalick and the Penns Grove team. It puts us in a better position. I’m going to start with that before we comment about farther down the road. If the jumpers alone, if they keep competing the way they are, they could score at least 20-25 points at sections.”
“It shows that we’re a developed team and shows the quality of a coach that we have in that he really forced the program in all areas,” said senior Josh Crawford, one of the aforementioned Four Horsemen. “Within a month or maybe even less he made us into not just the Four Horseman but an entire team. I think it shows our entire team has heart now and we definitely are going to put up much better scores, much better show-outs for the colleges that are looking at my teammates and things of that nature. We’re such a well-rounded team now.”
Taulane broke the school record in the discus he set two weeks ago, sending the disc 166-feet, 1-inch in his second throw. Then he stepped over to the shot put pit a few feet to his right and won that event at 44-8. He hasn’t lost his event in a dual meet since his sophomore but, it was finishing one place out of qualifying for the state meet as a sophomore that has really motivated him these past two seasons.
“It shows that Woodstown’s not just the 4-by-8 team like everybody used to say and what they’re going to see at the sectionals and states is there’s more to Woodstown,” Taulane said. “I think it gives us a good chance to win it all. Nothing is guaranteed, but I think we have a pretty good chance.”
While the boys meet was so much a runaway they didn’t even run the 4×400 relay on that side, the girls meet came down to the wire, literally the final 200 meters of the day.
Schalick pulled out a 74-66 victory, but had to win the final event of the day – the 4×400 relay – to avoid a rare loss in the series. The Cougars had a three-point lead going into the day’s final event but had to win the two-team race to secure enough points for the victory. They actually trailed with about 200 meters to go, but anchor Caylen Taylor made up the deficit and pulled away bringing it home.
“It was obviously stressful.,” Schalick coach Missy Pine said. “We were down, we had some girls get injured while we were here, we had some girls not be able to compete, so for the girls who were able to step up and push and do their best I cannot tell you how proud I am of all of them. And I couldn’t be prouder of that 4×4 team that just went out there and fought with everything they had for that win.”
It was the first time the Cougars had run the race all spring, but they handled it like veterans. They hit the wire in 4:25.7. Woodstown finished in 4:32.5.
Lia Covely, normally Woodstown’s anchor, staked the Wolverines to four-second lead after the opening leg, but Jaelynn Jarmon closed it to basically a dead-heat at the mid-point of the race. Kylie Parvin had the Cougars in the lead again after the third leg, but Kyrsten Dussault caught Schalick anchor Caylen Taylor on the back straightaway and actually pulled ahead briefly before Taylor, supporting Pine’s strategy of putting a good distance runner at the end of relay for endurance sake, kicked it into another gear in the home stretch.
“This is my senior season and I really did not want to get the first loss against Woodstown,” Taylor said. “I really just wanted to go out and give it my all. I knew how much it meant to my coaches and my team and I just wanted to give it my all. I knew it was going to come down to this, so I was mentally preparing myself so I wanted to give it my all and whatever the outcome was I’d be happy with it as long as I did my best. I felt like Jell-O at the end.”
Woodstown coach Kim Kraky called the loss “disheartening.” The Woodstown girls hadn’t beaten the Cougars often, and only once in the County Meet, but they were thisclose this time.
The Wolverines had several multiple winners. Abby Marino won the 800, 1600 and 3200. Covely won both hurdles. Sara Lodge won the shot and discus. And Kami Casiano won the high jump and triple jump, setting the school record in the former with the bar set taller than she is.
Karlie Bakley won the two sprints for Schalick and ran its leadoff leg in the 4×400.
In one of the more anticipated races of the day, Schalick’s David Stewart beat Woodstown’s Josh Crawford by four-tenths of a second to win the boys 400. Stewart also won the 100, a race he runs just “to get my legs moving,” and the long jump.
“It was something I was looking forward to,” Stewart said of the 400. “Last year we faced off at our track and I beat him, so I knew the next time we faced off, which was today, he was going to come back stronger, faster, but I’ve been training, too. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I kind of paced off (Woodstown’s Karson Chew) to the 200 and once I hit the 200 I kicked and I had a really strong kick and I think my kick was stronger than theirs and I finished the race strong.”
“I feel like going into my races when I know the competition I’m up against I get into my head a little bit,” Crawford said. “That part I need to focus more on my strategy. Changing strategy, changing mindset and I’ll have plenty more races to go up against my good opponents.”
Crawford came back and won his specialty, the 800, standing his ground against Steve Chomo, who pushed him to a PR when they raced on the Cougars’ track last year. Jacob Marino, another of the Four Horsemen, won the 1600 and 3200.
The boys win left Mason one shy of 400 for his Hall of Fame coaching career. The milestone win could come as early as April 27, ironically, against the school with which he had built so much of his coaching success, Penns Grove
This story will be updated.
Caylen Taylor brings home the 4×400 relay, the final event of the day, to secure the Schalick girls’ victory over Woodstown.
BOYS MEET WOODSTOWN 88, SCHALICK 46 400 Hurdles: Jacob Carter, Schalick, 1:02.2 100: David Stewart, Schalick, 11.0 1600: Jacob Marino, Woodstown, 4:49 400: David Stewart, Schalick, 48.5 110 Hurdles: Sherrod Jones, Schalick, 15.6 800: Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 2:00 200: Anthony Costello, Woodstown, 22.6 3200: Jacob Marino, Woodstown, 10:48 High Jump: Eli Caesar, Woodstown, 6-2 Long Jump: David Stewart. Schalick, 21-7.25 Triple Jump: Andrew White, Woodstown, 43-3.5 Discus: Aidan Taulane, Woodstown, 166-1 Javelin: Garry Simonini, Schalick, 158-3 Shot Put: Aidan Taulane, Woodstown, 44-8 Pole Vault: Caleb Jenkins, Schalick, 12-0
Woodstown/s Elijah Caesar wins the high jump with a PR of 6-2. (Top photo) Wolverines senior Aidan Taulane broke his school record in the discus and won the shot put.
Salem CC rallies from big early deficit to beat Ocean, sweep Region 19 series
REGION XIX BASEBALL Tuesday’s Games Salem CC 14, Ocean 12 Montgomery 6-17, Delaware County 2-1 Camden 14-24, Atlantic Cape 2-6 RCSJ-Gloucester 15, Mercer 10 Raritan Valley 20, Middlesex 11 Brookdale 21, Bucks 0 Bergen 18, Westchester 10 Morris 6, Rockland 5 Sussex 5, Ulster 2
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – If the Salem CC baseball team makes the Region 19 playoffs this season – and the Mighty Oaks are trending in that direction – they can point to Tuesday’s incredible comeback for getting them there.
The Mighty Oaks staged one of their most memorable in-game turnarounds in coach John Holt’s tenure, rallying from two eight-run deficits with 10 runs in their final three bats to beat Ocean CC 14-12.
They got close with five in the sixth inning and then took the lead with four in the bottom of the eighth. Chase Hortiz drew them even with a two-run single and Jason LeBold gave them the lead with a two-run single with two strikes and two outs.
Logan Peters put the Vikings down in the ninth, facing the tying run at the plate, to complete a courageous 4 2/3 innings relief stint to give the Mighty Oaks the chance to come back and for him to record his first college win.
What made it important? It gave the Mighty Oaks (17-19, 12-10) a sweep of the Region 19 series and an important tiebreaker on the Vikings, who they were two games behind in the region win column entering the series, put them two games over .500 in the region standings and got them within two wins of a .500 overall record.
Teams must be .500 or better either overall or in region play to qualify for the playoffs. Right now, eight of the 13 teams in Region 19 Division II are qualified, and Ocean is not one of them. Two of the four region series the Mighty Oaks have left are against teams ahead of them in the standings, including league-leading No. 2 RCSJ-Gloucester.
“We were tied with them going into the series, last year they had a leg up on us,” LeBold said. “We knew Middlesex was an important series because they took one from them. We wanted the sweep. We were happy with a series win, but the sweep gives us that push over.
“We know if we do tie – we’re planning on beating Camden (this weekend), so we don’t want a tie – but if we do tie, we get that win, so it could be the most important game to get us into the playoffs. I’d rather have three than two.”
The Vikings led 11-3 in the fifth and 12-4 in the sixth as the Mighty Oaks got off to a dreadful start in the field and at the plate, but as LeBold said, “as long as there were still innings to play we were still in it.” The Mighty Oaks scored five runs in the sixth on Aidan Nestor’s RBI double, J.J. Pankowski’s two-run triple and sacrifice flies by Cliff Wysinger and Tyler Hacker. Pankowski singled home another run in the seventh.
“They showed a lot of resilience,” Holt said. “I think they’re starting to become who they can be. It was a pretty big team win. When you have to use your lineup card like that much, you’ve got to be proud of that, that they all contributed.
“We had the conversation last week, going into that Middlesex series, we had to go all Hernan Cortes, we had to burn the boats. They bought in, they’re believing in one another. Top to bottom guys are playing selflessly.”
Colin McLaughlin got the eighth-inning rally started when he reached on an infield throwing error. Jacob Sharrow followed with a single and then Vikings reliever Noah Cullen mishandled Nestor’s bunt to load the bases. Hortiz followed with his game-tying single.
“I was just trying to have a team at bat and get my guys in,” Hortiz said. “We didn’t play to the scoreboard. We just kept fighting. We never lost our energy and it got us all the way back.”
Cullen was on the verge of getting out of it when he retired the next two hitters and had LeBold down to his final strike. But the sophomore outfielder, a difference-maker relegated to DHing by an elbow injury he hopes won’t keep him down long, laced a single to left that easily scored Nestor with the tie-breaking run and Hortiz beat the relay to the plate for an insurance run.
“Nick Reckard came up to me (right before the at-bat) and said, man, you’re going to win the game for us here; that was important to me,” LeBold said. “I was sitting alone, by myself in the corner a little bit, kind of in my head because I hadn’t been hitting that well, and he came up to me and said you’ll be the one to do it for us. That meant a lot and gave me all the confidence.
“When I went up there I believed in what he said. I took that into the at-bat and it helped me stay in it the whole time. I was down 0-2 at a point and I was thinking about that the whole time, knowing that someone has that much confidence in me.”
The Mighty Oaks showed their ability to rally early in the game when they answered Ocean’s four in the top of the first with three in the bottom of the inning. They would have gotten even more but Ocean left fielder Matt Nuccio robbed Hacker of a homer when he leaped knee-high to the top of the fence and caught the ball going over the wall. There’s a deep divot in the warning track at the base of the fence where Nuccio planted for the leap.
Peters gave the Mighty Oaks every chance to come back with his longest outing of the season. He gave up an inherited run on a sacrifice fly when he came in behind Rocco String in the fifth and gave up a run in the sixth, but he didn’t allow a hit over his final three innings while facing two batters over the minimum. “It was pure excitement,” he said. “To go out there knowing you can give your team a chance to win and really kind of just shock everybody that’s here. It was nothing but excitement going out there for the last three (outs). Just got out there, threw strikes and gave my team the best chance they can to win. Close it out.”
ACORNS: The bottom half of the Mighty Oaks’ lineup – Sharrow, Nestor, Hortiz and Pankowski – had two hits apiece … Hacker picked up his JUCO D3-leading 41st stolen base in the game, moving him well in range of his goal of 50 … Trevor Hernandez had a two-run single for the Mighty Oaks in the first, but was replaced by Sharrow after getting thrown out at third for the final out of the inning … The three games in the series were decided by a total of four runs … Peters’ previous longest stint was four innings against Surry CC in the last game of the team’s Myrtle Beach trip … The Vikings were playing their eighth game since last April 6.
STOLEN BASES — 8: Lucas Clement, Salem Tech; Chase Pompper, Salem Tech; 7: Cooper Coles, Salem Tech; 6: Ty Coblentz, Woodstown; 4: J.T. Fleming, Schalick; Brayden McAllister, Salem Tech; Thomas Tucci, Woodstown
Mighty Oaks baseball wins two one-run games at Ocean, softball swept at Harford
COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC 8-13, Ocean 7-12 COLLEGE SOFTBALL Harford 6-10, Salem CC 5-5
By Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER — The Salem CC baseball team began its push for a Region 19 playoff spot with a pair of one-run victories on the road at Ocean CC.
The Mighty Oaks won the first game 8-7 and took the nightcap 13-12.
No other details were available.
The doubleheader sweep left them 16-19 overall, 11-10 in Region 19. Teams must be .500 or better either overall or in region play to qualify for the playoffs.
The series with Ocean wraps with a single game Tuesday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex.
Softball
BEL AIR, Md. — The Mighty Oaks softball team fell behind early in both games of their doubleheader, fought their way back to make a game of them both, but just couldn’t put enough together to overcome the deficit and were swept at Harford 6-5 and 10-5.
They fell behind in the opener 5-0 after two innings, but closed the gap with Emme Witter’s three-run homer in the fourth. After Harford pushed across a run in the home fourth, the Mighty Oaks scored two in the fifth on Lilly Peverelle’s sacrifice fly and Savannah Palverento’s RBI single to make it 6-5, but they couldn’t get closer.
They went down in order in the sixth. They had the tying run at second in the seventh with two outs, but the game ended on an offensive interference call.
They fell behind in the nightcap 6-1 after three innings. They made it 6-3 fourth on an RBI singles by Witter and Sawyer Simmons, but Harford scored four in the fifth to stretch the lead. The big blow of the inning was Izzy Hiebler’s three-run homer..
The Mighty Oaks return to action Thursday in a home doubleheader against Mercer.
Streitz’ first career home run gives Pennsville walk-off win over Wildwood; includes scores and details from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule
BASEBALL Clayton 13, Salem 3 Mastery Charter 10, Salem Tech 4 Schalick 27, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 3, Wildwood 2 Woodstown 15, Overbrook 11 SOFTBALL Woodstown 8, Overbrook 4 Schalick 15, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 12, Wildwood 0 BOYS GOLF Overbrook 184, Pennsville 202 Schalick 179, Woodstown 182 Salem Tech 199, Clayton 205 GIRLS GOLF OLMA 210, Schalick 236 TENNIS Woodstown 4, Highland 1 Pennsville 5, Millville 0 Clayton at Penns Grove Wildwood at Schalick BOYS LACROSSE Kingsway 19, Woodstown 2 GIRLS LACROSSE Kingsway 14, Woodstown 12
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Logan Streitz will remember his first high school home run for a long time. Largely for what it meant for his Pennsville baseball team Monday and partly for how long it took to determine it was a home run at all.
STREITZ
Streitz walked off the Eagles’ 3-2 win over Wildwood with a two-run homer with none out in the bottom of the seventh. The ball landed some 350 feet from home plate in about an 18-inch space between the chain-link outfield fence and a wooden fence on the boundary of the concrete company that lies just beyond the field.
The Wildwood outfielders who chased the fly into the gap pawed at the base of the fence for the ball thinking it might be a grounds rule double like a ball stuck in the ivy at Wrigley Field. Mason O’Brien, the Pennsville runner who started the inning with a single, was already around third base when the uncertainty set in. Eagles coach Matt Karr approached the umpires to clarify the call. It took the umps a moment, but they determined the ball had cleared the fence ending the game.
“I was kind of confused,” Streitz said. “It took me a minute to realize I’d seen it behind the fence, so then it kind of hit me if it went behind the first fence it had to be gone, right?”
“The home plate umpire said yeah I heard the wood,” Karr said. “I said, OK, well the chain link is in front of the wood, so if it hit the wood it had to go over the chain link fence. Thankfully they got the call right. It was a big spot for Logan. It was awesome.”
The blast, which came on his 151st varsity at-bat, also made Streitz a winning pitcher in one of his shortest outings on record. He came on to get the final out of the top of the seventh in the relief of starter O’Brien, who was as good as ever but reached his pitch limit. It was a five-pitch win. He worked an eight-pitch inning against Pitman as a sophomore.
O’Brien gave up six hits and struck out 10 in 97 pitches.
“That’s the first time he was really stretched out like that this year,” Karr said. “Mason’s a gamer. He did not want to come out of the game. He actually texted me last night and he said, coach, I don’t know how many I got, but I’m going to give you everything I got. I said I expect nothing less from you, buddy.”
Will Auty was equally impressive on the mound for the Warriors. The freshman gave up 10 hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. He worked out of a bases-loaded no-out situation in the fifth that could have broken the game wide open, setting down the Eagles’ 4-5-6 hitters on an infield fly rule, a short fly to left that kept the runners from moving and a fly to center.
“He wasn’t throwing very hard, but he was flipping his curveball and he was throwing strikes,” Karr said. “And that’s a recipe in high school baseball for success.”
The Warriors took the opening and scored two when they came in to bat. That failure to produce would have been gut-wrenching for the Eagles had they lost the game.
“Before I went out to talk to them in the outfield I turned to (assistant coach Ryan Wood) and asked him for some wisdom,” Karr said. “I don’t want to kill the moment and steal it from two guys who earned it, but I also don’t want them to be happy and complacent and think that’s our standard, because it’s not. We shouldn’t have been here.
“We have aspirations of being a championship team, we cannot be OK with the way today shook out. We had opportunities where that moment shouldn’t have happened because we should have handled our business in the prior innings. We’ve got to find a way to just put it in play there and we didn’t.
“We come in here and talk about winning sectional championships and state championships. When you squander opportunities like we did today, in those big games down line, you’re not always going to get bailed out by a walk-off, two-run homer from a senior.”
The Eagles broke a scoreless tie in the fourth when Stevie Fatcher ripped a two-out single into left field. He stole second and eventually rode home on Logan Cowperthwait’s double that fell between two outfielders.
Trevor Troiano drew a one-out walk to get Wildwood’s go-ahead rally started. He moved to third on a run-and-hit single by Nolan Mawhinney and scored when Mawhinney beat Cooperthwait’s low throw to Streitz at second trying to get a force on Michael McWade’s grounder to third. Auty gave his team the lead by poking a single into right field.
The Eagles were in a good spot when the seventh inning began anyway, having the meat of the order coming to the plate. Mason got it started with a single and Streitz ended it.
“All day he was just throwing straight curveballs consistently,” Streitz said. “I think I had gotten five in row throughout all my at-bats. I kind of expected it. I sat there, looked for it. Mason got on for me and I just swung.
“I didn’t really feel it on the bat. I’d just kind of seen it up in the air, in the gap. I was hoping it would drop either way. I’ve hit a couple in the summer, but none of them compared to this. This is my first high school bomb. It’s pretty special being my first one.”
WOODSTOWN 15, OVERBROOK 11: The Wolverines broke away with a six-run second inning and led 14-2 after batting in the sixth, but had to hold on as the Rams put together threats in the sixth and seventh innings.
Noah Williams went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Wolverines’ 15-hit attack. Tommy Tucci had two hits and two RBIs, Talyn Prior and Drew Sutton both had a pair of hits and Stone Hassler had two RBIs.
Sutton had a bases-loaded single to center in the second inning that cleared the bases with the help of an error, then Tucci and Williams followed with RBI doubles. Hassler had a two-run double in the sixth that gave the Wolverines a 13-2 lead.
The Rams had the tying run in the on-deck circle with two outs in the seventh, but the Wolverines got out of it with no further damage.
SCHALICK 27, PENNS GROVE 0: Will Sieminski, Robert Strain and Evan Glaspey had three hits apiece for Schalick. The Cougars already had an 8-0 lead, then scored 11 in the fourth and eight in the fifth before reaching the run-rule threshold.
Jamari Whitley had two hits and two RBIs. Glaspey, Strain and Mason Sanchez drove in a pair of runs. Hot-hitting Ricky Watt had no official plate appearances in the game, but walked three times and scored a run.
MASTERY CHARTER 10, SALEM TECH 4: The Chargers scored two in the top of the first on Cole Sacks’ two-run single, but Warriors pitcher Ricardo Basilio kept them off the board until the seventh. Between the time the Chargers scored in the first and the seventh, Basilio allowed only two runners into scoring position.
Chase Pompper had two hits for the Chargers. Derwin Cabrera hit an inside the park homer for Mastery in the fourth inning.
CLAYTON 13, SALEM 3: The Rams scored two runs in the first inning but Clayton answered with six in the bottom of inning to take the lead for good. Troy Carey doubled home the first run and later scored on an error to give the Rams the early lead, but the Clippers batted around in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead.
The Rams scored their other run in the third when Austin Davis doubled and came home when the Clippers misplayed Carey’s grounder to first. Davis had two doubles in the game.
Softball
PENNSVILLE 12, WILDWOOD 0: Graillyn Weber went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and spun a three-hit shutout in the circle with 11 strikeouts. Weber retired the first nine batters she faced and got out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fourth with two strikeouts.
Avery Watson also drove in four runs for the Eagles. Taylor Bass went 3-for-3.
The Eagles led 2-0 after three innings then broke it open with six runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Gianna Evans’ two-run double and Watson’s two-run single. Watson also had a two-run single in the fifth inning.
WOODSTOWN 8, OVERBROOK 4: Madison LaPalomento went 3-for-4 and Talia Guardascione and winning pitcher Leah Clark both had two hits for the Wolverines. Clark gave up just three hits and no earned runs over the first six innings, striking out nine.
The Wolverines answered Overbrook’s two runs in the top of first with two in the bottom of the inning, then took the lead with two in the third on Clark’s RBI double and Lila Bowling’s sacrifice fly. They broke it open with four in the sixth.
Golf
SCHALICK 179, WOODSTOWN 182: Woodstown’s Logan Jones and Schalick’s Mikey Nelson shared medalist honors at the top of the leaderboard (42), but the Cougars’ Anthony Sepers (45) and Jaxon Weber (43) beat their men by 11 total shots in the fifth and sixth seed spots to make the difference in the close match at Centerton CC.
SALEM TECH 199, CLAYTON 205: Clippers sophomore Jackson Venuto birdied his second hole and shot a 4-over 40 to win medalist honors at Sakima CC, but Salem Tech put the next three scores in the 40s to win the match. Freshman Cohen Sutton led the Chargers with a 47, while freshman Daniel Atanasio and sophomore Sophia Conto carded 49s. at Sakima cc
OVERBROOK 184, PENNSVILLE 202: The Rams posted three rounds in the 40s at Kresson GC. Jeffrey Boyd won medalist honors with a 42, playing his first five holes in 1-over. Caden Thomas shot Pennsville’s low round (45)
OLMA 210, SCHALICK GIRLS 236: OLMA freshman Eva Acerba won medalist honors with a 50 at White Oaks CC. Lena Virga posted Schalick’s low round (54).
Tennis
WOODSTOWN 4, HIGHLAND 1 Drew Stengel (WO) def. Mohammad Sheyam, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 10-5 Mason Shimp (WO) def. Andrew Whitelock, 6-3, 6-4 Marcus Lorenzana (H) def. Luke Shaw, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 Vincent Merendino-Nick DiTeodoro (WO) def. Leonardo Vittese-Jacob Roman, 6-1, 6-0 Connor Miller-Josh King (WO) def. Sakibul Alam-Mohammad Isa, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 11-9 Records: Woodstown 6-2, Highland 3-2
KINGSWAY 19, WOODSTOWN 2: Patrick Civitarese and Wyatt McLaughlin both scored three goals and five of their teammates scored two goals apiece as the Dragons remained undefeated and kept the Wolverines winless.
Girls lacrosse
KINGSWAY 14, WOODSTOWN 12: The teams battled to an 11-11 tie through three quarters before the Dragons pushed home three goals in the fourth. Delaney Walker scored five goals for Woodstown to run her career total to 189, Emma Morgan had three, Angelina Lindenmuth two and Isabella Lindenmuth and Arianna Hyman one each. Phoebe O”Rourke and Cecilia Gross scored four goals apiece for Kingsway.
Here’s a report on former Salem County prep players playing baseball and softball on the college level; will be updated every Monday; anyone missing? send additional players to al.muskewitz@gmail.com
Baseball
PLAYER
SCHOOL
GP
BA
H
HR
RBI
Elijah Crespo, Penns Grove
RCSJ-Cumb
11
.188
3
0
3
Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
11
.111
1
0
2
Andrew Pedrick, Woodstown
Harford CC
20
.387
24
2
26
Lucas Prendergast, Woodstown
York
30
.409
45
2
18
Jarrett Pokrovsky, Schalick
Penn
27
.279
29
1
11
Terrell Robinson, Salem
Rosemont
19
.240
12
0
7
Jackson Schalick, Schalick
Frostburg
35
.389
44
4
36
Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown
Rosemont
24
.267
20
0
10
Connor Starn, Pennsville
Keystone
9
.182
2
0
2
Rocco String, Woodstown
Salem CC
24
.254
18
3
21
Chase Swain, Woodstown
LaSalle
36
.360
50
7
32
Mike Valente, Woodstown
Salem CC
7
.000
0
0
0
Brent Williams, Woodstown
G-Beacom
21
.284
21
2
16
PITCHER
SCHOOL
GP
W-L
ERA
IP
K
Evan Biddle, Salem
Frostburg
6
1-0
8.53
6.1
4
Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
7
2-2
2.90
31.0
29
Ben Foote, Woodstown
Caldwell
5
1-1
16.62
4.1
2
Jack Holladay, Woodstown
Neumann
4
0-2
10.80
10.0
5
Peyton O’Brien, Pennsville
Harford CC
6
0-0
0.90
10.0
11
Luke Pokrovsky, Schalick
Penn
10
0-0
13.50
12.0
12
Terrell Robinson, Salem
Rosemont
4
0-0
8.10
6.2
2
Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown
Rosemont
2
0-0
27.00
1.1
1
Rocco String, Woodstown
Salem CC
3
0-1
49.50
2.0
3
Mike Valente, Woodstown
Salem CC
6
2-1
6.75
17.1
10
Luke Wood, Pennsville
McDaniel
7
3-1
5.83
29.1
25
Frostburg’s Jackson Schalick (Schalick).
Softball
PLAYER
SCHOOL
GP
BA
H
HR
RBI
Emily Holladay, Woodstown
Hartwick
3
.273
3
0
1
Tulana Mingin, Woodstown
East Stroudsburg
36
.319
38
0
4
Ava Ortiz, Salem
Salem CC
10
.286
2
0
2
Savannah Palverento, Pennsville
Salem CC
28
.371
23
1
20
Lilly Peverelle, Pennsville
Salem CC
30
.477
42
3
25
Bella Rappa, Pennsville
Salem CC
23
.456
26
0
26
Cayla Sbrana, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
12
.276
8
0
5
Sawyer Simmons, Pennsville
Salem CC
21
.172
6
1
5
NOTE: Tulana Mingin has 27 runs and is 16-19 in stolen bases
PITCHER
SCHOOL
GP
W-L
ERA
IP
K
Savannah Palverento, Pennsville
Salem CC
10
0-0
9.45
13.1
16
Cayla Sbrana, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
5
2-3
8.35
26.0
11
Raegan Wilson, Salem
Salem CC
14
6-5
6.42
52.1
37
Top photo: Tulana Mingin (Woodstown) (4).
NOTE: Statistics as accurate as updated by the schools.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 13-18; games start at 4 p.m. unless noted
APRIL 13 BASEBALL Salem at Clayton Salem Tech at Mastery Charter Schalick at Penns Grove Wildwood at Pennsville Woodstown at Overbrook SOFTBALL Overbrook at Woodstown Penns Grove at Schalick Pennsville at Wildwood BOYS GOLF Pennsville at Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. Woodstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Clayton, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. OLMA, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m. TRACK Gloucester Catholic, Wildwood at Salem TENNIS Highland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Millville Clayton at Penns Grove Wildwood at Schalick BOYS LACROSSE Kingsway at Woodstown GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Kingsway COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Ocean (2), 2 p.m. COLLEGE SOFTBALL Salem CC at Harford, 1 p.m.
APRIL 14 TENNIS Glassboro at Pennsville COLLEGE BASEBALL Ocean at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
APRIL 15 BASEBALL Pennsville at Penns Grove Pitman at Schalick Salem at Woodstown Salem Tech at Cape May Tech SOFTBALL Penns Grove at Pennsville Woodstown at Salem Schalick at Pitman BOYS GOLF Pennsville vs. Woodstown, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic, Westwood GC, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. Delsea, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. TENNIS Timber Creek at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Pitman Pennsville at Schalick TRACK Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro Penns Grove at Overbrook Pitman at Salem GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Mainland
APRIL 16 BASEBALL Bridgeton at Penns Grove Pennsville at Millville SOFTBALL Sterling at Schalick TENNIS Cumberland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pitman at Pennsville TRACK Woodstown at Lenape, 3:30 p.m. Pennsville at Penns Grove BOYS GOLF Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Highland, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m. BOYS LACROSSE Mainland at Woodstown COLLEGE SOFTBALL Mercer at Salem CC, 3 p.m.
APRIL 17 BASEBALL Cumberland at Woodstown Middle Twp. at Salem Pennsville at Pitman Salem Tech at Atlantic City SOFTBALL Cape May Tech at Salem Pitman at Pennsville Woodstown at Cumberland TENNIS Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m. Schalick at Penns Grove BOYS GOLF Salem Tech vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. Lower Cape May, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. Pennsville vs. Audubon, Sakima CC, 4:30 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Millville COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Camden, 3 p.m.
APRIL 18 BASEBALL Schalick at Haddon Twp., TBD Salem at Gloucester, 10 a.m. Sterling at Woodstown, 11 a.m. Pennsville vs. Kingsway at Williamstown Tournament TRACK Woodbury Relays Woodstown girls at Penn Wood Invitational, 9 a.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Camden at Salem CC (2), noon COLLEGE SOFTBALL Salem CC at Sussex, noon
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 of the opener 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’ve got to be the one to take the first punch and you can’t go down without swinging. They didn’t allow that (first game) to take them completely out.”
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 really 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 … Against them last time we played this pitcher struck me out and I wanted to get back and prove that that’s not who I am.”
She got Nos. 10 and 11 in her first two at-bats in the nightcap. The first one tied the game 2-2. The second one gave the Mighty Oaks a 5-2 lead as part of a 10-run third inning.
The first game loss can only be described as crushing. The Mighty Oaks looked on their way to a run-rule victory, scoring 10 runs in the third inning to open an 11-2 lead, but then gave up nine runs the next inning to lose all of it. The game went back and forth from there – with the Mighty Oaks leading twice more — until Del Tech scored five runs in the seventh 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 dropped fly balls in the outfield due to lazy approaches to the ball, 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 in the circle for Salem, but at no time did the coaches consider lifting her from the game.
“Jordyn has gotten so much more mature in softball and I don’t think she realizes it yet,” Freas said. “We are so hard on her, but for the best way possible because we know how good she is at this game and how much she can stay composed, and even when she’s in a position the way that she was she still is keeping batters off balance.
“I think she was composed. She wasn’t allowing herself to slump. We always talk about body language; she wasn’t allow herself to slump. She was sitting in a groove and she was just grooving and ready to go. She was looking at that play for her teammates to kind of help her out.”
If there was a bright spot in the loss it was the Mighty Oaks were hitting the ball, and that carried over into the nightcap.
But the second game went almost the same way. The Mighty Oaks scored 10 runs in the third inning again to regain a 12-2 lead. The inning featured nine hits, including Aguirre’s second homer of the game and Peverelle’s three-run double off the top of the fence in right center.
They were three outs away from a run-rule win when Del Tech scored six in the fifth to extend the game. They 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 Haskey’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.
“I definitely would’ve been disappointed,” Aguirre said.
But now they can go forward feeling somewhat good about themselves heading into a week that includes games with Harford and region rival Mercer.
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.
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
Riverview Sports News 