Down to the game’s last strike, Schalick freshman hits go-ahead three-run homer in seventh to send Cougars past Pennsville; Woodstown’s Wygand collects hit No. 100 in win over Pitman
TUESDAY SOFTBALL
Schalick 6, Pennsville 5
Woodstown 5, Pitman 3
Clayton 26, Penns Grove 8
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Most of the boxes the Schalick softball team has marked off their historical checklist this spring are linked to things they haven’t done since that magical season of 2021. But there is something the Cougars pulled off Tuesday night that takes them back a lot farther than that.
Among the big things they’ve done this season are sweeping the regular-season series from rival Woodstown and winning the TCC Diamond Division title, two things that hadn’t happened in five years. When they beat Pennsville 6-5 at the Pennsville Little League complex Tuesday night, it marked the first time since 2017 they have completed a sweep of their Salem County rivals the regular season.
They went 6-0 against Woodstown (twice), Penns Grove (twice), Salem (once) and Pennsville (once). They didn’t play start-up Salem Tech. In 2017, they beat Woodstown (twice), Penns Grove (twice) and Salem (once) in the regular-season and then Pennsville in the playoffs.
“Oh, really, I didn’t know that,” Schalick coach Rick Higginbotham said. “I didn’t keep track of that, but that’s great. That’s good to know.
“That’s a historical thing I didn’t really think about, but it’s always fun to play Pennsville. We played them last year, I think the game 5-4 and we pulled it off at home. They’re a good team. A good quality win against them heading into the playoffs that would be a good thing for us.
“It’s nice to be the top dog in the county, but this is Year No. 1 of some of our freshmen and I’m looking for more from them going down the line. I hope we get some more county wins along the way. That’d be fun.”
They got the latest one in dramatic fashion with one of those freshmen providing the biggest punch. Freshman Paige Sparks, down to the team’s final strike in the seventh inning, drilled a go-ahead three-run homer to swipe the lead back after the Eagles snatched it from them with five runs the inning before.She also broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single to center in the third.
“All I was thinking was just make contact,” Sparks said of her game-winning blast. “Don’t swing away, just make contact.
“It was pretty exciting, being my first home run in high school. I was really happy, real excited, because it landed right next to my parents (watching in the outfield).”
Addi Shimp kept the Eagles off the board for five innings. But as he has done in the past Higginbotham lifted her in favor of hard-throwing freshman Kaylee Broglin as a late-game change of pace. This time the move backfired as the Eagles reached her for five runs through a combination of hits, speed and wild pitches.
The Eagles scored their tying and go-ahead runs on balls that got away at the plate, forcing Higginbotham to bring Shimp back into the circle from first base to prevent further damage. The first batter she faced, Taylor Bass, beat out an infield single and in her attempt to catch Reagan Wariwanchik straying too far from third, Broglin’s throw skipped in the dirt and got away allowing the fifth run to race home.
“They showed grit in that inning and showed they’re never out of it,” Pennsville coach Beth Jackson said. “They hit the ball today. They were making contact, but it was right at them. It’s tough.”
“I was thinking I made a mistake,” Higginbotham said. “She’s done that in the past four or five games for us, come in and shut the door. They were ready for it. We’ll learn from it.”
Now that they had the lead, all the Eagles had to do was hold the line in the seventh and they’d have a Senior Night win to remember. And they nearly got out of it. Neolani Whitley traded places with Shimp on the bases with a fielder’s choice that brought the second out. Pinch hitter Taylor Brown kept the inning alive when she reached on an infield error.
That brought Sparks to the plate. Graillyn Weber, who earlier in the game recorded her 100th career strikeout, had the freshman down in the count. One more good pitch could end it, but she threw a juicy fastball in the zone and Broglin sent it into the night to give Schalick a 6-5 lead.
“I think it’s pretty mind blowing,” Sparks said. “I’ve been watching it for a while because my sister played before me. It was very big because I didn’t see them do that.”
The Eagles did mount a threat in the bottom of the seventh. Lily Edwards reached on an error and got into scoring position with one out, but Shimp got out of it with a fly out and ground out to end the game.
The Cougars aren’t done playing county rivals, actually. They’ll open the South Jersey Group I playoffs Tuesday at Woodstown.
“We beat ‘em twice, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t beat them a third time,” Higginbotham said. “We’ll see what happens. You never know. It’s playoff time.”
Wygand gets milestone hit in win
PITMAN – Ellie Wygand had been sitting on 99 career hits since last Thursday and was eager to get the milestone across the line.
The Woodstown senior wasted little time nailing down career hit No. 100, sending a payoff pitch into centerfield leading off the game in an eventual 5-3 Wolverines win over Pitman.
“I was just waiting to sit on the right pitch,” she said. “She was kind of a wildish pitcher, not sure what she was going to throw next, and I sat on a pitch. It wasn’t like a line drive, but it got the job done. It landed perfectly and that was my hit.”
The FDU-Florham signee went 1-for-3 in the game with a walk. She got her milestone hit in her 247th high school at-bat over four years. She’s increased her hit total each season she played and now had 37 for the season. She needs nine runs for 100 in that category.
“I think it took a lot of pressure on me,” she said of delivering in her first at-bat. “Coming in as a freshman I didn’t even have this as one of my goals, but going into my senior year I was really excited to have the opportunity to achieve that. Coming into my first at-bat and getting it done it took a lot of pressure on my shoulders and now you can just have fun with the rest of the season and work hard.”
After locking down the milestone hit, Wygand got all the way to third base, but the Wolverines could get her home. The Wolverines were then thrown into catch-up mode after Pitman scored three in the home half of the inning, but they steadily climbed back into it.
They got a run in the second on a wild pitch and tied it in the third on Karly Spears’ bases-loaded fielder’s choice and another wild pitch.
They took the lead in the fourth on Leah Clark’s tie-breaking RBI single and a run-scoring grounder to first by Maddie LaPalomento.
Meanwhile, Clark put up zeroes from circle after the first inning. She scattered five hits the rest of the game and allowed only one runner past second base, and that was with two outs in the sixth.
The Wolverines are gearing up for the South Jersey Group I playoffs, where they enter as the No. 7 seed and host rival Schalick in the opening round Tuesday. They’ll have some extra motivation for the game, having lost both games of the season series for the first time since 2021.
“We weren’t aware of this until a couple days ago and when I found out it definitely was shocking,” Wygand said. “But I fully believe if we go out there and play with our hearts on the line and give it our all we have a very good shot at winning that game.”
CLAYTON 16, PENNS GROVE 8: The Clippers erased an early 7-0 Penns Grove lead with 17 runs in the second inning. They sent 23 batters to the plate in the eruption. Janice Blair went 4-for-5 with four RBIs for Clayton.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I SOFTBALL
Tuesday’s First-Round Games
(16) Paulsboro at (1) Audubon
(9) Riverside at (8) Maple Shade
(12) Wildwood at (5) Pennsville
(13) Haddon Twp. at (4) Pitman
(14) Glassboro at (3) Palmyra
(11) Cape May Tech at (6) Gateway
(10) Schalick at (7) Woodstown
(15) Burlington City at (2) Buena
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 SOFTBALL
Tuesday’s First-Round Games
(16) Haddonfield at (1) Gloucester
(9) Oakcrest at (8) Middle Twp.
(12) Collingswood at (5) West Deptford
(13) Manchester Twp. at (4) Cedar Creek
(14) Lower Cape May at (3) Haddon Heights
(11) Salem Tech at (6) Cinnaminson
(10) Sterling at (7) Medford Tech
(15) Overbrook at (2) Barnegat
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