Pennsville 12U All-Stars hands South Vineland first loss of tournament to set up winner-take-all game for District 3 LL title
DISTRICT 3 LL TOURNAMENT Championship Round (At East Vineland LL) Pennsville 13, South Vineland 4 Saturday’s game Pennsville vs. South Vineland, 7 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
VINELAND – The Pennsville Little League 12U All-Stars wasted little time making their intentions known about wanting to play for a district championship.
They scored early and often to beat South Vineland 13-4 Friday and set up a winner-take-all game Saturday for the District 3 Tournament title.
John Swiderski and JoJo Mannino hit back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning and Pennsville added five in the second to open a 9-0 lead.
“Being able to put up nine runs in the first two innings sent a statement saying you beat us once, you’re not going to beat us again,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said, referring to South Vineland’s 7-2 win in pool play. “We’re here to win it and the kids came ready to go.
“From the first batter all the way to our 12th batter each kid was ready to go. Being able to put up the four and the five just shows they were aggressive, they were ready to battle.”
Swiderski and Mannino went back-to-back in the first to extend Pennsville’s lead to 3-1. For Swiderski, it was his second homer in as many games. For Mannino it was his sixth homer of the tournament and fifth in the last five games.
It was the second time this tournament Mannino was part of back-to-back jacks, but the first time they were both over the fence. He and Nate Breeden hit back-to-back inside-the-park homers at Bridgeton in their final pool game.
Swiderski and Mannino also drove runs home in the second inning. They were both 2-for-2 with two RBIs. The first six hitters in Pennsville’s lineup were 10-for-16 with eight runs scored and seven RBIs.
“I think the statement we made was we’re coming out here to play,” Mannino said. “I loved the way we started today because we don’t really start off real hot. We usually start off light, but today we came out blazing. We were ready today.”
The big early lead gave pitcher Cayden L’Ecuyer “a lot more confidence” going to the mound in a high-stakes game. L’Ecuyer struck out the side in order in the first, held South Vineland to one run and five hits the first time through the 12-man lineup and pitched into the fifth inning before reaching his pitch limit . Caleb Fontaine got the final four outs without a ball leaving the infield.
L’Ecuyer wound up giving up eight hits and striking out six without issuing a walk. He got the win in Wednesday’s elimination game with East Vineland as well.
“He was brilliant,” Pangle said. “He pitched beautifully and did exactly what we wanted him to do. I don’t think the other team knew we had another pitcher like that right now, and that was huge for us not to use him and wait towards the end of the tournament to use him.”
The win came on a two-year anniversary of Pennsville’s win over South Vineland in the 10U playoffs. All but two of the current Pennsville players were on that team.
There will be a little more spice to Saturday’s meeting than a normal championship game after an incident involving an illegal bat resulted in the ejection of a South Vineland manager and player and carryover sanctions Saturday.
The controversy arose with two outs in the third inning after Kayden Potts followed Mason Mendez’ solo homer with a double. The umpires determined the pencil bat Potts used in his at-bat was illegal in 12U Little League. As a result, Potts, South Vineland manager Hiram Cordero and the bat were all thrown out of the game and possibly suspended for Saturday’s game.
South Vineland acting manager Delmo Perez said he would be contacting league, district and state Little League officials to get some clarification and potentially contest the game “because that is the gamechanger of this whole entire thing.” He said the bats were checked prior to the game.
As a result of the controversy Pangle said he expects to face an opponent with a chip on its shoulder Saturday and Perez said as much.
“My boys are going to come ready tomorrow, most definitely,” he said. “They got kicked in the mouth and now they’re ready to kick somebody in the mouth.”
After the incident, South Vineland’s proper bats came to life briefly in the fourth. They scored three runs to get within 10-4 before L’Ecuyer rediscovered his focus and retired the next three batters on nine pitches to kill the rally.
“I wasn’t worried about those runs,” L’Ecuyer said. “I was just trying to show them that they aren’t that good and it’s only four runs.”
The winner of Saturday’s game will play East Greenwich in the opening round of the Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL July 12.
District 3 LL Tournament Pennsville 13, South Vineland 4
Pennsville’s Cayden L’Ecuyer and South Vineland pitcher Elijuah Perez both look towards the umpire after L’Ecuyer slid safely into home to score in the first inning of their District 3 championship round game. On the cover, Pennsville players mob John Swiderski at the plate after his first-inning homer.
Pennsville Senior Softball wins fifth straight age division sectional title, routs Middle Twp. for spot in state tournament
SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL (At Middle Twp. LL) WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Championship game Pennsville 11, Middle Twp. 1
By Riverview Sports News
CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE – This core group of Pennsville Senior Softball players have had a lot of success together over the years, and now that they’re reaching the end of the line they want nothing more than to go out with a bang.
Many of the current players will be opting or aging out of the program when the season ends and manager Chris Watson is moving into a college coaching position that will occupy his time, but they’re showing in this bid to get back to the World Series they’ve still got a lot in the tank.
These girls won their fifth straight age-division sectional title Wednesday when they crushed host Middle Twp. 11-1 in five innings. Now they advance to the state tournament a little farther down the road in Dennis Twp., where they’ll open against Section 3 representative Toms River at 8 p.m. July 12.
“This means a lot because it’s our last one,” Watson said. “For me as a coach and for Avery (Watson), for Jess (Bretz), for Savannah (Palverento), it’s all their last one, Kylie (Harris), but it’s our fifth consecutive championship, so it’s pretty cool and closing that out like that is pretty awesome.
“We tear up a little bit when we talk about it. We’ve been together for so long. This is our eighth season doing all-stars with some of these girls. We’ve been together a long time.”
Avery Watson, the team’s shortstop, said the sectional title should be a big motivator for the younger players to continue. They didn’t have a district tournament to get their feet wet, so the sectional was their first chance to see what the veteran have been experiencing for years.
“I think it’s especially important to the younger girls,” she said. “A lot of them weren’t totally sure what they were getting into and I think the older girls we’ve been a big source of energy and that gets them up and excited for all the games. I guess winning sectional is a big motivator to the young girls to keep competing.”
Pennsville wasted no time getting the upper hand, scoring two runs in the first inning, then put it out of reach with eight runs in the third. They sent 13 batters to the plate in the big inning and scored six of their runs after two were out. The outburst was highlighted by Palverento’s three-run double and Makenzie Widener’s two-run single.
They walked it off with one out in the fifth when Avery Watson scored on a wild pitch.
The first three hitters in Pennsville’s lineup — Palverento, Watson and Harris — were a combined 9-for-12 with four doubles and five RBIs. Harris was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Watson was 2-for-4 (and made two sharp plays in the field). And Palverento was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Widener went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
“I think we hit better (today) than we did in Monday’s games,” Avery Watson said.
Bretz pitched three scoreless innings before coming out of the circle with a sore knee. She allowed one hit and walked four while striking out six. In two tournament games (eight innings) she has allowed just one hit and struck out 21.
Palverento pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. She beat Middle in the tournament opener.
Pennsville 11, Middle Twp. 1
Middle Twp. (1-2)
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WP: Jess Bretz (2-0). LP: G. Hall. 2B: T. Atwood (MT), Kylie Harris 2 (P), Savannah Palverento 2 (P).
NJ STATE SENIOR LEAGUE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT July 12-14, Dennis Twp. FRIDAY’S GAMES G1: Section 1 vs. Section 2, 6 p.m. G2: Pennsville vs. Toms River, 8 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAMES G3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. G4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m. G5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. SUNDAY’S GAME G6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 3 p.m. G7: If necessary, 5 p.m.
Pennsville reaches District 3 Little League championship round after knocking off East Vineland 10-5
DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS At East Vineland WEDNESDAY’S GAME Pennsvile 10, East Vineland 5 (EV eliminated) FRIDAY’S GAME Pennsville vs. South Vineland, 7 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAME Pennsville vs. South Vineland (If necessary), 7 p.m. (Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
VINELAND — It has been five years since Pennsville LL played for a district title. Manager Steve Pangle figures it’s about their time.
Pennsville used two big innings, got several big hits, some solid pitching and ended the game with a fabulous catch to turn back East Vineland 10-5 and reach the District 3 Tournament championship round.
They now play undefeated South Vineland here at Fiocchi Field Friday at 7 p.m. in the first of potentially two championship games. If Pennsville wins, the teams will return for a winner-take-all game Saturday at 7 p.m.
“I think we’re in great position,” Pangle said. “We used our pitchers smartly here today, that way we can still used them on Friday. I feel really good about Friday. As a coaching staff we’re pumped, we’re eady. The boys are pumped and ready, just the way they acted when they got that last out.
“This is us. This is our turn. This is our time. They really rallied together to really make it our time.”
Pennsville rallied from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the team that sent them into the loser’s bracket on Opening Night of the Final Four. They took the lead with five in the third inning, highlighted by Nate Breeden’s go-ahead two-run single, and after East Vineland got back within 6-5 they scored four in the fifth, capped by John Swiderski’s three-run homer, for a lot of breathing room.
The last time Pennsville played for the 12U district title, 2019, they won it. Most of the players on this year’s team were playing coach-pitch back then.
Swiderski’s homer in the fifth inning came after Owen Whalen led off with a double, Nate Morrison walked and Breeden singled home Whalen. Breeden was 2-for-2 in the game with three RBIs and is 5-for-6 in the playoff portion of the tournament
“That was huge,” Pangle said. “We were telling him he’s due, he’s due for a homer. He hadn’t hit one since the first game in Pennsville. We just kept telling him to keep at it, your time’s coming, not the homer so much but you’re big hit’s coming; we can see it. And we told him to believe in himself. If you believe in yourself, good things will come, and that’s what happened.”
“It meant a lot to me because I struggled last game,” Swiderski said. “I was just trying to help myself on the mound, get some more support runs.”
Swiderski came to the mound to put out a fire in the fifth, getting the final out of the inning on a full-count strikeout with the bases loaded, and closed it out in the sixth with a little help from his best friend. Left fielder Caleb Fontaine ran down travel ball teammate Carter Perkins’ shot to the left centerfield gap, stretching out and snagging the ball in the fingers of his glove for the final out of the game.
“I can’t even believe I caught it,” Fontaine said. “It was kind of like one of the best catches I’ve ever caught in my life. I was just running as fast as I could to get there.”
The momentum of the play carried Fontaine to the ground where his teammates mobbed him as if he just delivered a walk-off homer.
“That was awesome,” Swiderski said. “Me and Caleb are best friends and we’re best friends for life now.”
Another key to Pennsville’s success was the way it handled EV slugger Enzo Canderlario. They were the first team this tournament to keep Candelario in the yard. He did score twice, but with Pennsville pitching him the way MLB pitchers go after Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos — outside and low — he went without a homer for the first time in six district tournament games and was officially 0-for-2. They took the bat out of his hands in the fifth with an intentional walk.
Swiderski’s homer in the bottom of the fifth basically made it so Canderlario wouldn’t beat them if he came up in the sixth if the pitchers took care of business at the start of the inning. Thanks to Fontaine’s catch, they never had to test that theory.
“(We wanted to) keep it out of the zone; pitch around him and have him chase stuff,” Pangle said. “We wanted to stay out of the zone, but just off the zone to where he could do little dribblers if he did make contact or miss it altogether.”
Because everything came together in one place Wednesday night, Pennsville now is two wins away from a district championship.
“Big things are happening right now in Pennsville with baseball and softball.,” Pangle said. “It couldn’t be better right now..”
Pennsville 10, East Vineland 5
East Vineland (4-2)
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Pennsville (5-2)
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WP: Cayden L.Ecuyer. LP: Ethan Kleinow. 2B: Matt DePalma (EV), John Swiderski (P), Nate Breeden (P), Owen Whalen (P). HR: John Swiderski (P).
Brayden Roberts (22) slides in with the go-ahead run during Pennsville’s five-run third inning Wednesday. On the cover, Roberts leaps into the arms of pitcher John Swiderski after Pennsville sealed the 10-5 victory.
Jonathan Taylor, Salem’s record-setting running back and All-Pro, will be inducted into the Salem County Sports Hall of Fame July 20
By Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The banners recognizing Jonathan Taylor’s greatness are strategically located throughout Salem High School, but they’re soon going to need a rewrite. They’ll need to include the line “Salem County Sports Hall of Famer.”
TAYLOR
Taylor, the Rams’ record-breaking running back, All-American and NFL All-Pro, headlines this year’s Hall of Fame class and will be inducted individually in ceremonies at Salem Community College’s Davidow Hall July 20.
The date coincides with Taylor’s appearance at his local football camp for youth. The remainder of the class and Hall honorees will be recognized Aug. 22.
The ceremony also will recognize Salem High School’s 2021 football championship team. That team won the Rams’ first New Jersey South-Central Group 1 championship.
At Salem, Taylor rushed for 4,642 yards and 51 touchdowns that included the state’s single-season record with 2,510 yards and 35 TDs. He rushed for 1,383 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior. On the track, he won back-to-back New Jersey Meet of Champions titles in 100 meters in 2016 and 2017.
Moving on to the college ranks, he appeared in 41 games at Wisconsin (40 starts from 2017-19) and totaled 926 carries for 6,174 yards and 50 touchdowns. He added 42 receptions for 407 yards and five touchdowns. He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back in 2018 and 2019 and was a unanimous All-American.
He is the seventh player in FBS history to rush for 6,000 yards and the first to accomplish the feat in just three seasons. His 6,174 career rushing yards rank sixth all-time among FBS players and second all-time in the Big Ten. He is the third player in FBS history with multiple 2,000-yard rushing seasons and the only player in FBS history to rush for at least 1,900 yards in three consecutive seasons.
Following his junior season at Wisconsin, the Colts selected Taylor in the second round (41st overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Pro Football Writers of America named Taylor to its All-Rookie Team after he rushed for 1,169 yards in 232 attempts and caught 36 passes for 299 yards. Then in 2021, he led the NFL in rushing with 1,811 yards in 332 attempts and rushing touchdowns with 18. He also caught 40 passes for 360 yards. He was named first-time All Pro and received the Bert Bell Award, presented annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the best player in the NFL.
The remainder of the class that will inducted Aug. 22 includes pro athlete Lex Bleckley (baseball); athletes James Dickerson, Nick Elmer, James Dennison and Latika Ross; coaches Donna O’Leary and Steve Merritt; and community service honorees Vince Gioia and Steve Lopes. The Hall also will recognize the 2013-15 boys and girls track teams from Penns Grove.
The ceremony honoring Taylor will begin at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:30. The event is free. Due to limited seating in the theatre, the Field House will be open for overflow seating, where guests will watch the ceremony via livestream on the college’s website.Due to contractual obligations, Taylor will not sign autographs.
Pennsville staves off elimination in the District 3 LL Tournament behind Morrison’s pitching and big extra-base hits by Mannino, Weatherbee; South Vineland reaches championship round; includes Section 4 softball update
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
VINELAND – The Pennsville bats were stifled for the first four innings of their District 3 elimination game Tuesday night, but manager Steve Pangle never lost confidence they would come around and he let his players know it every chance he got.
The bats did come alive in a big way in the fifth inning and now the Pennsville 12U All-Stars are playing for a spot in the district championship game.
JoJo Mannino crushed a two-run homer and Brayden Weatherbee roped a three-run double to fuel a five-run fifth that carried Pennsville to a 5-3 win over Millville American in the District 3 Little League Tournament. They now play East Vineland in East Vineland Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. with a place in the championship game opposite South Vineland in the balance.
Millville starter Vash Jacobs, helped by a couple double plays, had faced only one batter over the minimum through a scoreless four innings, but Pennsville got to him in the fifth.
Nathan Breeden got it started with a leadoff double and he scored on Mannino’s no-doubter of a go-ahead two-run homer. Cayden L’Ecuyer restarted it by reaching on a dropped third strike, Chase Pangle singled, Caleb Fontaine drew a two-out walk to load the bases and then Weatherbee brought them all around with his hit of the game.
“I was confident the bats would come around,” Pangle said. “I just wanted to hang with them, stay with them, keep the score close if not the same (until they did).
“I preached to them the whole game that this is our game. I felt it. I could just feel the vibe how we did warmups. I let them know every inning they came out this is us, you’ve got to have it in your heart right now. I feel it; you’ve got to feel it.
“In the fourth inning, after they got that (go-ahead) hit, a couple of the kids came up and were like I feel it. I said, you feel that? Yes, I feel it. All right then let’s do it and that’s when we had the five-run inning.”
None of the hits were bigger than Weatherbee’s double – and not just for what it did to the scoreboard. The only 11-year-old on the roster, Weatherbee was 0-for-10 in the tournament with seven strikeouts and had fanned in his previous three at-bats before sending his bases-clearing double into right field.
“It worried me some,” Weatherbee said of the slump, “but even major-league players get in a slump. I just kept on trying to swing, hit the ball and make contact with it and here we are today where I hit a double and sent three people home. I was a little bit sad (about not having a hit), but then when I hit it, it was amazing.”
“We know any kid on this team can hit the ball at any time,” Pangle said. “People are going to go through slumps and that’s fine; we’ve preached having each other’s back. You may not get a hit for a while and then all of a sudden you get that hit when we need it. That’s been our message the entire year: Just keep fighting. That was just big by him. Lifted his confidence way up. It was a monster three-run double for us.”
Pennsville starter Nate Morrison was just as unhittable as Jacobs early in the game. He faced one batter over the minimum through the first three innings and pitched into the sixth before reaching his pitch limit getting the first two batters out. He allowed only six hits over 5 2/3 innings, two unearned runs, no walks and struck out five.
Millville threatened once Morrison left the game, bringing the winning run to the plate, but reliever Caiden Colomy closed it out by getting a game-ending liner to short.
“I wasn’t worried at all,” Pangle said. “(Colomy) was the right guy. We had the utmost confidence in him. We went out and talked to him after he got a couple base runners on. We told him we believe in you, you believe in yourself, the team believes in you, this is your game, let’s finish it, and that’s what he did.”
SOUTH VINELAND 5, EAST VINELAND 2: South Vineland answered East Vineland’s two runs in the top of the fourth with two in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, then took the lead with three in the fifth to reach the championship round of the tournament.
Mason Mendez drew a bases-loaded walk to break the 2-2 tie and Kaden Potts followed with a two-run single to extend the lead.
Derek Cuba, the walk-off hero of South Vineland’s seventh-inning win over Millville Monday, pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits, two earned runs and struck out seven. Ronald Leverette got the final two outs, getting a ground out with the bases loaded to end the game.
South Vineland did manage to get East Vineland slugger Enzo Candelario out once, but Candelario went 2-for-3 and hit his sixth homer in five tournament games.
South Vineland will play the survivor of the losers bracket in the championship game 7 p.m. Friday at East Vineland.
DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS TUESDAY’S GAMES (At South Vineland LL) South Vineland 5, East Vineland 2 Pennsville 5, Millville American 3 (Millville eliminated) WEDNESDAY’S GAME (At East Vineland) Pennsville vs. East Vineland, 5:45 p.m. FRIDAY’S GAME (At East Vineland) G6: South Vineland vs. Pennsville-East Vineland winner, 7 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAME (At East Vineland) G7: If necessary, 7 p.m. (Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)
Pennsville Senior Softball will play host Middle Twp. for the Section 4 championship Wednesday at 6 p.m. after Middle routed Monroe Twp. 20-6 in Tuesday’s elimination game. Pennsville beat Middle 7-2 in its tournament opener Monday night.
SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL (At Middle Twp. LL) TUESDAY’S GAME Middle/Dennis Twp. 20, Monroe Twp. 6 (Monroe eliminated) WEDNESDAY’S GAMES G4: Pennsville vs. Middle/Dennis Twp., 6 p.m. G5: If necessary, 8 p.m. (Winner to State Tournament at Dennis Twp. LL)
Candelario, Kleinow homer in fifth-inning outburst that lefts East Vineland past Pennsville LL in District 3 Final Four
MONDAY’S GAMES (At Pennsville LL) South Vineland 6, Millville American 5 (7 inns.) East Vineland 7, Pennsville 4
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – JoJo Mannino saw his young life flash before his eyes in the bottom of the third inning Monday night. That’s when East Vineland slugger Enzo Candelario ripped a screaming liner back to the mound that his travel ball teammate barely had time to raise his glove and catch.
It could have been a frightening outcome for a team that had dealt with a player being struck by a batted ball once already in the tournament. If it was any consolation, it was the only time the Pennsville All-Stars — or anybody in the tournament, for that matter — has gotten the most dangerous hitter out in the District 3 Little League Tournament this year.
“I put it right down the middle for him, which is a bad idea by me, and he hit it back to me,” Mannino said. “It wasn’t that much of a scare. I just saw the ball and put my glove out there.”
The next time Candelario came to the plate, they weren’t so fortunate. He reached down to hit a three-run homer that wiped out a Pennsville lead and sent East Vineland on its way to a 7-4 victory.
East Vineland will now play South Vineland in a winner’s bracket game Wednesday 5:45 p.m. at South Vineland LL. Pennsville will look to stave off elimination against Millville American at 8 p.m. South Vineland rallied for four in the bottom of the seventh, capped by Derek Cuba’s one-out walk-off single, to beat Millville 6-5 in the opening game.
There’s no denying Candelario is the toughest out in the tournament. After going 2-for-3 against Pennsville, he is now 10-for-11 in four tournament games with eight runs scored, 10 RBIs and five home runs. He has hit 43 homers this summer between Little League and travel ball and at least one in each of his team’s District 3 tournament games.
“He’s tough,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said. “We were able to get him a couple times, to keep him in-house, in the yard, but that third time he made us pay. It was the perfect pitch, but he made the swing.”
The three-run shot was part of a five-run eruption for East Vineland in the fifth inning. Ethan Kleinow provided the other two runs with a two-run homer. It was his first homer of the season in rec ball.
Pennsville looked to be in a great shape after scoring three runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead. Mannino got it started with a game-tying solo homer with one out. Caiden Colomy, back in the lineup after being held out of Saturday’s pool play finale, put the National Division runner-ups ahead 3-2 with an RBI double and then scored what seemed to be an insurance run on a wild pitch.
“I’m proud of myself,” said Colomy, still sporting the shiner under his left eye from where a foul ball knocked him out of the South Vineland game. “I was trying to get a good hit to really get the team hyped.”
“It was awesome getting the lead, especially with Chili coming back and helping us out with that,” Pangle said. “That just shows his heart and fight, coming back from the injury and first game back hitting a ball to get us some runs.”
Colomy may have given Pennsville the lead, but they still had to get through the meat of East Vineland’s order one more time before they could secure the victory and that meant dealing with Candelario again.
There were two outs and a base open when the slugger came to the plate in the fifth and Pangle admitted he contemplated briefly intentionally walking him to load the bases. Colomy wanted to challenge him and that’s what they did.
Colomy blasted a fastball past him on the first pitch, and then threw a pitch down and away they didn’t think he could get. He reached down and got it.
“It crossed my mind, but you never know what’s going to happen with that next batter,” Pangle said. “It could’ve gone either way. If he didn’t reach for that pitch that would’ve been a strike two and then anything could happen. We just decided to go after him.”
Pennsville thought it was still in it even after the two homers. They put their first two runners on in the sixth and had them both in scoring position with one out, but ended the game with an 8-6-2 double play.
“We didn’t lose the game because of that play; there were a lot of other things we lost the game for,” Pangle said. “But that was tough, because it was a winnable game.”
SOUTH VINELAND 7, MILLVILLE AMERICAN 6: Millville scored three in the top of the seventh to take the lead, but South Vineland manager Hiram Cordero wasn’t worried. He knew what his team had coming to the plate in the bottom of the inning.
With the top of the lineup coming up, the undefeated American Division winner rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to bwin their fifth straight game in the tournament.
Ronald Leverette and Elijuah Rodriguez got it started with singles and Joel Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Matt Dilks delivered a two-run single with one out to make it a one-run game. They tied it on Mylus Moore’s infield single and walked it off when Derek Cuba sliced the game-winning single into right field.
“I knew we were going to do this,” Cordero said. “This is the team. They play better under pressure, especially under two outs. That’s what this team is about. We don’t give up. We started at the top of the lineup. We knew when it was the top of the lineup it was game time.”
Cuba was never worried.
“I knew if we had faith we could probably win this game,” he said.
DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS TUESDAY’S GAMES (At South Vineland LL) G3: South Vineland vs. East Vineland, 5:45 p.m. G4: Millville American vs. Pennsville, 8 p.m. WEDNESDAY’S GAME (At East Vineland) G5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 5:45 p.m. FRIDAY’S GAME (At East Vineland) G6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAME (At East Vineland) G7: If necessary, 7 p.m. (Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)
South Vineland 6, Millville American 5
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WP: Elijuah Perez. LP: Braydon Moore. 2B: Braydon Moore (MA), Carter Robinson (MA), Chase Wagner (MA), J.J. Rodriguez (SV)
Pennsville LL Senior Softball All-Stars open the defense of their Section 4 title Monday by sweeping past a pair of opponents into the championship round
By Riverview Sports News
CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE – The Pennsville Little League’s Senior Softball All-Stars’ weather-delayed bid for another sectional title and trip to the state tournament got off to a big start Monday when they beat each of the other two teams in the field to move into the championship round.
The defending East Region champions opened their defense with a 7-2 win over Middle Twp. and completed the night’s sweep with a 14-0 rout of Monroe. Jess Bretz homered in each game and threw a five-inning no-hitter with 15 strikeouts in the nightcap.
Pennsville will await the winner of Tuesday’s elimination game between Middle and Monroe game in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. championship game. A second game will follow if necessary at 8 p.m.
“I think we played to our potential today,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said. “Even the new girls made some good contact, bunted well and did their jobs in the field.”
Bretz gave Pennsville a 1-0 lead in the Middle Twp. game with a leadoff homer in the second inning. They added three more in the second on Avery Watson’s RBI double, an RBI single by Kylie Harris and a run-scoring error. Harris had a run-producing ground out in the fifth that made it 5-0.
Meanwhile, Savannah Palverento kept Middle off the board through the fifth inning, allowing only three hits in the stretch and getting some strong defense to allow her to face only one over the minimum. Middle scored its only two runs in the sixth.
“We had a couple incoming freshmen playing second all night,” Watson said. “Van (Savannah Guglielmo), for one, made a nice play to feed Avery with a double play ball and rifled a relay from right to catch a girl going for three.”
Bretz stole the show in the nightcap. She got all her outs via strikeout, faced six batters over the minimum and allowed only one runner past second base. Her grand slam in a seven-run fourth provided the exclamation point.
She threw three no-hitters through the state tournament during last year’s run to the World Series in Delaware..
“Our core returners led on the field and in the dugout,” Watson said. “Jess is a year older and it shows in how she carries herself. She was hearing a lot of noise from the opposing bleachers and she handled it like an adult. The grand slam was timely for that.”
Pennsville had only four hits in the nightcap – Bretz had two of them – but they had plenty of baserunners. They took advantage of five Monroe errors and 10 walks. Avery Watson drove in three runs in the game, two with a triple that made it 7-0 in the third inning.
SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL (At Middle Twp. LL) MONDAY’S GAMES G1: Pennsville 7, Middle/Dennis Twp. 2 G2: Pennsville 14, Monroe 0 TUESDAY’S GAME G3: Middle/Dennis vs. Monroe, 6 p.m. WEDNESDAY’S GAMES G4: Pennsville vs. Middle/Dennis-Monroe winner, 6 p.m. G5: If necessary, 8 p.m. (Winner to State Tournament at Dennis Twp. LL)
Woodstown approves Haddonfield’s Matt Smart to take girls basketball program; he’s excited about the opportunity, understands the expectations
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Matt Smart likes to say he learned to walk on a basketball floor, the son of a longtime South Jersey basketball coach and the only boy among three sports-loving siblings. So, it would stand to reason that he aspired to be a coach himself.
He couldn’t have picked a better situation for his first head coaching gig.
SMART
Smart was approved Thursday to become the new head coach of the Woodstown girls basketball team. He succeeds Kara Straughn, who stepped aside for family considerations after guiding the Wolverines to the South Jersey Group I championship game last year. He will be their third coach in as many years.
Excited doesn’t begin to describe the way the 28-year-old Haddonfield native feels about the opportunity. He’s been handed one of the top girls programs in South Jersey led by two of the most dynamic scorers in the state. Megan Donelson and Goldey-Beacom commit Talia Battavio are both on track to finish their careers not only as the leading scorers in Woodstown history but among the top scorers in Salem County all-time.
When Smart first learned of the opening from his Haddonfield connections already at the school he spent all hours of the day researching the players and the program to be prepared for the interview. And while he’s been getting to know the team during its summer league play as he awaited board approval, he’s been itching to tell somebody.
He finally got the OK to tell the world and wasted no time getting it out on social media.
“When I saw it posted on line, I said let me try to be a head coach,” he said. “From the moment I heard the job was opening up that’s all I could think about.
“My girlfriend woke up at 5 a.m. the morning the job got posted and was like ‘What are you still doing awake?’ I told her my mind’s just going right now. I started working hard on getting a plan I could present to Mr. (athletics director Joe) Ursino, the superintendent and anybody in the interview process. I was super excited.
“I got the call at work when they offered it to me and I was like, excuse me, Mr. Ursino, (stepped back) and went, ‘Yes-s-s-s-s;’ I had to let it out. That was a great feeling. II wanted to scream it from the rafters, but I kept the ceiling shut until that board meeting happened.”
Smart comes to Woodstown after four years as the Haddonfield Middle School girls coach – the last two as the JV and varsity assistant coach — with a strong athletics pedigree. He also coached football for eight years and while nothing has developed on that front yet, he was with the Wolverines during their 7×7 tournament at Total Turf over the weekend.
His father Phil has had a long tenure in athletics, coaching basketball and volleyball in South Jersey before moving into administration. His love for women’s sports came from his two sisters, both of whom starred in field hockey. The oldest, Meghan, played collegiately at Appalachian State and Old Dominion and now coaches at a high school in Virginia Beach. The other, Emily, is an assist machine and captain at Stevens Tech.
For a team that has won 20 games the last four non-COVID seasons in a row and made deep runs in the playoffs, he knows expectations are high for the Wolverines. They came within a last-second corner 3 of winning the South Jersey title last year and have most of their players back. They may have a golden path laid out before him, but Smart wisely has no plans to travel it on cruise control.
“The expectations are set high and we have to work hard to achieve those expectations,” Smart said. “It’s not going to be just given to us. I think the girls and I understand there’s a lot of work to be done if we want to achieve all the goals both as a team and as individuals that they want to achieve.
“I know there are going to be some ups and downs, but we have to work hard. We’re going to work hard and hopefully meet those expectations.”
Pennsville gets the nod in head-to-head matchup with Woodstown in their final pool game of the ATF Ginsburg 7×7 Classic
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITMAN – In the grand scheme of things, a 20-minute 7-on-7 football game in late June won’t mean much when both teams are fighting for a playoff spot in late October, but it meant plenty to Pennsville receiver Malik Rehmer.
Pennsville and Woodstown haven’t played in the regular season since 2020 despite being Group I programs in the same county less than 15 miles apart, so when they get put together in the final game of pool play in the Adam Taliaferro Foundation Ginsburg 7×7 Classic at Total Turf it’s a special occasion even if it is only half football.
This one went to the Eagles and was all for bragging rights as Eastern clinched their bracket’s spot in the semifinals even before the teams took the field. Robbie McDade threw third-down touchdown passes to Rehmer and Cole Campbell and the defense turned away a reserve Woodstown offense four times in a 22-3 win that left them 2-1 i(and Woodstown 0-3) in the pool.
“It meant way more,” Rehmer said. “The whole time being here we haven’t beaten Woodstown in any sport, so that was a good emphasis win. Played good all around, the whole team. It was a really good win. I don’t think people will forget this.”
The Eagles hadn’t beaten Woodstown in football since their 2017 season opener. Their boys basketball hasn’t beaten the Wolverines since 2019 (7 in a row) and girls basketball hasn’t since 2020 (8 in a row).
“It’ll really mean something to put on the pads and we actually play a real game, but it’s still good to get a win over Woodstown,” McDade said.
Of course, 7x7s are more about performance between quarterbacks, receivers and secondaries than results, but they still keep score. For the record, Pennsville was shutout by bracket winner and eventual runner-up Eastern in its first game, then swamped Bridgeton and beat the Wolverines. Woodstown lost a close one to Bridgeton, then fell to Eastern and the Eagles.
“Overall I was happy,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “We weren’t great in our first game and then we really improved a lot the second and third; we were real sharp the second game. We finished with a winning record (and) obviously when you play Woodstown you always want to get a win. It would’ve been nice to be sharp all three games, but overall (it was) a good day.”
McDade thought he was “a little rusty” in the first game against Eastern despite completing 10 of 17 passes in two possessions, but felt “good” in the ensuing two victories. He was 23-of- 40 with four touchdowns and three interceptions in the three games.
“He threw better than he threw last year at this point, which is what we wanted to see,” Healy said. “We obviously had a good day overall, but we know what we have to work on.”
In the game against Woodstown, he gave the Eagles a two-score edge when he hit Rehmer with a long touchdown pass against tight coverage by Wolverines’ Max Csaszar.
“Just a great ball from the best quarterback in South Jersey,” Rehmer said.
For Woodstown, it was the first time new head coach Frank Trautz got the chance to see his team against outside competition, which meant the first time seeing quarterback Jack Holladay running the offense as the starter.
Holladay has been dreaming of being the starter since his freshman year. He takes the reins from his cousin, Max Webb. A year ago in spot quarterback duty he didn’t throw a pass and had two rushes.
His first pass of the day was intercepted, but he responded by going 7-for-7 on the next series, culminating in the first of three touchdown passes to Anthony Bokolas, and ultimately completed eight in a row. He was 11-of-15 with two touchdowns against Bridgeton and 18-of-28 with three touchdowns to Bokolas and three interceptions. He played the first series against Pennsville before giving way to the younger set.
“I’m really excited to see what Jack’s gonna do this year,” Trautz said. “He’s a great athlete. He’s got all the tools you want in a quarterback. He can make every throw. He’s a really good athlete, so he’s going to be able to help us out as well in the run game a little bit and he’s ready for this.
“He got a ton of reps last year in practice and already what I’ve seen from him early on in the summer is a lot of good stuff. This is a great opportunity for him today to get some live reps. I think the sky’s the limit for him. He could have a real special year.”
Pennsville and Woodstown aren’t scheduled to play during the regular season. so Saturday’s meeting will be the only time they play this season — unless, of course, they get matched up in the playoffs.
Cherokee won the tournament. The Chiefs’ Evan Bryfogle was the most valuable player.
Woodstown quarterback Jack Holladay looks for a receiver during Saturday’s 7×7 tournament at Total Turf. On the cover, Pennsville receiver Malik Rehmer goes is motion as quarterback Robbie McDade awaits the snap.
Pennsville hits four inside-the-park homers, wraps up pool play with rout of Bridgeton; Elmer wraps up its tournament with win over Buena
SATURDAY’S GAMES Pennsville 18, Bridgeton 1 Elmer 10, Buena 7
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BRIDGETON – The Pennsville Little League All-Stars already had their spot in the District 3 Final Four clinched before they took the field Saturday night, but they were determined not to take their foot off the gas.
Pennsville batted around in the top of the first and strung together eight straight two-out hits to produce six runs and had four inside-the-park homers among their 16 hits on the way to a 18-1 rout of Bridgeton in their final game of pool play.
“We came out swinging,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said. “We talked last game about how many looking third strikes we had and we wanted to stop that. They went up there aggressive and it helped.”
Pennsville, 3-1 in pool play, will host the opening round of the district Final Four at McLaughlin Field Monday and will play National 1 East Vineland (3-0) at 8 p.m. American 1 South Vineland (4-0) and Millville American (2-1) play the first game at 5:45 p.m.
JoJo Mannino and Nathan Breeden both went 3-for-3. Mannino had six RBIs and Breeden three. Mannino hit two of the inside-the-park homers, while Nathan Breeden and Nate Morrison had the others. Morrison, John Swiderski, Chase Pangle and Caleb Fontaine had two hits apiece.
Mannino went 4-for-8 with eight RBIs in the four pool games. Breeden went 5-for-9, Morrison 7-for-12 (with seven runs) and Swiderski 6-for-10. Morrison and Swiderski had at least one hit in every game.
Bridgeton retired the first two Pennsville hitters in the first, then the hit parade began. Swiderski got the ball rolling with a single and Mannino followed with an inside-the-park home run for a 2-0 lead.
Breeden and Pangle had back-to-back doubles (3-0), Fontaine an RBI triple then stole home (5-0) and Brayden Weatherbee, Lauden Tighe and Brayden Roberts had consecutive singles (6-0) before an infield out ended the inning.
“That just shows their heart and fight,” Pangle said. “They’re a no-quit team. They keep battling no matter how many outs there are, no matter what the situation is; they keep fighting. That showed in the first and third innings.
“Our first two hitters went down pretty quick – they were hard hit – and then our third batter was able to get the bat on the ball and it opened us up. Hitting is contagious and they fell in line and started hitting.”
Pennsville added five in the second with Breeden’s two-run triple the big blow. And they scored seventh in the third — again all with two outs – highlighted by back-to-back inside-the-park homers by Mannino (a three-run play) and Breeden.
“I’ve never seen that many legit inside-the-park home runs,” Pangle said. “To me the field looked smaller, so I thought we were going to not be able to take doubles and triples maybe, but the fielders were just having a hard time. They were jumping up instead of back and the ball would hit in front of them and roll all the way to the fence.”
ELMER 10, BUENA 7: Elmer scored four in the first inning and four in the fourth to open a 10-3 lead, then held off Buena’s sixth-inning comeback bid to win finish 2-2 for the tournament. They won their final two games after opening with a pair of tight losses to the division’s Final Four qualifiers.
Chase Moir went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Grayson Bingham had three hits and two RBIs. Brandon D’Agostino and winning pitcher Easton Aulffo had two hits apiece.
MONDAY’S GAMES (At Pennsville LL) South Vineland vs. Millville American, 5:45 p.m. East Vineland vs. Pennsville, 8 p.m. TUESDAY’S GAMES (At South Vineland LL) South Vineland-Millville American winner vs. East Vineland-Pennsville winner, 5:45 p.m. South Vineland-Millville American loser vs. East Vineland-Pennsville loser, 8 p.m.
