Worth the wait

UPDATED
Schalick, Weber post early, wait out the field, win team title and medalist in South Jersey Group I golf championship; Woodstown, Schermerhorn T-2

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I	At Cream Ridge GC
TEAM SCORES	INDIVIDUAL TOP 10
Schalick 349	Jaxon Weber, Schalick 82
Lower Cape May 358	Alex Sekela, Lower Cape May 83
Woodstown 358	Jacob Schermerhorn, Woodstown 83
Audubon 361	Lance Creighton, Schalick 85
Cape May Tech 369	Justin Walker, Cape May Tech 86
Pitman 376	Eric Coombs, Lower Cape May 88
Gateway 397	Joey Zubert, Pitman 88
Wildwood 497	Kyle Brainard, Woodstown 88
	Rocco Monteferrante, Audubon 88
	Chase Carr, Audubon 89
	Ryan Johnson, Schalick 89

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CREAM RIDGE – The hardest part was the waiting.

Jaxon Weber and the Schalick golf team did everything they thought they could in the morning wave of the South Jersey Group I Golf Championships to have a chance Tuesday, then had to wait for the rest of the field to finish to discover if it was good enough.

It was historically good enough.

Weber and the Cougars rose up the leaderboard steadily throughout the afternoon as several teams had trouble on Cream Ridge GC’s back nine and eventually claimed titles. The team came from as many as 12 shots back with six holes to play to win their first sectional title in more than 20 years by nine shots and Weber’s 10-over-par 82 won medalist honors by a stroke.

**Schalick sophomore sectional medalist Jaxon Weber (R) and top 5 finisher Lance Creighton pose with the sectional championship trophy.**

The Cougars went out early, posted a 349 team score and then waited …. and waited … and waited for nearly three hours as the rest of the field finished.

Some teams checked out. The Cougars hung around, got something to eat, chipped and putted and talked to the coaches about how nervous they were, all the time checking the scoring app on their phones for updates.

Even the searching created some anxious moments as there was a glitch in one of the contender’s groups and everyone had to wait for the physical scorecards to determine those results.

“It was terribly nerve-wracking,” Weber said. “I saw myself at the top and I was just, ‘Please, Lord, let me win and please, Lord, look down on us and help us with this.’ At the end He came through and He let us win and I’m super grateful.”

“It was really rough,” Cougars coach Sean Collins said. “It seemed like there were a lot of little twists. We were all checking our phones every minute, letting each other know what was happening as if the other person didn’t check their phone, too. I’ve been a part of other athletic events before and that was a very unique experience.”

The Cougars shot 349 as a team. In addition to Weber’s 41-41—82, they counted Lance Creighton’s 40-45—85 (fourth place), Ryan Johnson’s 45-44–89 (T-10) and Seth Fisher’s 45-48–93. Elijah Johnson shot 51-45–96.

Weber, a sophomore, got off to a rough start, going triple-double (8-5) right out of the box. He played the rest of the side even par with birdies at 5 and 6. He also was a little clunky coming home, playing the last four holes in 5-over with two double bogeys, and was two off the lead when he posted, but all the other contenders fell off on the back nine to bring him to the top.

“I came out the first two holes and didn’t really shoot the best and thought to myself I’ve got to pick it up from here,” Weber said. “I realized I couldn’t get out of my head because it was only two holes. I knew I had a lot of golf to play.

“I think today it was really keeping my cool after those first two holes. When I was a freshman I probably would’ve blown up and gotten angry at myself and probably would have taken myself out of the whole match. I feel like I’ve matured a lot over the past year and realized what golf is really about. It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.”

And the Cougars finished on top when it counted.

Woodstown finished tied for second with Lower Cape May (358). They were three shots better than fourth-place Audubon.

Wolverines senior Jacob Schermerhorn shared second individually with LCM’s Alex Sekela at 83. The Wolverines also counted long-hitting first-year player Kyle Brainard’s 48-40—88 (T-6), Jeffrey Covely’s 49-43–92 and Joe Olbrich’s 46-49–95. Max Webb shot 115.

Among the top three teams, Woodstown’s four counters played the back nine the best (173) and had a 12-shot differential between the front (185) and back (173).

“I was happy, I was definitely content,” coach Kieran Keyser said. “The goal is always to do a little bit better than the previous year, which we did, and that made it that much sweeter. It was a good day. I was happy with our guys and I’m looking forward to the last two weeks of the season to try to finish strong.”

And that would be the Salem/Cumberland County Championship and the Tri-County Championship, two events that will be played under some non-traditional tournament formats.

Oaks show mettle

Salem CC baseball falls in final home game, but effort against No. 1 team in country gives it confidence heading into playoffs

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — Sophomore Day for the Salem CC baseball team may have been the last home game for a group of second-year players who built the current culture of the program, but for the first time since the Mighty Oaks brought back the program it wasn’t their last game.

The Mighty Oaks gave top-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester all it wanted through six innings Monday, but the Roadrunners scored two in the seventh to hand the Oaks a 6-3 loss that marked the end of Salem’s regular season.

But unlike past years when the final game of the regular season was the final game, it’s not the end of the line for Mighty Oaks (26-23). They play their first Region XIX tournament game since 2011 Saturday as the No. 7 seed at second-seeded Northampton CC. Gloucester (41-7) clinched the No. 1 seed with the victory.

“This gives me a lot of confidence knowing that we can compete with the No. 1 team in country,” reliever Inaki Hutchinson said. “I feel really good going into the playoffs, especially against Northampton, who we didn’t play very well against when we played them in the beginning of the season, but we weren’t as big of a team and a brotherhood as we are now.”

“Today was like we really know we can compete and we didn’t put our best guys in there,” added centerfielder Demetrius DeRemus. The Oaks were missing several starters and regulars due to injury and exams.

The Oaks never led in the game, but were in it start to finish. They were locked in a scoreless tie through three innings and when they fell behind got within 3-2 and 4-3 before the seventh.

Gloucester struck first with three runs in fourth off an RBI single, three-base throwing error and sacrifice fly. Hutchinson came on to put out the fire and then pitched a scoreless fifth.

“Really all I was trying to do was attack the zone (and) let my guys make plays,” Hutchinson said. “All I was trying to do was pitch to contact basically until I got to two strikes and once it got to 2-2, 3-2, I was trying to K ‘em up.”

The plan was to give starter Ryan Silnik three innings with Hutchinson and John McAllister each getting two. Silnik had fewer than 40 pitches through the first three innings, so coach John Holt extended him into the fourth.

The Oaks got two of the runs back in the home fourth. Cole Dawson drew a bases-loaded walk and Jared Vandersteur was hit by a pitch for the 20th time this season, also with the bases loaded. It looked like they were going to get more, but Roadrunners centerfielder R.J. Mustaro flagged down DeRamus’ deep fly right center for the final out the Oaks’ outfielder was convinced was gone for a grand slam.

The Oaks left six runners in scoring position over the first five innings.

“That’s just baseball; that’s the nature of the beast,” Holt said. “Sometimes they fall for you, sometimes they don’t and they just didn’t for us today. We put together some solid at bats most of the day and that’s what we preach.”

Gloucester went up 4-3 in the sixth, but the Oaks answered in the bottom of the inning on Cole Dawson’s leadoff double and a throwing error on Vandersteur’s chopper to third. Vandersteur reached base all four times he came to the plate.

The Oaks recognized their eight sophomores after the game. Six of them played in the game, including all three pitchers. The others are Nick Cielsielka, Eli Real, Mike Ochmanski and pitchers Ben Foote and Aiden Ewe.

The group has been part of 40 wins — and counting — over the past two seasons and a school-record 15-game winning streak this season that guaranteed the Oaks a winning record and a spot in the playoffs.

“These guys were kind of the beginning of what we were trying to establish in regards to a culture,” Holt said. “These guys, they did a lot more than just (what happened) between the lines. They helped build that culture here and if this thing continues to grow the way we think it’s going to grow these guys are going to have a lot to say about where it came from.”

NOTES: The projected first-round tournament pairings are as follows: Salem-Northampton, Ocean-Brookdale, RCSJ Cumberland-Middlesex Gloucester has a first-round bye. Gloucester, Northampton and Brookdale are 1, 2 and 4, respectively, in this week’s JUCO Division III poll … If the Oaks win their first-round series, their second-round matchup is May 18-19. McAllister and Mighty Oaks softball outfielder Faith Penn have their wedding planned for May 18 … DeRamus was quite active in the outfield. He flagged down seven fly balls and almost threw out a runner at the plate in the seventh … With three more HBPs Monday, the Oaks now have 107, second nationally in JUCO Division III. Vandersteur is T-4 individually. Lee Rodriguez is T-9.

Cover photo: Salem CC recognized its eight baseball sophomores after Monday’s game with RCSJ-Gloucester.

Eagles win a big one

Monday roundup: Pennsville softball holds off Gloucester Catholic to tighten Classic Division race, includes details on Salem County’s sports day

SOFTBALL
Overbrook 19, Penns Grove 2
Pennsville 2, Gloucester Catholic 1
Schalick at Glassboro
Salem 16, Wildwood 8

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The Pennsville softball team hadn’t played a game in two weeks, but the Eagles came ready to play Monday.

The Eagles scored a big Tri-County Classic Division win when they beat Gloucester Catholic 2-1, handing the Rams their first loss in the division and pulling into a virtual tie for first place.

It was their first game since April 22. They have now won six in a row.

“I think it’s like riding a bike,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said, not expecting to see any rust after the layoff. “You get back on the bike. You generally always know how to ride a bike. It’s just like getting right back on. You pick it up.

“You still have to hit the ball. You still have to field the ball. You still have to throw the ball. All those basic things are still there and applying them and playing the game.”

Savannah Palverento and Sierra Stultz combined to spin a four-hitter. Palvereno worked the first five and a third. Stultz came on with one out and bases loaded in the sixth and struck out the first two batters she faced to get out of it. Then she retired the side in order in the seventh with a strikeout to end it.

“She was calm, cool and collected, like she always is,” Jackson said of Stultz. “She always has a smile on her face and just comes in and does the job as she’s asked to do. That’s all of them. They have to come in and they’re ready when their number’s called.

“The two of them together work great. They’re a good team. The two of them work well together.”

The Eagles struck first with a run in the first, Kylie Harris led off with a single, advanced when the Rams misplayed Palverento’s grounder and scored on Bella Farina’s ground out.

The Rams tied the game in the second on an infield out, then the Eagles took the lead for good on Lilly Birney’s two-out single in the third. Palverento doubled with one out, Farina walked and then Birney singled.

The Rams threatened in the fifth, putting two runners in scoring position, but left them stranded.

A Gloucester Catholic win would have just about wrapped up the Classic Division for the Rams. By winning, the Eagles came share the division crown if both teams win out.

Jackson purposely didn’t bring up the importance of the game before her team played, but she laid out the possibilities afterwards. The Eagles went into the week fifth in South Jersey Group I power points, but they’re expected to gain ground when the standings are adjusted.

“I didn’t really want to put that in their head,; I didn’t want them to have to worry about that,” she said. “They know the situation now. We still have a lot of division games left and anything can happen, but you just split with them. If you win the rest of them, this is what could happen.”

SALEM 16, WILDWOOD 8: Julliana Love has been red hot at the plate in her last four games. Over that stretch she has gone 14-for-17 with 11 runs, including a second straight 4-for-5 Monday against the Warrior.

Raegan Wilson went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and pitched a complete game with 13 strikeouts. Morgan Johnson went 5-for-5 and Gianna Pelura went 4-for-5.

OVERBROOK 19, PENNS GROVE 2: The Rams scored eight runs in the first inning.
.
BASEBALL
Overbrook 11, Penns Grove 0
Wildwood 14, Salem 2
Woodstown 7, Camden Academy Charter 1
Glassboro at Schalick, ppd.

WOODSTOWN 7, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 1: The Wolverines broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the third inning and five Woodstown pitchers combined to spin a two-hitter.

Andrew Pedrick had two doubles and two RBIs and Rocco String drove in a pair of runs. Starter Jack Holladay pitched three no-hit innings to get the win.

WILDWOOD 14, SALEM 2: The Warriors broke open the game with nine runs in the third inning. Jacob Parkell drove in the Rams’ two runs with a fifth-inning single. Andrew May and Ethan Logo had Salem’s other two hits.

OVERBROOK 11, PENNS GROVE 0: The Rams jumped out front with two runs in the first inning and then held the Red Devils to just one hit. Tommy Mattioli had Penns Grove’s hit.

BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Glassboro 0
Woodstown 4, Triton 1
Penns Grove at Clayton
Schalick at Bridgeton

PENNSVILLE 5, GLASSBORO 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Rowan Somdhal-Sans, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Jesus Lopez, 6-1, 6-0
Ian Peacock (P) def. Kliche Umbafu, 6-2, 6-3
Sawyer Humphrey-Carter Willis (P) won by forfeit
Locklann Hooks-Matthew Forino (P) won by forfeit
Records: Glassboro 0-11, Pennsville 13-1.

WOODSTOWN 4, TRITON 1
Steve Schilder (T) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-4, 6-3
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Tristyn Malone, 6-4, 7-5
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. William Ahrens, 6-4, 6-2
Ben Stengel-Mason Shimp (Wo) def. Cole Durham-Sean Gorski, 7-5, 6-0
Luke Shaw-Jason LaFond (Wo) def. Tirth Patel-Shrey Modi, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 9-1, Triton 6-8.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-16, 25-14)

This week’s schedule

Here is the sports schedule for Salem County high school and college teams for the week of May 6-11; all events 4 p.m. unless noted

Monday

COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem at Wildwood
Woodstown at Camden Academy Charter
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Schalick at Glassboro
Wildwood at Salem
GOLF
GCIT vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Triton, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton
Schalick at Bridgeton
TRACK
Penns Grove at Overbrook
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Triton at Salem Tech

Tuesday

BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
Schalick at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Triton
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
GOLF
Schalick, Woodstown in NJSIAA Sectionals, Cream Ridge GC
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
Cumberland at Woodstown
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddon Twp., 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday

BASEBALL
Overbrook at Woodstown
Salem at Clayton
Schalick at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Schalick
Wildwood at Pennsville
Woodstown at Overbrook
GOLF
Cumberland girls vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Northern Burlington boys vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 4:15 p.m.
Middle Twp. vs. Pennsville, Sakima GC, 4:30 p.m.
TRACK
Salem County Championships, Salem, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Delsea at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 3:45 p.m.
Clayton at Schalick
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 6 p.m.

Thursday

BASEBALL
Woodstown vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Salem
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Clayton
Woodstown vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
GOLF
Salem Tech, Pennsville, Clayton at The Birches, 3:45 p.m.
Timber Creek vs. Woodstown, Town & Country GC, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick vs. Deptford, Pitman GC
BOYS TENNIS
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
Williamstown at Penns Grove
GIRLS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown

Friday

BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Clayton
Woodstown at Salem
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Overbrook
Salem at Woodstown
Wildwood at Penns Grove
GOLF
Woodbury vs. Pennsville, Sakima GC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown
BOYS TENNIS
GCIT at Pennsville
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 3:45 p.m.

Saturday

COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region XIX Tournament
(All doubleheaders starting at noon)
Salem CC at Northampton
RCSJ-Cumberland at Middlesex
Ocean at Brookdale
(Game 3, if necessary, Sunday, noon)
BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament
Woodstown vs. Camden Catholic, 10 a.m.
Paulsboro vs. Cherry Hill East, 10 a.m.
Consolation game, noon
Championship game, noon
GIRLS LACROSSE
Lower Cape May at Woodstown, 10 a.m.

One more to go

UPDATED

It still has one game to play, but Salem CC will be on the road in the first round of Region XIX baseball playoffs, likely to play Northampton

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The rain wiped out the second game of Salem CC’s regular-season-ending doubleheader with RCSJ-Gloucester Saturday, turning Monday’s rescheduled game a potentially big one for the Mighty Oaks’ Region XIX Division III playoff seeding.

The Oaks dropped Game 1 of the scheduled doubleheader 21-1, but the second one never got started. The game will be made up 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex and must be completed by Tuesday. If the Oaks win, they could move up a spot in the seedings.

Salem currently holds the No. 7 seed in the seven-team field, but if Ocean gets swept in its final two games with Camden Sunday, a Mighty Oaks win over the top-ranked Roadrunners would vault them to No. 6 by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over Ocean.

A No. 7 seed would send them to No. 2 Northampton in the opening-round best-of-3 series, while a No. 6 seed would send them to No. 3 Brookdale. Gloucester is the No. 1 seed by virtue of its 26-3 (.897) region-eligible record and a no contest ruling on Bergen pulling out of its series with Northampton, which finishes at 23-4 (.851).

“I guess we can kind of determine who’re going to play,” Salem coach John Holt said.

Right now, it looks like this: 1. x-RCSJ-Gloucester 26-3, 2. Northampton 23-4, 3. Brookdale 23-7, 4. Middlesex 18-12, 5. RCSJ-Cumberland 17-13, 6. y-Ocean 14-14, 7. x-Salem 13-16. x-1 game remaining vs. each other, y-2 games remaining vs. Camden

If these standings hold, the playoff series would be Salem-Northampton, Ocean-Brookdale, RCSJ Cumberland-Middlesex. RCSJ Gloucester has a first-round bye.

When it comes to making projections and preferences, Holt takes the Charlie Manuel approach.

“I’m not gonna put the cart in front of the horse yet,” he said. “I’ll worry about it when we know who we’re going to play.”

In the only game the Mighty Oaks played Saturday, freshman left-hander Sean Kelby pitched the first five innings Holt explained “to get him his innings to prep him for next week.”

The second game was going to see Ryan Silnik for the first three innings, Inaki Hutchinson for two and John McAllister for two. The pitching plan for Monday, Holt said, “probably won’t stray too far from that.”

“It’s baseball,” Holt said. “We’ve got to finish out the season, we want to try to win the game, but we also, at the end of the day, want to make sure everybody’s healthy and ready to go for the weekend.

“The good thing is I think we’ve got our pitching lined up to where it’s supposed to be and with the situations and scores and opponents we’ve had we’ve been able to give everybody some playing time to kind of sharpen up. This last one, granted, we don’t take the field to lose, but it doesn’t have a lot of bearing on where we’re at right now.”

Fighting to the end

Salem CC’s record softball season ends in hard-fought Region XIX tournament loss to eventual runner-up Mercer

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s games
Mercer CC 10, Salem CC 8
Mercer CC 13, Delaware Tech 6
Championship game
Delaware Tech 11, Mercer CC 9
NOTE: Delaware Tech plays at Region X runnerup Bryant & Stratton (Va.); Mercer CC plays at Region X champion Louisburg (N.C.).

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST WINDSOR – Midnight came to Cinderella a little before noon Saturday.

The Salem CC softball team literally gave host Mercer CC all it could handle for the second day in a row but it took a sixth-inning rally for the top-seeded Vikings to put the relentless Mighty Oaks away.

Mercer fired the last salvo in a back-and-forth game, scoring two runs in the sixth inning to hand Salem a 10-8 loss in the Region XIX semifinals and bring to an end a record-setting season for the Mighty Oaks.

The Mighty Oaks shut out Mercer in the opening game of the tournament and held leads of 1-0, in the first inning, 4-3 in the third and 8-5 in the fifth Saturday; in fact, they held leads in all three of their tournament games. But the Vikings, the eventual tournament runner-ups, answered every time before taking the lead for good in the sixth.

“We definitely fought hard, we definitely pushed until the end; we just fell short at the end,” freshman catcher Callie Rozak said. “We scored just as much or more runs than they did, but in the end just came up a little short.”

“They underestimated us throughout the whole season I wanted to prove a point,” centerfielder Karyn Trice said. “I know everyone wanted to prove a point. I hoped we would come out on top, but we played hard and I think we really made a name for ourselves.”

The Oaks’ first three batters of the game all singled with Courtney Hoggard giving them a 1-0 lead. In the third inning Vaye Savage doubled home a run and two more scored on Rozak’s liner that hit hard off pitcher Shea Krebs’ upper body, was fielded in the infield and then thrown into foul territory.

The took their 8-5 lead in the fifth on a pair of two-run homers by Savage and Rozak. It was Rozak’s third homer in three tournament games (10 at-bats). The freshman catcher had hit only one during the regular season.

“The biggest thing is my swing,” Rozak said. “This past week we broke it down, we really changed it, we really harnessed all the power that I had and we put it into one nice full swing. I definitely think this year was me finding my power towards the end of the year. I’ve had base hits, I’ve had one other home run this year, but never like, OK, I’m consistently hitting it, we’re getting the ball out.”

The three-run lead left them nine outs away from a trip to the region championship round and a guaranteed berth in the Atlantic District playoffs next week at the Region X representatives.

But Mercer wanted a piece of that, too. The Vikings tied it with three in the bottom of the inning sixth on a two-run homer by Maya Patel and a throwing error trying to complete an inning-ending bases-loaded double play.

Hoggard made another nice stop at the third base bag on a hot shot, but instead of stepping on the base and firing home for a tag, she went home with the throw. Rozak took a short hop for the force, then fired on to first, but her throw sailed past Savage and into right field allowing the tying run to score.

“I definitely knew it was coming forward,” Rozak said. “We just had a time out about it and everybody was saying ‘4 then 1 (home then first base). That throw definitely was a throw I got nervous about because it was bouncy, the turf is hard and it bounced right before my glove and I was like I’ve just got to catch this ball, that’s all I have to do, I have to make this out.

“I probably shouldn’t have made the throw (to first). In my head I was like ‘hold it, hold it,’ and in the back of my head hearing everyone yelling ‘1, 1, 1,’ I thought maybe I still had a chance.”

The Vikings scored their two go-ahead runs on an RBI double by Cierra Acevedo that fell squarely on the right-field foul line and a sacrifice fly by Patel after both hitters fouled off a pair of 0-2 pitches from Morgan Mecham.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We played our best yesterday and they (Mercer) were going to be hungry coming out and wanting to make a difference. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“They did everything that we asked. They came into a week where they were the true underdogs and they battled. It didn’t come out our way – that’s softball – but they did everything we could ask.”

There were expectedly tears and hugs in the Mighty Oaks’ post-game huddle, but there also was a lot of pride in what the team showed this season in its second year back on the field and in the tournament.

The Mighty Oaks had a 30-win season, opened their new home at Pennsville’s Watson Field with a 14-game winning streak, went 18-2 at home, had a 19-game overall winning streak and won its first playoff game in school history.

“The biggest thing was how well we came together as a team,” Rozak said. “Coming from everywhere around the country, the world, and coming together as one and being there for each other, that’s a huge part of this game.”

“We had something to prove since Day One,” Trice said. “Since we’re a second-year program nobody thought we could do it and I’m just glad we put our name out there. We really showed what Salem’s all about. That’s what makes it so special to me, we’re a second-year program and doing all these things.”

**Salem CC catcher Callie Rozak gets the crown at home plate after her third homer of the tournament gave the Mighty Oaks an 8-5 lead over top-seeded Mercer in Saturday’s Region XIX semifinal game.**

Friday roundup

Top-ranked team in JUCO Division III ends Salem CC baseball’s 15-game winning streak; Salem High softball wins big, Rams’ baseball falls

By Riverview Sports News

SEWELL – The Salem CC baseball team’s 15-game winning streak came to an end Friday as No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester scored seven runs over the first three innings and handed the Mighty Oaks an 8-2 defeat.

The Oaks (26-21) scored a run in the top of the first that the Roadrunners answered in the bottom of the inning. The hosts then scored four in the second.

The Oaks still have won 18 of their last 20 and are still guaranteed a winning season. The series concludes with a doubleheader Saturday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex that will mark the end of the regular season.

HIGH SCHOOLS
BASEBALL
OVERBROOK 14, SALEM 4: Mike Rosano had two hits and three RBIs from the leadoff spot and Overbrook took control with six runs in the first inning.
Chase Pompper, Caleb Clair and Ethan Longo had Salem’s hits. Terrell Robinson had an RBI.

SOFTBALL
SALEM 23, LEAP 5: Kyla Henderson went 5-for-5 with three doubles and four RBIs and the Rams got hits from every player in the boxscore. Eleven of the Rams’ 27 hits were doubles.

The top five batters in the Rams’ lineup were a combined 19-for-22 with 16 RBIs. Julliana Love had four hits and four RBIs, Raegan Wilson was 4-for-4 with two RBIs, Morgan Johnson and Ava Ortiz both had three hits and three RBIs.

Cimiyyia Corbin had two hits and three RBIs and Destiny Carr had two hits and two RBIs.

The Rams already had a 4-0 lead, then broke it open with 11 in the second.

Mighty hungry

Salem CC stuns Mercer in Region XIX softball tournament, then falls to Delaware Tech in winners bracket, but still alive for title

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
At Mercer County CC
Friday’s games
Salem CC 6, Mercer CC 0
Delaware Tech 6, Lackawanna 5
Delaware Tech 9, Salem CC 3
Mercer CC 8, Lackawanna 0
Saturday’s games
Salem CC vs. Mercer CC, 10 a.m.
Salem-Mercer winner vs. Delaware Tech, noon
If necessary, 2 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST WINDSOR — For the past couple weeks the Salem CC softball team has been living by the motto ‘Schlay the day.’ The Mighty Oaks certainly ‘schlayed’ the first part of their day Friday and slayed a giant in the process.

In clearly their biggest win since the rebirth of the program and probably the biggest in its history, the fourth-seeded Oaks stunned top-seeded Mercer 6-0 in the opening round of the Region XIX Tournament.

They dropped their winners bracket game to Delaware Tech 9-3, but still have a chance to earn a spot in the district round against Region X. The Oaks (31-13) will have a rematch with Mercer (38-6) Saturday at 10 a.m. for a berth in the championship game where the winner and runnerup both advance to the next stage of the playoffs, but they’ll have to win three games to take the title.

“We’re in a good spot,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We won a playoff game. That’s our story.

“We’re a new team in a position that hasn’t been here in our history and in program history and these three teams have a history of being here and knowing what it takes, having a good idea. We have nothing to lose. We’re going to keep battling and we’re going to keep working. We’re excited. We’re to come out here and whoever we have to face we’re looking to get the job.”

The Oaks stunned the field in the tournament opener. This was the same Mercer team that swept them with two run-rule shutouts and allowed just one hit 10 days ago, but the Oaks didn’t look intimidated in the least. They turned the tables by being aggressive at the plate and Caitlin LaGreca (and later Morgan Mecham) confounding the Vikings with her changeup from in the circle.

‘We were very confident from the start,’ said catcher Callie Rozak, whose three-run homer in the sixth inning was the gamebreaker in the win. ‘We put in a lot of hard work these last three days — live pitching, at bats, approaches, really getting the basics down so going in we have seen this, done this, let’s just put it in action.

‘It’s a big upset. We came in here and you’re counting us out already – a lot teams were – and we shut them out.”

Emilie Hamm’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave the Oaks the lead. It remained a tight game until the sixth when the Oaks scored five runs. Rozak delivered the big blow in and Kiki Beukman hit a solo shot two batters later.

‘Coach Angel (Rodriguez) pulled me aside right before that and said we just need a hard hit, something to go through,’ Rozak said. ‘So I hit that one and I was like that felt good. Once we got that hit it really shut down their energy.’

LeGreca can’t remember pitching a better game. The Vikings are a team that likes to hit hard pitching and LaGreca kept them off-balance all day with her change, thanks in large part to lowering the pitch’s trajectory after studying film of the last time she faced them.

‘We really needed that win,’ LeGreca said. ‘We were voted the underdog and hungry dogs run faster.’

Where have we heard that before, Jason Kelce?

From her vantage point behind the plate, Rozak said LaGreca was ‘amazing’ and painted the outside corner ‘perfectly.’

‘It was definitely an exciting pitch, that’s for sure,’ Rozak said.

It was only the second time this season the Vikings had been shutout and the first time since they returned from their early-season trip to Myrtle Beach. The only hit they got was Abby Bell’s two-out single through the box in the second inning. They had six base runners and only two into scoring position. Third baseman Courtney Hoggard made two nice stabs at the bag to keep the gem alive.

“For us this meant a lot,” Rodriguez said. “This is something we’ve had our eyes on since we started the program: What are we doing to get to the playoffs and how can we win a playoff game.

“Last year we came up short, had the play-in, didn’t work out in our favor. Today just proves to us as coaches and players that we can get it done, that we are a good team, we deserve to be here and they earned that. Hashtag why not us.”

The Oaks were still riding the high of their opening-game win when they jumped out 2-0 in the first inning of their second game. But Del Tech took control with a six-run second inning that featured a three-run double, an RBI double and a two-run homer from consecutive batters.

“We did a better job than the first time around; we hit the ball hard, we just couldn’t find any open areas,” Rodriguez said.

The Oaks had five hits against Del Tech. Rozak hit her second homer of the day in the fourth inning and made the score 7-3.

Cover photo: The Salem CC softball players storm the field after upsetting top-seeded Mercer CC in the opening round of the Region XIX Tournament.

Pedal to the metal

Salem CC baseball keeps foot on the gas, blanks Lehigh Carbon to win 15th in a row, guarantee winning season

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – With their first playoff berth in 13 years safely tucked in their back pocket, the Salem CC baseball team played a game without pressure for the first time in about two months and looked like it.

The Mighty Oaks played loose and active Thursday. They pounded out 15 hits, three pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout and the defense played a clean game in the field as they crushed Lehigh Carbon CC 12-0.

The win was their 15th in a row and 18th in their last 19 games. It also guaranteed the Oaks (26-20) a winning season.

“It was fun, but we still owed these guys a little something (from) the first two games of the series,” catcher Angel Velez said. “We had them on the calendar for a while.

“It felt good, it felt really good. The last couple weeks we had a goal, we’ve been trying to hit it, and now that we’ve hit it, it’s like the weight’s off your shoulders.”

The Oaks clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 when they swept a doubleheader from Anne Arundel on the road Tuesday. It’s been a long road back – at one point this team was 8-19 – but even with a main goal secured they didn’t take their foot off the gas.

Eight of the nine spots in the lineup got at least one hit.

“I tried to enforce to them that regardless of where we are nothing needs to change yet,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “At the end of the day the goal is a lot more than just getting into the playoffs. These guys have really bought into the premise of what we’re trying to do here. Just because we made the playoffs, I don’t want that to be the end game for us. I want them to continue to feel that grind and continue to push through.

“That’s kind of hard sometimes when you go through the grind that they had to just to get into the playoffs. Some of them can see that as the finish line and that’s not where we’re at.”

Velez and Demetrius DeRamus led the offense. Velez went 4-for-4 with an RBI. DeRamus went 3-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. Nick Ciesielka and Cole Dawson both had a pair of hits.

Even guys who hadn’t been around for a while contributed. Chris Kelly played in his first game since March 10 (broken hand) and delivered a pinch single in the sixth inning.

Velez is 24-for-46 (.522) with nine multi-hit games during the winning streak. DeRamus is 30-for-69 (.435) with 29 RBIs during the turnaround.

“I got with Coach Z (Justin Zbikowski) and we both agreed to just start slapping the ball, not trying to do too much,” Velez said. “A feel like in the beginning I was trying to do too much in my swing. Down in Myrtle, it was rough down there, so I feel like I figured out when we came back just learn how to hit my pitch, hunt the fastball, keep catching barrels and I’ve been doing that.”

Hard-throwing starter Aiden Ewe allowed one hit and struck out seven over the first innings. Mike Ochmanski and Matt Decker each pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout. The Cougars only had three runners reach scoring position.

The Oaks jumped out front with two runs in the first inning. DeRamus sliced an RBI triple into right field and scored on J.D. Wilson’s double. They added two more in the fourth on Eli Real’s two-run single.

They broke it open with seven runs in the fifth. Eleven batters came to the plate. Two runs scored when the Cougars misplayed Velez’ single in the outfield and he later scored on a wild pitch. Dawson had a two-run single, Ciesielka singled home a run and DeRamus produced his sacrifice fly.

Lee Rodriguez plated the Oaks’ final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

“I’ve been playing a lot looser lately and I see it in everyone else,” DeRamus said. “We’re just hungrier because we really wanted to make it to the playoffs. There were a lot of technical things a lot of us cleaned up on and it’s been really showing. I know earlier in the season I was just so frustrated, but lately it’s just letting the ball come in deeper and trusting my hands.”

The Mighty Oaks return to action Friday to start a three-game series with RCSJ-Gloucester, a potential playoff opponent, that wraps the regular season. The series and Oaks’ regular season wraps with a home doubleheader Saturday.

“We’ll try to make a statement,” Velez said. “Try to take at least a game, let them know (they’re going to be a factor) and try to knock them down a seed. They want us bad, we want it more. They don’t want to lose to us.”

Where the elite meet

Six Salem County athletes score top eight finishes at the NIKE SJTCA Elite Meet

By Riverview Sports News

FRANKLINVILLE – Four from Salem led a group of six Salem County athletes who scored top eight finishes at the Nike SJTCA Elite Meet at Delsea High School Thursday.

Three Salem girls posted PRs in their events. Anna Buzby finished sixth in the 400 hurdles (1:05.42). Dominique Lewis was fifth in the shot (37.4) and Rhionna Timmons was eighth in the long jump (17-0.75).

Timmons also PR’d in the 100 (12.62, ninth) and 200 (26.65). Lewis finished in the top 20 in the discus and javelin; Buzby was top 20 in the 400 and 800, and Karima Davenport-White was 12th in the long. Davenport-White committed to Coppin State easlier in the week.

Buzby (800) and Timmons (200 and long jump) sit atop the South Jersey Group I rankings in their events. Davenport-White is third in the long jump and second in the 100.

“They stepped up and competed against some of the best runners, not only in New Jersey, but in the country,” Salem head coach David Hunt said.

On the boys side, Salem’s DaviYonn Jackson finished fifth in the triple jump (44-7.50). Woodstown’s Cole Lucas was sixth in the 800 (1:58.89), improving six spots on the final lap. And Pennsville’s Connor Ayars was seventh in the javelin (152-7).

“It was a great day overall,” Salem assistant coach Spencer Jarrett said. “The heat really helped open up a lot of things for PRs. Most of the kids were going against some of the best in South Jersey from all groups and we got a lot of top 10 finishes and a lot of movement in the rankings in South Jersey Group I.”