Author: almusky

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 7-13; games start at 4 p.m. unless noted; games subject to weather conditions

APRIL 7
BASEBALL
LEAP at Salem
Schalick at Haddon Heights
Woodstown at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Woodstown
Salem at Deptford
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Williamstown, Scotland Run GC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Cumberland, Running Deer GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Wildwood, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Wildwood
Schalick at West Deptford, River Winds TC
TRACK
Gloucester Catholic, Wildwood at Salem
GIRLS LACROSSE
West Deptford at Woodstown
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Kingsway

APRIL 8
BASEBALL
Clayton at Schalick
Pennsville at Overbrook
Woodstown at Wildwood
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Pennsville
Schalick at Clayton
Woodstown at Wildwood
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Clayton, The Birches, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Running Deer GC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Pitman, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Cumberland, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Kingsway, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Glassboro at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Pennsville
Schalick at Overbrook, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Northampton CC at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Sussex County CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 9
SOFTBALL
Woodstown at Maple Shade
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Triton, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Kingsway, Centeron CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Delsea at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick
Timber Creek at Penns Grove
GIRLS LACROSSE
Kingsway at Woodstown
VOLLEYBALL
Triton at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Northampton CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 10
BASEBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Overbrook
Woodstown at Gloucester City
SOFTBALL
Gloucester City at Woodstown
Overbrook at Schalick
Pennsville at Clayton
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Salem at Pitman
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. OLMA, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Overbrook, Sakima CC
Woodstown vs. Cumberland, Running Deer, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Triton at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Vineland at Schalick
TRACK
Salem at Clayton
Woodstown at Cherokee Challenge
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Holy Spirit
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Howard CC at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 11
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Haddon Heights
SOFTBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
Haddon Heights at Woodstown
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Clayton
Woodstown at Highland, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Moorestown Friends
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddon Heights at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Camden CC at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 12
BASEBALL
Schalick vs. Triton, 10 a.m.
Salem at Gloucester City, 10 a.m.
Schalick-Triton winner vs. Gloucester-Salem winner, 1 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsauken Tech, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Haddon Heights, 2:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Holy Spirit, 11:30 a.m.
TRACK
Pennsville, Salem, Schalick girls at West Deptford, 9 a.m.
Schalick at Bridgeton Relays, 9 a.m.
Woodstown at Father Judge Invitational
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Camden CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, noon

APRIL 13
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Orange County CC, noon

High school Saturday

Here are results of Salem County teams in softball and track events around the area Saturday

SOFTBALL

MILLVILLE – Pennsville went 2-1 in the Ron Vinick/Millville Tournament, scoring a pair of two-run wins over Oakcrest.

The Eagles wrapped 9-7 and 8-6 wins around a 7-5 loss to Millville.

Kylie Harris had two hits and two RBIs in the 9-7 Oakcrest game. Graillyn Weber went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the 8-6 Oakcrest game. Savannah Palverento had two hits and two RBIs in the loss to Millville.

TRACK
(Top 4 finishes)

DEPTFORD SPARTAN RELAYS
DEPTFORD — Pennsville’s Connor Ayars won the boys javelin in the Deptford Spartans Relays.

BOYS
400 Hurdles: 3. Anthony Parker, Salem, 57.71
4×100: 3. Salem, 44.16
4×110 Shuttle Hurdle: 4. Salem, 1:10.06
4×200: 4. Salem, 1:34.36
Sprint Medley: 4. Salem, 3:57.27
Long Jump: 3. Will Roy, Penns Grove, 19-9.5
Triple Jump: 2. Bryan Garlic, Penns Grove, 41-11.75
Javelin: 1. Connor Ayars, Pennsville, 162-0; 3. Wyatt Irvine, Salem, 142-0
Shot Put: 4. Raymond Brown, Penns Grove, 42-9.75
GIRLS
800 Sprint Medley: 4. Pennsville, 2:01.35
Pole Vault: 2. Megan Morris, Pennsville, 10-0

JIM CAMBURN MEMORIAL RELAYS
BUENA – Schalick’s boys and girls swept the team titles at the Jim Camburn Memorial Relays.

The Cougars boys scored 95 points and edged Atlantic County Teach by two points in their standings. The girls posted 122 points and were 45 points ahead of runnerup Vineland.

DIVISION I
BOYS
4×100: 1. Schalick (Ethan McLean, Jermaine Loney, Nyzier Wynder, Sheldon Goldsborogh), 49.93
4×100: 1. Schalick (Reggie Allen, Levin Feeney Childers, Zaeshawn Mills, David Stewart), 43.80
4×200: 2. Schalick (Kenneth Bartee, Zaeshawn Mills, Jase Volovar, Roneem Thomas), 1:36.55
4×400: 1. Schalick (Reggie Allen, Jacob Carter, Steve Chomo, David Stewart), 3:29.51
4×800: 1. Schalick (Joshua Weiner, Connor Jackson, John Egan, Giovanni Granato), 14:33.19
4×800: 1. Schalick (Chase Riley, Salvatore Longo, Hunter Dragotta, Steve Chomo), 13:20.65
1600 Sprint Medley: 2. Schalick (Jase Volovar, Zaeshawn Mills, Dylan Sheehan, Collin Bittle), 4:01.00
1600 Sprint Medley: 1. Schalick (Kenneth Bartee, Griffin Botticello, Chase Riley, Chase Walker), 4:13.43
Distance Medley: 3. Schalick (Salvatore Longo, Steve Chomo, Chase Riley, Jacob Carter), 11:48.17
4×110 Shuttle Hurdle: 1. Schalick, 1:13.93
Long Jump: 1. Zaeshawn Mills, Schalick, 20-1; 3. David Steart, Schalick, 19-6.5
Discus: 1. Nicholas Ashwell, Schalick, 93-5; 4. Jermaine Loney, Schalick, 80-4
Discus: 2. Ethan McLean, Schalick, 130-11
Javelin: 1. Nyzier Wynder, Schalick, 135-1; 2. Dylan Sheehan, Schalick, 121-10
Javelin: 1. Gary Simonini, Schalick, 125-0; 2. Jermaine Loney, Schalick, 119-5
GIRLS
400 Hurdles: 2. Ava Scurry, Schalick, 1:18.86
4×100: 1. Schalick (JeRae Allen, Athena Eberl, Lucky Virga, Ranae Scurry), 57.33
4×100: 3. Schalick (Phoebe Alward, Jaelynn Jarmon, Gia Martellacci, Caileigh Schalick), 52.05
4×200: 4. Schalick (Bella Cittadini, Angelia Deaver, Lailani Hernandez, Ortiz Sanchez), 2:14.84
4×200: 2. Schalick (Sophia Harris, Caileigh Schalick, Gia Martellacci, Phoebe Alward), 1:52.33
4×400: 3. Schalick (Sophia Harris, Gia Martellacci, Jadalyn Guzman, Lucy Virga), 4:32.52
4×800: 2. Schalick (Jordan Hadfield, Caylen Taylor, Sarah Torpey, Emma O’Neill), 11:12.64
1600 Sprint Medley: 1. Schalick (Phoebe Alward, Jaelynn Jarmon, Gia Martellacci, Jordan Hadfield), 4:26.65
Distance Medley: 1. Schalick (Jordan Hadfield, Helen Lillia, Sophia Harris, Sarah Torpey), 13:57.79
4×100: 3. Schalick (Athena Eberl, Allyson Green, Piper Warner, Ava Scurry), 1:17.73
Triple Jump: 1. Jaelynn Jarmon, Schalick, 33-7
Discus: 1. Allyson Green, Schalick, 89-1; 3. Sebrina Bradford, Schalick, 83-7
Javelin: 1. Olivia Sacerdote, Schalick, 93-2; 2. Allyson Green, Schalick, 92-7

DELAWARE INVITATIONAL
NEWARK, Del. – Woodstown’s boys finished 10th and the girls 11th.

BOYS
400: 2. Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 49.78
800: 4. Cole Lucas, Woodstown, 1:59.89
4×400: 3 Woodstown (Josh Crawford, Karson Chew, Kyle Reitz, Cole Lucas), 3:26.56
2000 Steeplechase: 4. David Farrell, Woodstown, 7:18.61
GIRLS
2000 Steeplechase: 1, Samantha Sterner, Woodstown, 8:17.28; 2. Anabel Schaal, Woodstown, 9:05.52

Salem CC Saturday

Mighty Oaks win another baseball series with doubleheader split, solidly hold onto third in region standings; softball swept by Mercer

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 5-8, Middlesex 8-6
Mercer 6-4, Delaware Tech 0-3
RCSJ-Gloucester 20-8, Montgomery 2-7
RCSJ-Cumberland 4-12, Northampton 3-3
Brookdale 12, Bergen 1
Camden 14-13, Delaware County 2-6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — A wise young philosopher named after a comfort food once proclaimed to the world that two out of three ain’t bad. For baseball teams that aspire to contend for a championship in one of the toughest leagues on their level in the country that’s really not a bad formula to follow.

Salem CC won Game 2 of Saturday’s Region 19 doubleheader with No. 11 Middlesex 8-6 to split the twinbill and take two of three in the weekend series. It’s the fourth straight region series the Mighty Oaks have won this season and second in a row they’ve followed Meat Loaf’s lead and taken two out of three by winning the Saturday nightcap.

Like the man said, ain’t bad. The Mighty Oaks (14-16, 10-5) are now third in the Region 19 Division III standings behind two top 10 rivals with a mid-week home-and-home against No. 4 Northampton on the horizon.

“One of the goals for the year was to get into the polls, that we felt we were a team that was good enough to get some national recognition,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “Winning two out of three against a team like (Middlesex) hopefully gets us that.

“The goal is to win it, try to win a conference (title) or win the region. Two out of three every weekend gets us closer to that.”

On top of sweeping the teams they should be beating, of course, and they’ve done that, too, this season.

The Mighty Oaks were a lot sharper in Game 2 than they were in the losing the opener 8-5 against 6-foot-7 Colts righthander Ryan Rzepinski.

They led the nightcap 6-3 before the Colts tied it on Josh Rodriguez’ three-run double in the fifth. Tyler Hacker broke the tie in the bottom of the inning when he scored from second on a wild pitch and the catcher’s throw to get him at third went down the line. Hacker started the inning with a seeing-eye single through the infield and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

“When you go up to warmup in the beginning of the inning you look to see what the pitcher’s doing, feel him out, and a lot of the balls he was spiking,” Hacker said. “In my AB he spiked a lot of balls so (on the bases) I was looking for the ball down and took advantage.

“When you’re playing for your team, doing the right thing, runs like that happen. Things like that happen.”

Sean McCormick kept the Colts at bay with another solid relief appearance. Last Saturday he struck out the side in order in the top of the eighth to give the Mighty Oaks a chance to beat Montgomery in the bottom of the inning. This week, he put the fire out in the sixth by striking out the first batter he faced after relieving starter Pat Seitzinger on three 85-86 mph pitches and closed it out with only a little drama in the seventh.

“It’s definitely stressful dealing with the fact one wrong move they win the game or they get the lead,” McCormick said. “But as coach Holt tells me every time I go out don’t be scared, trust your stuff, go how you throw and you’ll be okay. You have to trust your stuff.”
 
Demetrius DeRamus homered in each game for the Mighty Oaks. Both blasts led off innings. The one in the nightcap, with an angry swing in the sixth inning after going hitless in his previous three at-bats, gave them an 8-6 lead.

It went out in left and looked to be even deeper than the two-run shot he hit in the 11th inning to tie the RCSJ-Cumberland nightcap before they won it in the 12th.

“Just trying to hit something hard as I could,” he said. “I was literally working on the tee with Yen (Rodriguez) right before the game on that very pitch, the inside pitch. I’ve been getting hung up a lot, tight inside or I’m just missing it and coming a little above the ball, so we were working on trying to get down, trying to stay tight.”

ACORNS: McCormick also starts and is being considered for the Wednesday assignment against Northampton. As a starter he’s 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA, as a reliever 2-1 with a 6.94. “Seth is Seth,” Holt said. “He’s going to do a little bit of everything” … First baseman Lee Rodriguez suffered a painful hamstring injury stretching for a throw in the first game. Several of the players went out to check on him and assist him to the trainer’s tent and Holt was impressed with the way they attended to their teammate. McCormick went in for him … Matt Murphy followed his big game in the opener by going 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the doubleheader. He reached base in seven of his eight plate appearances and the one time he didn’t he still drove in a run.

REGION 19 DIVISION IIIREGALL
RCSJ-Gloucester16-027-2
Brookdale14-321-4
SALEM CC10-514-16
Camden10-517-7
Middlesex10-722-12
RCSJ-Cumberland9-715-12
Northampton9-815-13
Montgomery8-88-8
Union4-127-14
Ocean3-105-16
Bergen1-123-18
Delaware County0-161-20-1

Softball: Big innings, HRs
do in Mighty Oaks

REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Mercer 11-14, Salem CC 8-5
Delaware Tech 9-9, Lackawanna 1-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 7-6, Northampton 6-5

PENNSVILLE – Once-beaten Mercer CC used a seven-run inning in each game and the long ball in the nightcap to sweep the Mighty Oaks 11-8 and 14-5.

The Vikings (17-1) scored seven runs in the second inning of the opener and led 10-0 after batting in the third, then held off Salem’s comeback bid. They scored seven in the fifth inning of the nightcap and scored 10 runs in the final two innings to complete the sweep.

The Mighty Oaks cut their Game 1 deficit in half with five runs in the home third, highlighted by Jocelyn Melendez’ two-run single. They added two more in the sixth on Chantelle Haskie’s RBI single and Bella Rappa’s sacrifice fly.

They continued to apply pressure and had the tying run at the plate twice in the seventh inning, but ended up getting only one run out of it.

Ella Hayes had three hits in the game for Salem. Melendez and Val Hatterer each had two.

Mercer hit four home runs in the nightcap, two by Emily Wyzykowski.

The Vikings scored four runs in the first on Kelci O’Dell’s leadoff homer and Wyzykowski’s three-run shot.  Stella Logan’s three-run homer in the fourth gave them the lead for good and Wyzykowski hit a two-run homer in their seven-run fifth.

The Mighty Oaks bounced back after Mercer’s opening salvo and took a 5-4 lead after three innings. They got two in the first on RBI singles by Tiana Wilson and Callie Rozak, one in the second on Hayes’ sacrifice fly and two in the third on Hatterer’s squeeze bunt and Haskie’s go-ahead RBI single.

Murphy breaks out

Sophomore outfielder breaks out of a hitting slump with an 8-RBI day that included a grand slam to lead Salem CC past Middlesex

FRIDAY REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 16, Middlesex 5
Lackawanna 4-6, Sussex 3-0
Mercer 10, Delaware Tech 0
Camden 13, Delaware County 3
RCSJ-Cumberland 21, Northampton 5

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

EDISON — There isn’t an everyday player in the game who likes having an unscheduled day off in the middle of the season, but in Matt Murphy’s case, it might have been the best thing that could have happened to him.

The sophomore outfielder broke out of a 5-for-32 hitting slump with three hits, a grand slam and a career-high eight RBIs Friday to lead Salem CC past Middlesex 16-5 in the opener of their Region 19 series.

Murphy had an RBI single in the first inning, a bases-loaded three-run double in the second and the grand slam in the third. All three hits came with two outs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a day like this in my life,” he said. “Not to this extent, that I can remember.”

Murphy broke out of an 0-for-12 with his first homer of the season at RCSJ-Cumberland and was 5-for-19 in the five games since entering Friday’s game.

He was pulled from the first game of last week’s doubleheader against Montgomery County after striking out more ways than one in the fifth inning and sat in the nightcap. It was the first time he was out of the lineup this season, but it gave him a new perspective on the game.

“The game off really centered myself,” Murphy said. “I really felt like I needed it because of just the spiraling down into negative thoughts and not being the player I know how to be.

“It really centered myself and it showed me the side of being on the bench. I never want to be on the bench, I always want to be playing, so it was kind of just a reality check that I feel like I needed. It felt good to come in today with a new mindset and just do well for the team.”

Murphy’s RBI single drove in the game’s first run and he scored on Angel Velez’ RBI double. His bases-clearing double gave the Mighty Oaks a 6-0 lead. And his grand slam highlighted a six-run third that pushed the game into run-rule territory.

The slam was his third home run of the season. The Mighty Oaks are 3-0 this year in games in which he homers, 5-1 during his career. 

His previous single-game high for RBI was five against Northland T&CC on the Mighty Oaks’ trip to Florida. He had four against Oakton two days later. But he had only five RBIs over the next 10 games.

“We gave him Game 2 off on the weekend and I think he had a chance to kind of take a step back from things and evaluate,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “Honestly, he had a great week of practice, really busted his butt with Coach D and working on his swing and approach, approach, approach, and it’s paid off.”

Chris Kelly homered for the Mighty Oaks in the fourth inning. Jon Gambone pitched a seven-inning complete game allowing four hits and striking out nine. He did not give up an earned run.

“The mindset was to shorten it up and just try to win every inning,” Holt said. “I think we did win every inning but one and the inning we didn’t win we tied. It was a good game. It really was a big momentum for us. I hope we can build on it.”

As soon as the team got back from the game they put up their gear then headed to the Carneys Point Rec Complex to get their field ready for Saturday’s scheduled noon doubleheader.

Salem CC (13-15)246 211 0-16105
Middlesex (21-11)001 130 0-544
WP: Jon Gambone (4-3). LP: J. Ryan. HR: Matt Murphy (S), Chris Kelly (S).

Photo: Salem CC outfielder Matt Murphy is greeted at the plate by his teammates after hitting a third-inning grand slam Friday. (Screenshot from Gamechanger video)




Lots of ball left

Pennsville baseball has lofty goals in 2025 but still looking for first win after falling to Gloucester Catholic

FRIDAY BASEBALL
Gloucester Catholic 7, Pennsville 3
Schalick at Delran, ppd.
Haddon Heights at Woodstown, ppd.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – For the Pennsville baseball team, the 2025 season was one of high promise and even higher expectations but it hasn’t exactly started in championship form.

It’s only been two games, but the Eagles are still looking for their first win after falling to Gloucester Catholic 7-3 Friday in a game moved from Brooklawn to the Pennsville’s JV field just to get it played.

It isn’t quite the start the Eagles (0-2) expected, but no one’s panicking. In fact, coach Matt Karr sounds a bit like Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson talking about the Braves’ 0-7 start. “You don’t double bogey the first hole and then give up on the round,” Olson opined.

After all, in the Eagles’ case, they have opened the season against two of South Jersey’s best teams in a schedule that is filled with tough games.

“It’s early April,” Karr said. “We preach in this program all the time that you could be 28-0 and you don’t get the job done in late May and early June it means absolutely nothing.

“We talk a lot to these guys about Pennsville baseball, the tradition that’s here and about the teams that have come before them. We set the bar high here that we want to win state championships, so being 0-2 means nothing to us. That’s why we talk a lot about process, the way we do things.

“The speech out in left field today was building. Today was a building day. I always say you have to stack good days on top of good days. We had a good practice yesterday. We came out, we competed today, we’ll stack that one on top and hopefully keep heading in the right direction.”

Against a Rams team many consider the state’s best, the Eagles held a 2-1 lead and after they fell behind had the tying run in the hole with one out in the seventh inning.

Pennsville third baseman Stevie Fatcher didn’t play many JV games on Friday’s field, but he has hit on it pretty well when the varsity plays there. His first at-bat on the open-ended field last year was a grand slam and he remembers hitting a long double there later in the year. He had two hits Friday, including a second-inning double that gave the Eagles their 2-1 lead.

“Cohen (Petrutz) laid down a bunt and moved everybody down,” Fatcher said. “Then Jeff (Wagner) got a run in and I had the guy at third base right there. My teammates were telling me how (GC starter Brody Gates) was throwing, I looked for something early, squared up and it one- or two-hopped the (left field) fence. I can’t do it without my teammates.”

The Rams retook the lead with four runs in the third inning and extended the lead with runs in the fourth and sixth. In the fourth, Braeden Lipoff doubled home the tying run, Henry Pancoast plated the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and Jude Morgan doubled home two insurance runs.

Their run in the fifth scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch and they created the run in the sixth with Noah Danza’s bunt single, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly.

“We opened on the road at Pitman and we were not happy with the way we played,” Karr said. “We talk to these guys a lot about the process and the way we do things, not so much the scoreboard and results, and we weren’t happy with the process at Pitman, the way we played. That whole day in general was not the way we wanted to start our season.

“We pride ourselves on playing a very competitive schedule. I told the guys out in the field today was a building day. We’re not happy with the outcome, but we’re building on the process. The process today, the way we did things, was much better. We were competitive with a team (media) says is the best our state has to offer. Not happy, but intrigued with how well we played.”

Logan Streith took the mound with bases loaded in the fourth, got the final out and finished the game. He gave up only one more run and three hits. The Rams loaded the bases against him with one out in the seventh, but he got out of that with a strikeout and flyout.

“I thought he did really good,” Karr said. “He’s a guy we’re trying to get into that starter role, see if he can stretch it out and lengthen some innings for us. Brought him in relief today and I thought he did a good job … I was really impressed with Logan. Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.”

The Eagles will continue the search for that elusive first win Monday against Woodstown.

“I kind of stay away from all the expectations and all that; we’ve just got to play our game,” Fatcher said. “If you watched the game against Pitman and then today we look like a whole different ball team out here, man. 

“Before Pitman our practices we were just getting around, but we locked in and know what we want now. I’m not bothered by the 0-2. We’re going to start a win streak and it’s going to be long.”

The history is there. The last time the Eagles started 0-2 was 2021. They bounced back from that with a five-game winning streak and went on to play in the South Jersey Group I semifinals.

Gloucester Catholic (4-0)104 101 0-750
Pennsville (0-2)021 000 0-362
WP: Brody Gates. LP: Cohen Petrutz.

Tennis

PENNSVILLE 5, BRIDGETON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Uriel Perez, 6-1, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Jonathan Barragan, 6-2, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Eliasar Velasquez, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Hernandez Enrique-Anselmo Taper Ramirez, 6-2, 6-1
Matthew Forino-Carter Willis (P) def. Jonathon Salas-Justin Salas, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Pennsville 3-0, Bridgeton 0-6.

Softball

DELSEA 12, SCHALICK 0: Morgan McLean went 4-for-4 and Iris Chapman scattered three singles while striking out to keep Delsea undefeated (3-0). Cloe Elliott, Annmarie Podehl and Olivia Vanacker had the Cougars’ hits.





Salem softball sweep

Mighty Oaks come from behind in both games to sweep Camden CC

REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem 13-8, Camden 6-4
Monroe Bronx 18-14, Raritan Valley 8-5
Mercer 11-12, Northampton 3-4

By Riverview Sports News

BLACKWOOD – The Salem CC softball team scored four runs with two outs in the seventh inning to break away from a tied game and beat Camden CC 8-4 to complete a sweep of their doubleheader Thursday.

The Mighty Oaks struggled to deliver a big hit with runners on base Tuesday against Lackawanna, but they put the ball in play with runners on in both games Thursday.

The nightcap was tied 4-4 going into the seventh. Ella Hayes singled home the go-ahead run and the other three runs in the inning scored on two errors.

The Mighty Oaks (12-10) won the opener 13-6. They took a 7-4 lead in the fourth. The rally was jump-started by consecutive doubles by Tessa Wise, Jolee Robinson and Hayes. Another run scored when Camden misplayed Jocelyn Melendez’ bunt and the fourth run scored on Chantelle Haskie’s fielder’s choice.

Camden got within 7-6, then the Mighty Oaks broke it open with six runs in the seventh. Melendez and Haskie both had two-run singles in the inning and a pair of errors brought home the other two runs.

“They were decent wins and we played well overall, but there’s still room for improvement,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We need to stay sharper in the field, focus on our communication and keep refining our timing at the plate.

“We’re getting there. We’re just pushing to be even better next time.”

That next time is a Saturday home doubleheader against region leading Mercer (25-1).

Hard-working Jesse

Woodstown boys sweep Triton to give Stemberger milestone coaching win in Wolverines’ tennis program

THURSDAY TENNIS
Woodstown 5, Triton 0
Schalick 4, Glassboro 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

RUNNEMEDE — The Woodstown boys tennis team swept their head coach into the history books Thursday.

The Wolverines beat Triton 5-0, dropping only one set all day, to give head coach Jesse Stemberger his 300th combined career coaching win in 17 seasons at the helm of the program. Thursday’s win was his 50th with the Woodstown boys program.

It was the Wolverines’ third win in as many days. Stemberger is 250-93 in 17 seasons with the girls, 50-27 in five seasons with the boys.

“It means I’ve been doing it a long time,” he said of the milestone. “When I look at it and I look at all the kids I’ve coached over the years I feel good for them because everybody has a part and I think everybody takes pride in having played for Woodstown tennis in the last 17 years. So, I feel good for them more than I feel good for myself.

“I don’t really think of it as much of an accomplish at the moment but maybe in a couple years I’ll sit back and say yeah that’s pretty cool.”

Stemberger scored his first win on Sept. 10, 2008, a 5-0 girls sweep of Penns Grove; he still has the ball on his shelf. He also got No. 100 against Penns Grove and No. 200 against Overbrook. His first win with the boys came against Wildwood. Of the milestone wins, only No. 100 came at home.

The No. 2 doubles team of Luke Shaw and Mason Shimp got the day started. No. 2 singles John Farrell secured the second point and the victory was clinched by the No. 1 doubles team of Ben Stengel and Nick DiTeodoro (Stemberger’s nephew).

Drew Stengel made it 4-0 at No. 1 singles and Joseph Kurpis completed the sweep when he won a 10-8 tiebreaker at No. 3 singles.

Stemberger is the third Woodstown head coach to reach the 300-win milestone this academic year, joining Darren Huck (boys soccer) and Adam Hyland (wrestling).

“I like it because we’re all friends,” Stemberger said. “We’re the old guard over there. We’re the three longest-tenured. We’re the old guys now. We’ve all been through a lot. We’ve had the same athletic directors, the same administrators, so we’re like the grumpy old men now.

“It’s fun. All three of us have really dedicated a lot of time to this and ultimately it comes down to what we want to do for the kids. They’re the real beneficiaries of this. They’re the ones you care about, they’re the ones you want to see be appreciative of what they’ve got.”

WOODSTOWN 5, TRITON 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Tristan Malone, 6-1, 6-4
John Farrell (WO) def. Cole Durham, 6-2, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis (WO) def. Tirth Patel, 6-1, 0-6, 10-8
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Brennan Zabala-Sean Gorski, 6-1, 6-1
Luke Shaw-Mason Shimp (WO) def. Shrey Modi-Tomas Ledesma, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 3-0, Triton 0-1.

SCHALICK 4, GLASSBORO 1
George Gould (S) def. Carter Eli, 6-1, 6-1
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Kelechi Ufomba, 6-0, 6-1
Kaden Barnes (S) def. Andrew Miller, 6-1, 6-0
David Santana-Anthony McGrath (S) def. Jeffrey Guzman-Jesus Lopez, 6-2, 6-1
James Pence-Nico Tsoulcalis (G) won by forfeit
Records: Schalick 2-1, Glassboro 0-3.

Wednesday roundup

Woodstown softball rallies to give new coach first win; Wolverines’ Stemberger moves closer to a coaching milestone

SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic 19, Salem 0
Pitman 13, Pennsville 11
Woodstown 7, Schalick 3

By Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Leah Clark went 3-for-4, Lila Bowling had two hits and two RBIs and Johanna Way allowed just one earned run over seven innings as Woodstown rallied from an early deficit to open its season with a 7-3 win over Schalick 7-3 and give Rob Hildebrand his first win back as the Wolverines coach.

Schalick led 2-0 in the first inning and 3-2 after three, but Shyann Higinbotham, Ellie Wygand and Talia Guardascione plated runs on consecutive at-bats in the fourth to give Woodstown the lead. The Wolverines added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh on RBIs from Bowling and Hannah Hitchner.

Way allowed eight hits and struck out seven in her complete game in the circle for Woodstown. She also contributed a pair of hits at the plate.

Cloe Elliott and Ava Lauglin had two hits each for Schalick. Maddie Brown’s two-run single staked the Cougars to a 2-0 lead in the first.

PITMAN 13, PENNSVILLE 11: The Eagles appeared headed to a one-sided win after scoring eight runs in the first inning, but Pitman steadily climbed back into it and eventually overtook them in the sixth inning.

The first four hitters in the Pennsville lineup – Lily Edwards, Graillyn Weber, Kylie Harris and Savannah Palverento – were a combined 11-for-21 with six RBIs, but the rest of the Eagles’ lineup had only three hits. Weber was 4-for-6 and Edwards was 3-for-5.

Jess Bretz, who pitched for the Pennsville LL Senior Softball World Series team two years ago, entered the circle with two outs in the first inning, limited the damage the rest of the game and was rewarded with the win. She struck out 12.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 19, SALEM 0: Gloucester Catholic put the game on a run-rule path in the second inning and held Salem to two hits overall. Julliana Love and Phoenix Holland had Salem’s hits. 

TENNIS
Drew Stengel won a dramatic third-set tiebreaker at first singles and Woodstown swept the doubles points to beat Middle Twp. 3-2 and give coach Jesse Stemberger his 299th combined tennis coaching victory.

He can hit the 300 mark Thursday at Triton and would become the third Wolverines coach to reach that milestone this academic year (soccer’s Darren Huck, wrestling’s Adam Hyland). Stemberger has 250 wins with the girls team, 49 with the boys.

WOODSTOWN 3, MIDDLE TWP. 2
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Darp Patel, 6-2, 1-6, 10-6
Miles Stafford (M) def. John Farrell, 6-3, 6-4
Michael Ratchford (M) def. Joseph Kurpis, 6-0, 6-1
Luke Shaw-Mason Shimp (WO) def. Kenny Martin-Evan Chew, 6-2, 6-4
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Mario Tenaglia-Dante Duca, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Woodstown 2-0, Middle Twp. 2-3.

PENNSVILLE 4, OVERBROOK 1
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Connor Kustera, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Thomas Mason, 6-1, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Colin Campbell, 6-0, 6-0
Alan Marcos-Gabe Martinez (O) def. Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey, 6-3, 4-6, 10-6
Carter Willis-Ian Peacock (P) def. Mohammed Shihab-Gerardo Trinidad-Palillero, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 2-0, Overbrook 0-3.

Perfect Pokrovsky

Schalick senior throws perfect game at Woodstown in first start of the season, Cougars support him with 10 runs in the first inning

WEDNESDAY BASEBALL
Schalick 11, Woodstown 0
Pitman 7, Pennsville 2
Holy Cross 16, Salem 2
Penns Grove 16, LEAP 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — It was a little chilly and a bit breezy but Luke Pokrovsky was as hot on the mound as any day in May.

The Schalick left-hander couldn’t have started his pitching year any better unless, of course, he had gone the full seven innings.

In his first start of his senior year Wednesday the Penn signee fashioned a five-inning perfect game, striking out 11 in the Cougars’ 11-0 Diamond Division win over Woodstown.

It was his first high school perfect game. He threw a no-hitter last year against Wildwood and had three other starts of six innings or longer in which he allowed just one hit. It was his ninth career game with double-digit strikeouts.

“With him, he doesn’t seem to amaze me because each time, each start, I feel like he gets better,” Cougars coach Sean O’Brien. “I’m not shocked at it, but it does kind of throw you off that he’d be on this early. He’s a special type of player. He keeps getting better.”

Pokrovsky threw 69 pitches, 46 for strikes. Included in the package was the new off-speed stuff he’s been working on in the offseason and three scrimmage appearances. He figured he threw two of those pitches to each hitter Wednesday.

He was so efficient he went to three balls on only two batters and threw more than five pitches to three. The Wolverines put only four balls in play against him, all in the infield. He struck out the side in the second, third and fifth innings.

The only ball that looked like it might get through was Rocco String’s comebacker through the box in the fourth that shortstop Evan Glaspey fielded cleanly and threw on for the out. The other non-strikeouts were a pop to short, a soft liner to second and another ball back to the mound.

“I know coming off a hot year last year everybody was going to be expecting me to come out with my fastball, but I was trying to work on the off-speed more,” Pokrovsky said. “After the first inning and throwing that good I was just trying to get strikes over the plate and try to locate better so they couldn’t get hard-hit balls off me. I was really happy with how it came out.

“Coming out like that, you can’t get any better. It was … perfect.”

Yes, it was.

After Pokrovsky put the Wolverines down in order in the first, his teammates gave him 10 runs of support in the bottom of the inning. It would have been 11 but a runner failed to touch the plate when he came in to score.

Sixteen batters came to the plate in the inning. Woodstown starter Dante Holmes got the leadoff man, then the next 14 Cougars reached safely.

Evan Sepers, who made the first out of the inning, had a two-run single the next time he came to the plate.

Pokrovsky went to the pen with catcher Ricky Watt during the long inning to keep his arm warm. When he went back to the mound he struck out the side on 13 pitches.

“He was excellent at getting ahead of guys, attacking hitters,” O’Brien said. “He wasn’t playing around with them. I feel when he attacks hitters he can go deep in the game and force them to put the ball in play. He did a great job of that from the start today.”

Photo: Schalick pitcher Luke Pokrovsky tips his cap coming off the mound after completing his five-inning perfect game against Woodstown.

SCHALICK 11, WOODSTOWN 0

Woodstown (2-1)000 00-003
Schalick (2-0)(10)01 0x-11120
WP: Luke Pokrovsky. LP: Dante Holmes.

PITMAN 7, PENNSVILLE 2: Hudson Rue held the Eagles to three hits over the first five innings and the Panthers broke open a close game with five runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Steve Fatcher gave Pennsville a 1-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second, but the Panthers took the lead for good with two in the bottom of the inning.

Fatcher had two other hits for the Eagles. Luke Wood pitched the first four innings for Pennsville, allowing just two runs, three hits and striking out seven.

Pennsville (0-1)010 000 1-252
Pitman (3-2)020 023 x-780
WP: Hudson Rue. LP: Luke Wood.

HOLY CROSS 16, SALEM 2: The Lancers broke it open with 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after the Rams pushed across their first run of the game on Bryce Harris’ RBI double in the top of the inning. Terrell Robinson had two of Salem’s four hits.

Salem (1-1)000 11-244
Holy Cross (2-3)203 (11)x-1690
WP: Luke Rogers. LP: Terrell Robinson.

PENNS GROVE 16, LEAP 1: The Red Devils jumped out from with five in the home first and then erupted for 11 in the second to turn it into a rout. Elijah Crespo went 3-for-3. Liam Irvin scored three runs and was one of five players who had two RBIs. Tommy Mattioli allowed two hits and walked one from the mound.

LEAP (0-3)010 00-124
Penns Grove (2-2)5(11)0 0-1682
WP: Tommy Mattioli, LP: Wilson Basora.



Big turnaround

Salem CC’s Rodriguez wins weekly national award; production up, strikeouts down

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Salem CC Yen Rodriguez led the nation in strikeouts last season and under any other circumstance that would be cause for celebration. Problem is, he’s a hitter.

Even he recognized the need for better plate discipline and worked all offseason on his approach. This season the Mighty Oaks’ sophomore has cut down on his strikeouts, already hit more home runs and today he’s being celebrated as a national award winner.

Rodriguez added the NJCAA Division III Player of the Week award to the GSAC Position Player of the Week award he won earlier in the week. He’s the first national player winner in coach John Holt’s tenure with the Mighty Oaks.

The switch-hitter from Vineland who has played both in the infield and outfield this season, batted .692 (9-for-13) in four games last week with two homers, six RBIs, 11 runs scored and five stolen bases – and just one strikeout.

“It’s a huge honor,” Holt said. “The kid’s worked real hard. He’s starting to buy into some of the things our hitting coaches have been working with him on and with the buy-in he’s seeing those results. He’s got all the talent in the world. He just needed to make a few adjustments and he’s seeing the results.

“He was sometimes overly aggressive, swinging at a pitcher’s pitch, so we asked him to see some more pitches, work himself into counts where he could drive the baseball as oppose to defensive counts. He’s swinging at more hitters’ pitchers and doing well with it. It took him doing what happened last year to kind of open his eyes a little bit and make those adjustments and he’s done that and we’re better for it.”

Last year, Rodriguez led Division III with 61 strikeouts in 152 at bats – but still hit .303 with five homers, a .488 on base percentage and .559 slugging percentage.

Through 27 games this season he is batting .414 with six homers, 24 RBIs, a .552 on base percentage and .747 slugging percentage. He ranks in the top 10 nationally in homers, run scored and stolen bases. He still has fanned 23 times, but only twice in the seven games (21 at bats) since the Mighty Oaks returned from their Florida trip.

“All last season with leading the region in strikeouts it was mainly because I was a pull hitter; I was not dominant on the opposite side,” Rodriguez said after plating the winning run in a recent 12-inning win over RCSJ-Gloucester that didn’t figure in this award. “Going up there and hitting the ball opposite like I’ve been trying to do and honestly frustrated with the fact I couldn’t score the runs, (delivering that game-winner) made me happy because I’m working at the end of the day.”

Yen Rodriguez Week

ABRHRBIHRBB-KSB
Mercer444311-01
Montgomery433201-02
Montgomery221002-01
Montgomery321111-11
Totals13119625-15