Stomping into the semis

Woodstown hits back-to-back jacks in first inning, slams door on Pennsville, advances to SJ Group I baseball semifinals; Schalick falls under weight of errors

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s Quarterfinals
(1) Audubon 11, (8) Haddon Twp. 1
(5) Woodstown 8, (4) Pennsville 3
(3) Pitman 6, (6) Schalick 2
(2) Gloucester 8, (7) Wildwood 4
Friday’s Semifinals
Woodstown (17-9) at Audubon (19-9)
Pitman (20-6) at Gloucester (20-7)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The official height of home plate (not that anyone cares to measure it) is one inch and it is supposed to be planted level with the batter’s box.

After Andrew Pedrick and Rocco String stomped their big shoes on the dish to celebrate back-to-back homers in the first inning of their South Jersey Group I quarterfinal with Pennsville Wednesday, instead of dusting off the plate somebody probably needed to remeasure and replant it.

Pedrick and String went back-to-back to give the Wolverines a three-run lead right out of the gate and set the tone in an eventual 8-3 victory. Pedrick dropped his size 12 on it first and then, just as the plate was returning to its original shape, String put his size 15 right on top of it with flourish.

“I do it all the time, but here I just needed to do it because I needed to make a statement to these guys,” String said. “Losing to them (earlier in the season) I really wanted to beat them real bad, so I needed to make something.”

If the Wolverines wanted to “let ‘em know you’re here” as someone shouted from the dugout after String’s shot, call it mission accomplished. They probably heard it all the way to Elmer with the energy the home runs injected to an already electric atmosphere.

The homers came after Brent Williams brought Jack Knorr home from third with a sacrifice fly. Knorr opened the game with a double.

It was the second time in their careers Pedrick and String have homered in the same game – they did last year against Salem – but it was the first time they’ve gone back-to-back. String has now homered in back-to-back playoff games.

“I think that’s what really got us up,” Pedrick said. “We’re not really a home run-hitting team, so when we got three runs in the first inning, two off two bombs, it’s just crazy, especially back-to-back like that. I was going nuts. I was jumping up and down.

“I just think we wanted to let them know we were here early. We don’t usually come out firing like that, so getting those three runs in the first inning that really put them down and got us up.”

Woodstown coach Marc DeCastro didn’t read anything more into the back-to-back homers other than it gave his team a 3-0 and a little cushion to play with “a little more freedom so if they scored a run it wasn’t the end of the world.”

The Eagles (17-10) got that run in the second inning on Jacob Grant’s sacrifice bunt and it wasn’t the end of the world for the Wolverines. Grant’s shoulder injury kept him from swinging away, but nothing was going to keep the Eagles’ only senior from playing in the biggest game of the year.

After the initial energy from both teams, the game settled into the intensity of a typical game between rivals. That is, until Woodstown broke it open with five in the top of the top of the fifth.

The Wolverines sent eight men to the plate. Williams brought home a run with a single that got through the leftfielder, String brought two home with a single that got through the centerfielder and Ty Coblentz and Caiden Spinelli drove in runs with ground outs to the right side of the infield.

Pennsville got two in the bottom of the fifth on Cohen Petrutz’ two-run single, but it wasn’t nearly enough to catch up to the Wolverines.

“They came out and set the tone,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “They barreled up some balls. It’s a tough pill to swallow and it’s kind of indicative of how the rest of the game went. They set the tone and they tacked on, did the little things they needed to do.

“Like I told those guys, we got beat today. There was no one call. They hit better, they threw better and they won a baseball game and sometimes that happens.”

The fifth-seeded Wolverines (17-9) will now travel to top-seeded Audubon (19-9) Friday for one of the South Jersey Group I semifinals. They beat the Green Wave earlier this season, 8-3.

Knorr started the game on the mound for Woodstown Wednesday, but was lifted after walking two of the first three batters he faced. Aaron Foote stomped out that fire and pitched into the fifth to get the win. Michael Valente and Dante Holmes finished it up. Peyton O’Brien took the loss for Pennsville.

Knorr, Valente and Holmes all will be available “in some way, fashion or form” to pitch in the Audubon game. The starter, DeCastro said after the game, is to be determined.

**Woodstown’s Andrew Pedrick stomps on home plate after his home run in the first inning Wednesday. On the cover, Rocco String stomps even harder after he went back-to-back with Pedrick.**

PITMAN 6, SCHALICK 2: The Cougars picked the wrong time to have a difficult day in the field.

Pitman took advantage of six Schalick errors to either score runs or extend innings in their South Jersey Group I playoff game. The Panthers (20-6) advance to play at second-seeded Gloucester in Friday’s semifinals.

The Cougars (15-11) led twice in the game, but each time lost it under the weight of the miscues.

Luke Pokrovsky gave them a 1-0 lead with a homer in the first inning, but Pitman tied it in the home half on one of three errors in the inning.

Ricky Watt gave them a 2-1 lead with a RBI single in the third, but Pitman took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning when two runs scored on an infield error. Two more errors helped along a three-run sixth that put the game away.

Pokrovsky pitched the whole game for Schalick. The junior lefthander gave up six hits, three earned runs and struck out nine to finish the season with 122 strikeouts and a 1.09 ERA.

Making their pitch

Woodstown pitchers have been tough to reach in May, trio shuts down Maple Shade in South Jersey Group I playoff opener

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Audubon 14, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 3
No. 8 Haddon Twp. 8, No. 9 Buena 1
No. 5 Woodstown 3, No. 12 Maple Shade 1
No. 4 Pennsville 10, No. 13 Gateway 0
No. 6 Schalick 3, No. 11 Paulsboro 1
No. 3 Pitman 13, No. 14 Glassboro 0
No. 7 Wildwood 2, No. 10 Cape May Tech 1
No. 2 Gloucester 16, No. 15 Penns Grove 3

SECOND ROUND (May 29)
Haddon Twp. at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
Wildwood vs. Gloucester

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – If there is one aspect of his team Woodstown baseball coach Marc DeCastro has been particularly proud of lately it would be the emergence of his pitchers.

They’ve gone from a bunch that had taken their lumps early in a season to becoming quite steady over this last month. Three pitchers combined to hold Maple Shade to three hits and one unearned run Thursday giving the Wolverines a chance to take a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

Michael Valente and Jack Knorr gave the Wolverines two innings of no-hit ball on the front and back ends, respectively. Dante Holmes worked the middle three, giving up three hits, a walk, the run and striking out four. Valente retired all six batters he faced to open the game.

The Wolverines have given up two runs or fewer six times in 10 games this month, including each of the last two, going 5-1 in those games. They allowed five runs or more in five of their first eight games of the season, including each of the last four, going 2-3.

“From where we started the season to play a playoff game and throw like we did is great,” DeCastro said. “Because we’ve been able to make some adjustments and become a lot better as a group on the mound as opposed to individually on the mound; that’s kind of how we had to approach some things.

“Early early in the year we were letting up eight plus runs in maybe three of the first five games we played, then we continued on to settle down slightly but we were still getting down early in game and having to come back and whole bunch. We had to alter the way we did things to solidify the ability to get some leads and hold some leads instead of trying to come back on leads.”

All of the game’s runs came in the fourth and fifth innings and the Wolverines never trailed.

They broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the fourth on Rocco String’s solo homer and Caden Spinelli’s two-out RBI single. Maple Shade scored its run in the top of the fifth on an infield error, but the Wolverines got it back on Andrew Pedrick’s sacrifice fly.

Spinelli and Ty Coblentz both had two hits for the Wolverines.

The win sets up a second-round matchup at Pennsville Wednesday.

“We’ve done it before; we played them a couple years ago at our place in the tournament,” DeCastro said. “They’re always one of the better teams in South Jersey, so for the most part if you want to get somewhere you probably have to go through them. That’s just the situation that we’re in. As long as we handle it with some calmness we’ll be fine.”

Tough time for tough inning

‘Tougher’ inning dashes Penns Grove’s hopes in baseball playoffs, all favorites win, also includes golf, SJ Group I tennis

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Audubon 14, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 3
No. 8 Haddon Twp. 8, No. 9 Buena 1
No. 5 Woodstown 3, No. 12 Maple Shade 1
No. 4 Pennsville 10, No. 13 Gateway 0
No. 6 Schalick 3, No. 11 Paulsboro 1
No. 3 Pitman 13, No. 14 Glassboro 0
No. 7 Wildwood 2, No. 10 Cape May Tech 1
No. 2 Gloucester 16, No. 15 Penns Grove 3

SECOND ROUND (May 29)
Haddon Twp. at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
Wildwood vs. Gloucester

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

GLOUCESTER CITY – After battling their way through the final week of the season just to make the field, Penns Grove was hoping to keep its first playoff game since 2021 close, but one big inning proved its undoing.

Gloucester scored a run in the first inning, then erupted for 10 in the second to set the stage for a 16-3 victory over the Red Devils Thursday in the first round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

The Lions sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning. They collected six hits, including a two-run homer by Seth McCormick, and took advantage of three errors, a dropped third strike that would have been a second out, a hit batsman and a walk.

“The second inning has to be one of our … tougher innings of the year,” Penns Grove coach Chuck Weigle said. “We made a few mistakes, they capitalized on it and we ended up falling behind big.”

The Red Devils had one hit through the first three innings, but they avoided being shut out on Bristoll Scott’s RBI single in the fourth. They scored twice in the fifth after loading the bases with none out. Ryan Hyatt had an RBI single and Chase Wills scored on a passed ball.

Elijah Crespo and Hyatt had two hits apiece for the Red Devils.

“I don’t think it was what we were looking for,” Weigle said of the playoff experience. “We were hoping for a different result. We were hoping for it to be a little bit closer than it was. It just wasn’t the result we were looking for.

“Coming in as the 15^th seed you’re not expected to necessarily win the game, but we were hoping to keep it close and just hoping to play a good game overall.”

TENNIS
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Thursday’s matches
No. 1 Haddon Twp. bye
No. 8 Overbrook 4, No. 9 Lindenwold 1
No. 5 Woodstown 5, No. 12 Wildwood 0
No. 4 Middle Twp. bye
No. 3 Pennsville bye
No. 6 Buena 5, No. 11 Penns Grove 0
No. 7 Schalick 3, No. 10 Palmyra 2
No. 2 Pitman bye
SECOND ROUND (May 29)
Overbrook at Haddon Twp.
Woodstown at Middle Twp.
Buena at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman

WOODSTOWN 5, WILDWOOD 0
Tim Schwienbacher (Wo) def. Giorgio Palesano, 6-3, 6-1
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Christopher Olivera, 6-0, 6-1
Eric Lipovsky (Wo) def. Cristopher Hernandez, 6-1, 6-1
Joseph Kurpis-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Simon Palacias-Miguel Amendondo, 6-2, 6-1
John Farrell-Jake Lewis (Wo) def. Kevin Damian-Brian Damian, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 13-6, Wildwood 4-11.

BUENA 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Jake Harris (B) def. Alex Ramirez Martinez, 6-0, 6-0
Dominic Longona (B) def. Angel Perez Herrera, 6-1, 6-1
Stephen Pepper (B) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-1, 6-0
Matthew Lillia-Gabe Ridolfo (B) def. Anthony Pacheco-Ricardo Vichi, 6-0, 6-0
Joshua Sharpe-Michael Letushko (B) def. Adam Gonzalez-Rene Ruiz, 6-0, 6-2
Records: Buena 18-3, Penns Grove 4-10.

SCHALICK 3, PALMYRA 2
George Gould (S) def. Julian Carlino, 6-4, 6-3
Richie Butler (P) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-2, 6-1
Connor McCann (P) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-3, 6-1
David Santana-Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Jaden Jennings-Owen Jacobs, 6-4, 6-2
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Jack Timlin-Justin Smyth, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Records: Schalick 16-7, Palmyra 5-7.

GOLF
WOODSTOWN 156, HIGHLAND 169: Woodstown’s Salem/Cumberland runner-up Jeffrey Covely birdied the first hole and shot an even-par 36 and the Wolverines counted four of the five lowerst scores of the day to win at Town & Country CC.

The Wolverines also counted a 39 from Max Webb, a 40 from Kyle Brainard and a 41 from Salem/Cumberland medalist Jacob Schermerhorn.

Running the show

Schalick edges Paulsboro; Pokrovsky gives up one hit, fans 16, collects 100th strikeout of the season, 100th career hit

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Audubon 14, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 3
No. 8 Haddon Twp. 8, No. 9 Buena 1
No. 5 Woodstown 3, No. 12 Maple Shade 1
No. 4 Pennsville 10, No. 13 Gateway 0
No. 6 Schalick 3, No. 11 Paulsboro 1
No. 3 Pitman 13, No. 14 Glassboro 0
No. 7 Wildwood 2, No. 10 Cape May Tech 1
No. 2 Gloucester 16, No. 15 Penns Grove 3

Second Round (May 29)
Haddon Twp. at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
Wildwood vs. Gloucester

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – The Schalick Cougars won playoff game over a familiar playoff foe without playing their best baseball, but that kind of thing is a little easier to do when you have a pitcher like Luke Pokrovsky on the your side.

Pokrovsky had another milestone day Thursday in the sixth-seeded Cougars’ 3-1 win over No. 11 Paulsboro in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

The junior left-hander allowed one soft single over 6 1/3 innings and matched his career-high of 16 strikeouts for the third time this season and second time in three outings to surpass 100 Ks for the season. He also singled in his first at-bat for the 100th hit of his career – then was intentionally walked his next three times up.

“I was going into the game knowing that I only needed one hit for my 100th and that’s all I was trying to do at the plate, stay simple and hit the ball hard,” Pokrovsky said. “I got the first pitch off-speed and I just tried to get the barrel to the ball and it ended up working out.

“I didn’t even realize about the Ks because after I got the school record I just haven’t tried for that stuff. I just tried to lead the team to a victory by throwing strikes and getting weak contract.”

That’s what he did Thursday. He threw 68 strikeouts among his 112 pitches and the only hit he allowed came with two outs in the fourth inning when Kayden Weber threw his bat at a pitch and knocked it into left field to plate the Red Raiders’ only run.

Pokrovsky struck out the first five batters he faced, including Matt Hill to end the first inning for his 100th strikeout of the season. He has 113 this year and 248 in his career.

The only reason he came out of the game in the seventh was because he reached his pitch limit. Lucas D’Agostino finished it off by striking out the only two batters he faced on seven pitches.

With six days between games, count on Pokrovsky starting the Cougars’ second-round game at Pitman Wednesday.

“He’s our guy,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said. “If we’re going to lose, we’re going to lose with him. If we’re gonna win, we’re gonna win with him. So he’s definitely a guy we have to rely on.

“I’m looking at his numbers, it’s crazy. It kind of blows you away, you’re like wow. It’s pretty awesome.”

The Cougars were playing Paulsboro in the playoff for the third time in the last four years. They knocked the Red Raiders out of the playoffs in the SJ Group I semifinals in 2021 and the Red Raiders knocked Cougars out in the 2022 semis.

Runs were hard to come by. The Cougars, who had only six hits themselves, pushed two across in the third on a wild pitch and Ricky Watt’s sacrifice fly and added an insurance run in the sixth on a bases-loaded hit batsman. Jake Siedlecki had two hits and Watt had two RBIs.

They left the bases loaded twice, but three runs was all they really needed with Pokrovsky dealing from the mound.

“We didn’t play our best, we didn’t do well offensively, but we found a way,” O’Brien said. “In other parts of the season they’re the type of games we didn’t win … we kind of folded and we ended up losing games. It felt good to kind of push through when you don’t play your best.

“It definitely showed a little bit of growth and that little bit of grit we have where we weren’t going to kind of give up because things weren’t going our way. It was good to have that moment where we struck up and found a way to get runs and having Luke on the mound is definitely a huge plus where we don’t have to do much behind him because he’s the one running the show.”

Grand opening

Pennsville’s O’Brien spins five-inning no-hitter to open South Jersey Group I playoffs, Eagles run past Gateway 10-0; Wood returns to lineup

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Audubon 14, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 3
No. 8 Haddon Twp. 8, No. 9 Buena 1
No. 5 Woodstown 3, No. 12 Maple Shade 1
No. 4 Pennsville 10, No. 13 Gateway 0
No. 6 Schalick 3, No. 11 Paulsboro 1
No. 3 Pitman 13, No. 14 Glassboro 0
No. 7 Wildwood 2, No. 10 Cape May Tech 1
No. 2 Gloucester 16, No. 15 Penns Grove 3

Second Round (May 29)
Haddon Twp. at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
Wildwood vs. Gloucester

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Most pitchers after throwing a no-hitter in a big game are going to do something like say they’re going to Disney World. What does Pennsville’s Peyton O’Brien do when he throws a no-hitter in a playoff game? He loads up in the car with a bunch of teammates and heads down the highway to Woodstown.

O’Brien certainly was a king of the hill Thursday. He pitched a five-inning no-hitter as the Eagles blanked Gateway 10-0 in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I baseball playoffs.

The victory sets up a second-round meeting at home with county rival Woodstown. And that is the reason O’Brien was so anxious to head down the road after spinning his gem.

“The job’s not finished yet,” he said. “First round of the playoffs, of course that’s huge for us, but that’s nowhere near where we want to end.

“It was kind of last minute (to head down to Woodstown). Our game was at noon and we got done super early; we got done around 2. They started at 3 and we got on our baseball group chat and said let’s go. Everyone was on board with it so we went.”

It didn’t surprise Eagles coach Matt Karr, who said his player “eat, sleep and breathe baseball and know the magnitude” of the second-round matchup.

About seven or eight Eagles perched on the right field to watch the Wolverines take out Maple Shade, 3-1. Their second-round game is scheduled for Wednesday. Karr expects the atmosphere will be “electric.”

“They definitely knew (the Eagles were there),” O’Brien said. “A couple of the kids still had their Pennsville stuff on, but we were talking to them a little bit.”

O’Brien was on Thursday, hitting spots and touching velocity. He threw 81 pitches – 50 for strikes – struck out seven, walked four and allowed five base runners.

His defense came up big twice to help preserve the gem.

In the second inning, Tony Tacconelli hit a ball in the hole between first and second. Diving first baseman Cohen Petrutz got enough glove on it to deflect it to second baseman Logan Streitz and O’Brien got the out picking a low throw to his backhand side covering first.

Then in the fifth, Ryan Seber lined out hard to centerfielder Luke Wood for the final out of the game. It was the hardest ball the Gators hit all game and only the second one that got out of the infield.

It was the first no-hitter O’Brien had thrown in high school and his first since a seven-inning travel ball no-no the fall of his sophomore year.

“It was awesome,” he said. “I didn’t throw as many strikes as I wanted – I had gotten into some deep counts and walked a couple batters – but it felt good in the first playoff game to go out there and throw well.

“I was so amped up for the game. The game was at 12 today, so I was just looking forward to it the whole day and to go out there and throw a no-hitter was just awesome.”

With the next game six days away and pitch counts reset, O’Brien is likely to start the game against Woodstown. But the Eagles have options.

Wood returned to the Eagles’ lineup after a lengthy battle with a lower back injury and his presence seemed to energize the team. Earlier in the week coach Matt Karr wasn’t certain if the versatile junior would be back at all, but he was there Thursday and batted three times.

He was hit with a pitch in his first plate appearance since April 28 and scored on Streitz’ two-run single that gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead. He struck out with bases loaded in the second and reached on an error and later scored in the fourth.

“He made his return today and it was absolutely awesome,” Karr said. “I didn’t really talk to the kids about it. I always write the lineup on the white board in our locker room and I was a little delayed doing that because I was just confirming he was going to play and when I wrote the lineup down and put him in the 2 slot the energy in the room just went to another level.

“That’s our leader. He’s our guy. When he’s with us, you feel like we’re the best version of us and the guys fed off that. The energy today was just unbelievable in the clubhouse and the dugout. Just having him back around us and on the field was a huge lift.”

The Eagles pounded out eight hits and took advantage of eight walks and three Gator errors. Streitz and Connor Stern both had two hits and three RBIs, and Chase Burchfield drove in a pair of runs.

“The energy was just different,” O’Brien said. “The last couple weeks for us have not been that good and we came out today and I just felt like we wanted to be there, we were excited to be there, everyone was just going crazy. No one was feeling bad for themselves today, everyone was up. We just really wanted to win.”

Classical victory

Wagner’s first career homer powers Pennsville to third straight TCC Classic Division title; includes softball, golf, tennis updates

TUESDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 17, Wildwood 7

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Jeff Wagner will forever remember his first high school home run as the one that won Pennsville another division baseball championship.

It wasn’t one of those dramatic bottom-of-the-seventh bombs that has everyone pouring out of the dugout and the fans doing backflips in the aisles, but it was the shot that opened the gates for the Eagles to maul Wildwood 17-7 and claim a share of their third straight Tri-County Conference Classic Division crown with Pitman.

Pennsville and Pitman split their regular-season series and beat everyone else in the division twice. The Eagles (16-9) are the No. 4 seed in the South Jersey Group I playoffs, where they’ll host Gateway in the first round Thursday at 2 p.m.

“It’s a goal at the beginning of every year,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “I told these guys today we don’t get to pick what division we play in or who we play, we just play the games and whenever you get a chance to win anything that says ‘championship’ you enjoy it and you go after it. They did the job today. Add another year to the banner.”

Wagner’s two-run blast to left center in the fifth inning broke it open, extending the Eagles’ lead to 9-6 after they had taken it for the second time in the game earlier in the inning. It came in his 65th at bat this season and 79th career plate appearance. The sophomore designated hitter had one-hopped or hit the fence three times this season, but this was the first one he hit that wasn’t coming back.

Buoyed by the bomb, the Eagles wound up scoring 12 runs over the final two innings, walking it off on Chase Burchfield’s fourth hit of the game with two outs in the sixth inning. They were down 3-0, 4-3 and 6-5 at various points before the eruption.

“It kind of got the momentum flowing,” Wagner said. “It felt good catching the barrel, kind of got back to my groove and got the boys going.

“I felt like my part to the plate was kind of sentimental to the team because it was close. We weren’t playing good in the first half of the game and after I hit that I kind of felt like it turned us around and got us going. I definitely felt a big part of the team there. It felt good.”

The final two innings are much more the way the Eagles want to be heading into the playoffs than the last three weeks of the season. After Monday’s tight win over Clayton, the Eagles were 5-6 since their walk-off win over Schalick on April 23. When they won Tuesday, it marked the first time they’d won back-to-back games since April 22-23.

Part of their struggles are rooted in missing two of their top players. Versatile junior Luke Wood has been out with a lower back injury and his status going forward is TBD. Jacob Grant, their lone senior, has been out with a shoulder injury, but he rehabbed Tuesday and the Eagles are hoping to have him back for Round 2 (May 29 and a potential matchup with Woodstown).

Instead of wallowing in what his team might not have available, Karr hopes the Eagles embrace the opportunities it creates and the next-man-up approach that presents.

In the meantime they have been trying all kinds of creative ways to get their swagger back. One of the more interesting efforts was a bonfire after a closer-than-necessary run-fest with Clayton in which they burned all kinds of equipment.

It was an idea Grant is said to have discovered surfing the ‘net. A college baseball team was going through a tough stretch, decided to burn a bunch of their stuff, posted the video on TikTok (of course) and then went on a home-run-hitting tear. Grant figured if it worked for them, it couldn’t hurt the Eagles to try it.

“With the way we’ve played in the past two weeks we’ve had bad mojo,” Wagner said. “We kind of got rid of the bad mojo. We were off and on and then today I felt like the team came together and got it done.”

Whatever works, right?

“You want to find something positive to build on whether it’s the last two innings, the last pitch, the last at-bat, whatever it is; take whatever positive you can get (and) build on them,” Karr said. “We didn’t even give them any speeches about anything in the outfield other than we need to have a great workout tomorrow and be ready to roll on Thursday.”

South Jersey Group I Tournament
Thursday’s first-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon, 4 p.m.
No. 9 Buena at No. 8 Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
No. 12 Maple Shade at No. 5 Woodstown, 3 p.m.
No. 13 Gateway at No. 4 Pennsville, 2 p.m.
No. 14 Glassboro at No. 3 Pitman, 3 p.m.
No. 11 Paulsboro at No. 6 Schalick, 4 p.m.
No. 10 Cape May Tech at No. 7 Wildwood, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Penns Grove at No. 2 Gloucester, 4 p.m.

SOFTBALL
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 17, SALEM 0: Madelyn McGinn hit three doubles and drove in five runs and Brooklyn Carcaci held Salem to two hits in the four-inning game. Julliana Love and Alexandrea Matias had the Rams’ two hits.

South Jersey Group I Tournament
Wednesday’s first-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon, 4 p.m.
No. 9 Paulsboro at No. 8 Palmyra, 3:45 p.m.
No. 12 Cape May Tech at No. 5 Maple Shade
No. 13 Glassboro at No. 4 Pennsville, 2 p.m.
No. 14 Clayton at No. 3 Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
No. 11 Schalick at No. 6 Woodstown, 4 p.m.
No. 10 Gateway at No. 7 Pitman, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Salem at No. 2 Buena, 4 p.m.

BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, SCHALICK 0
Gave Schneider (Pv) def. George Gould, 6-1, 6-1
Maddox Efelis (Pv) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (Pv) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-1, 6-1
Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (Pv) def. Rocky Monticolo-David Santana, 6-1, 6-2
Saywer Humphrey-Luke Chamberlain (Pv) def. Cayden Brzozowski-Kaden Barnes, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
Records: Schalick 15-7, Pennsville 17-3.

South Jersey Group I Tournament
Thursday’s games
Lindenwold at Overbrook 1 p.m.
Wildwood at Woodstown, 2:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Buena
Palmyra at Schalick, 3 p.m.
May 29
Lindenwold-Overbrook winner at Haddon Twp.
Wildwood-Woodstown winner at Middle Twp.
Penns Grove-Buena winner at Pennsville
Palmyra-Schalick winner at Pitman

GOLF
SCHALICK 165, PENNSVILLE 176: Ryan Johnson and Lance Creighton, Schalick’s two representatives in Monday’s Salem-Cumberland county tournament, posted rounds of 39 and 40, respectively, at Sakima CC to move the Cougars a step closer to a share of the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title. A win over Overbrook Wednesday will seal it.

Pennsville senior Jacob Isaac was the match’s medalist with a 2-under-par 34. He had back-to-back birdies on 6 and 7.

WASHINGTON TWP. GIRLS 181, SCHALICK 212: Washington Twp. posted three rounds in the 40s at Centerton CC, led by medalist Tessa Reilley’s 42. Lena Virga posted Schalick’s low round (49).

Monday roundup

Clinching time: Woodstown baseball, softball clinch TCC Diamond Division titles; Pennsville softball clinches share of Classic Division crown

BASEBALL
PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 2: Chase Burchfield pitched five solid innings and went 3-for-3 at the plate. He drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the first and the Eagles tacked on two more on a walk and a hit batsman both with bases loaded.

Burchfield has been itching to pitch and the Eagles gave him his chance at Salem on May 1. He has pitched a total of four games — twice each against Salem and Clayton — and has given up one earned run and struck out 10 in nine total innings. The hits he allowed Monday were his first of the year.

In addition, in the games he has pitched, he has gone 8-for-14 at the plate with eight RBIs.

The Clippers made it 3-2 in the fifth, but the Eagles answered with two in the bottom of the fifth on Jeff Wagner’s two-out RBI single and Birchfield’s steal of home.

The Eagles can claim a share of the Tri-County Conference Classic Division (with Pitman) by beating Wildwood Tuesday.

WOODSTOWN 10, PENNS GROVE 0: Thomas Tucci threw three strong innings and three relievers completed a one-hitter as the Wolverines clinched the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title.

Tucci pitched the first three innings and struck out five. Jack Knorr, Michael Valente and Dante Spina followed him to the hill and threw three no-hit innings of relief. All three of Spina’s outs were strikeouts.

Blake Bialecki had three of Woodstown’s eight hits. Andrew Pedrick had two hits with a double, drew two walks and scored three runs. Dylan Hyatt had Penns Grove’s only hit.

Both teams are headed to the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

SCHALICK 8, STERLING 1: Luke Pokrovsky struck out all six batters he faced in two innings on the mound and hit a grand slam in the second inning. Four Schalick pitchers combined to hold the Silver Knights to three singles. Jake Siedlecki put the Cougars on top with a two-run homer in the first.

Pokrovsky went 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Matt Lamazza and Evan Glaspey each had two hits for the Cougars.

Here are the first-round matchups for the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 23
Camden Academy Charter at Audubon
Buena at Haddon Twp.
Maple Shade at Woodstown
Gateway at Pennsville
Glassboro at Pitman
Paulsboro at Schalick
Cape May Tech at Wildwood
Penns Grove at Gloucester

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 11, CLAYTON 1: Kylie Harris drove in three runs with a double and a triple, Savannah Palverento had two RBIs and Bella Rappa and Lilly Birney had two hits apiece as the Eagles ran their winning streak to 13 games and clinched a tie for the Tri-County Classic Division title. They can win it outright if Gloucester Catholic falls to Salem Tuesday.

WOODSTOWN 19-16, PENNS GROVE 0-3: The Wolverines clinched the TCC Diamond Division title and extended their winning streak over in-county competition to 28 games. Hannah Hitchner’s three-run double highlighted a seven-run first in the opener. The Wolverines got eight in the first inning of the nightcap. Madison LaPalomento and Sara Weinstein both had three RBIs in that game. Woodstown’s pitchers gave up only two hits in each game.

SCHALICK 1, OLMA 0: Abby Willoughby raced home with the game’s only run when the Villagers mishandled Addi Shimp’s bunt back to the circle. Shimp kept the Villagers off the board, turning back threats in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. The Cougars cut down a runner at the plate in the second.

Shimp gave up three hits and struck out seven in spinning the complete-game shutout. Willoughby had two hits.

Here are the first-round matchups in the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 22
Camden Academy Charter at Audubon
Paulsboro at Palmyra
Cape May Tech at Maple Shade
Glassboro at Pennsville
Clayton at Haddon Twp.
Schalick at Woodstown
Gateway at Pitman
Salem at Buena

BOYS TENNIS
SCHALICK 3, PITMAN 2: The Cougars won dramatic tiebreakers at 2 singles (Jesus Espinoza) and 2 doubles (Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski) to stun the TCC Diamond Division leader and No. 2 South Jersey Group I seed. It was the Cougars’ first win over the Panthers since 2019.
Maddox Marker (P) def. George Gould, 6-2, 6-1
Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Cole Kelly, 7-5, 1-6, 10-7
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-0, 6-0
Michael Fisicaro-Max Pappalardo (P) def. Rocky Monticolo-David Santana, 6-4, 6-2
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Matthew Bauman-Dom Saffioti, 7-5, 3-6, 11-9
Records: Pitman 15-7, Schalick 15-6.

WOODSTOWN 5, DEPTFORD 0
Tim Schwienbacher (Wo) def. Ethan Bui, 6-1, 6-2
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Xavier Dean, 6-2, 6-0
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. Bradyn Gee, 6-4, 6-0
Mason Shimp-Joseph Kurpis (Wo) def. Anmolpreet Singh-Tony Logan, 6-3, 6-1
John Farrell-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Joseph Crowley-Olaoluwa Gureje, 6-0, 4-6, 10-8
Records: Deptford 4-13, Woodstown 11-5

Here are the pairings for the South Jersey Group I tennis tournament
May 23
No. 1 Haddon Twp. bye
No. 9 Lindenwold at No. 8 Overbrook
No. 12 Wildwood at No. 5 Woodstown
No. 4 Middle Twp. bye
No. 3 Pennsville bye
No. 11 Penns Grove at No. 6 Buena
No. 10 Palmyra at No. 7 Schalick
No. 2 Pitman bye
May 29
Lindenwold-Overbrook winner at Haddon Twp.
Wildwood-Woodstown winner at Middle Twp.
Penns Grove-Buena winner at Pennsville
Schalick-Palmyra winner at Pitman
May 31
Semifinals
June 4
Championship match

GIRLS LACROSSE
Here are the first round games for the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 22
Middle Twp. at Glen Ridge
Haddon Heights at Shore
May 25
West Deptford at Delaware Valley
Haddon Twp. at Woodstown
Sterling at Madison
Lower Cape May at Cinnaminson
New Providence at Bernards
Dayton at Rumson-Fair Haven

BOYS LACROSSE
Here are the first-round games for the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 22
Lower Cape May at Johnson
Point Pleasant Boro at New Providence
Dayton at Shore
Cinnaminson at Rumson-Fair Haven
May 25
Sterling at Bernards
Delaware Valley at Haddonfield
Verona at Glen Ridge
Woodstown at Madison

This week’s schedule

First round of South Jersey Group I baseball, softball tournaments, TCC track showcase and Salem-Cumberland golf championships highlight the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 20-25. All events start 4 p.m. unless noted.

MONDAY, MAY 20
BASEBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown
Schalick at Sterling
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Middle Twp., OLMA at Schalick
Penns Grove at Woodstown (2)
Bridgeton at Salem
GOLF
Salem-Cumberland County Tournament, Centerton CC, 8 a.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Deptford Twp. at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Williamstown, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pitman at Schalick
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Clearview at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 21
BASEBALL
Wildwood at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
BOYS TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville
Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m.
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Washington Twp., Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick boys vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
SOFTBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
First-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon
No. 9 Paulsboro at No. 8 Palmyra
No. 12 Cape May Tech at No. 5 Maple Shade
No. 13 Glassboro at No. 4 Pennsville
No. 14 Clayton at No. 3 Haddon Twp.
No. 11 Schalick at No. 6 Woodstown
No. 10 Gateway at No. 7 Pitman
No. 15 Salem at No. 2 Buena
BOYS TENNIS
Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
TCC Showcase, Delsea, 3:30 p.m.
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Kingsway, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick boys vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 4:15 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 23
BASEBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
First-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon
No. 9 Buena at No. 8 Haddon Twp.
No. 12 Maple Shade at No. 5 Woodstown
No. 13 Gateway at No. 4 Pennsville
No. 11 Paulsboro at No. 6 Schalick
No. 14 Glassboro at No. 3 Pitman
No. 10 Cape May Tech at No. 7 Wildwood
No. 15 Penns Grove at No. 2 Gloucester
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Highland, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Penns Grove at Woodstown

Eyeing the playoffs

UPDATED
Woodstown baseball falls in final game before cutoff, includes projected first-round South Jersey Group I playoff pairings for baseball and softball based on power points at the cutoff

BASEBALL
ABSEGAMI 6, WOODSTOWN 2: The Wolverines played one last game in an attempt to gain some power points before Saturday’s cutoff, but fell behind 5-0 and couldn’t recover. They are projected to be the fifth seed in the South Jersey Group I tournament that starts next week.

Adrian Rosario hit a two-run triple and scored on Joaquin Velez’ single to give the Braves a 3-0 lead in the first. An infield out with runners at second and third and an RBI single made it 5-0 in the second.

The Wolverines were held to two hits. Rocco String’s two-run double in the third made it 5-2. Ty Coblentz had the other hit.

Here are the projected first-round pairings in the South Jersey Group I tournament based on power points through Saturday night. The seeding meeting to formalize the bracket is Monday. The first round of the tournament is Thursday.

No. 16 Camden Academy Charter (8-6) at No. 1 Audubon (17-8)
No. 9 Buena (7-18) at No. 8 Haddon Twp. (8-13)
No. 12 Maple Shade (9-12) at No. 5 Woodstown (14-9)
No. 13 Gateway (8-14) at No. 4 Pennsville (14-9)
No. 11 Paulsboro (8-17) at No. 6 Schalick (13-10)
No. 14 Glassboro (6-13) at No. 3 Pitman (17-6)
No. 10 Cape May Tech (11-11) at No. 7 Wildwood (16-8)
No. 15 Penns Grove (5-13) at No. 2 Gloucester (17-6)
NOTE: Current No. 15 (Salem) and No. 17 (Clayton) in the standings reportedly are opting out, elevating the positions of Penns Grove and Camden Academy Charter.

Here are the projected South Jersey Group I softball pairings based on the power points through Saturday night. The seeding meeting to formalize the bracket is Monday. The first round of the tournament is Wednesday.

No. 16 Wildwood (2-13) at No. 1 Audubon (15-5)
No. 9 Paulsboro (10-10) at No. 8 Palmyra (10-9)
No. 12 Cape May Tech (9-12) at No. 5 Maple Shade (13-7)
No. 13 Glassboro (6-14) at No. 4 Pennsville (15-4)
No. 14 Clayton (7-11) at No. 3 Haddon Twp. (16-6)
No. 11 Schalick ( 8-8) at No. 6 Woodstown (11-7)
No. 10 Gateway (6-10) at No. 7 Pitman (10-8)
No. 15 Salem (4-12) at No. 2 Buena (16-5)

Friday roundup

Here are the results and details from Friday’s Salem County sports schedule

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 3, HIGHLAND 0: Savannah Palverento may have had her string of consecutive hitless innings end at 12 1/3 with a leadoff single, but she extended her shutout streak to 16 1/3 consecutive innings with a seven-inning four-hitter.

The Eagles (15-4) have won 12 in a row. Half of the wins in the streak have been shutouts.

Mary Montagna singled home Sierra Stultz in the first inning. Avery Watson’s ground out brought home Montagna in the fourth. And Palverento singled home Kylie Harris in the fifth. Harris reached in the fifth on her 13th double of the season.

SCHALICK 7, CAPE MAY TECH 1: Abby Willoughby had a two-run single among her two hits and struck out 13 with no walks while spinning a complete-game four-hitter in the circle. Alexa Shimp and Rachael Irizarry had two hits apiece for the Cougars.

Willoughby’s two-run single came in the fourth inning and gave the Cougars a 4-0 lead. Irizarry singled home a run in the second, Lucy Virga singled home a run in the third and Shimp singled home a run in the fourth. Rachel Grandson had an RBI ground out in the fifth and Willoughby scored on a passed ball in the sixth.

BASEBALL
CUMBERLAND 7, PENNSVILLE 5: The Colts scored three runs on a pair of errors in the sixth inning and Luke Fithian turned the Eagles back over the final two innings to finish off a complete game. Fithian struck out 13.

Pennsville held leads of 2-0 and 5-4 in the game. Cohen Petrutz gave the Eagles their 5-4 lead in the fifth after Chase Burchfield and Peyton O’Brien delivered back-to-back RBI singles. O’Brien and Connor Starn singled runs home in the first inning.

Burchfield went 3-for-4, while O’Brien and Starn both went 2-for-4.

DELRAN 12, SCHALICK 2: The Cougars outhit Delran 9-4, but their pitchers issued 11 walks and hit four batters and six of them scored. Luke Pokrovsky, Ricky Watts and Jake Siedlecki – the heart of the Schalick order – had two hits apiece for the Cougars.

WOODSTOWN 3, GCIT 2: Blake Bialecki put the Wolverines ahead for good with a two-run single in the third inning and Rocco String helped his own cause with a RBI double in the fifth. String pitched two innings of relief and got the win. Jack Knorr set down the Cheetahs in order in the seventh for the save.

Pennsville (14-8), Woodstown (13-8) and Schalick (13-9) are projected as the 4, 5 and 6 seeds, respectively, in the upcoming South Jersey Group I playoffs. The cutoff date for power points is Saturday.

GOLF
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 187, PENNSVILLE 196, SALEM TECH 225: Pennsville’s Jacob Isaac and Gloucester Catholic’s Billy Stuski shared medalist honors after posting 6-over-par 42s at Sakima CC. Stuski birdied No. 9 to pull into the tie.

Gloucester Catholic posted three rounds in the 40s. Mason Griffith shot Salem Tech’s low round (48)

BOYS TENNIS
SCHALICK 5, CLAYTON 0
George Gould (S) def. Troy Hollis, 6-0, 6-0
Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Jayden Sanchez, 6-0, 6-0
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Dyshamir Miller, 6-1, 6-0
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. Guiseppe Wiltsey-Chase Murphy, 6-1, 6-0
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Briseis Hansen-Idris Stewart, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Clayton 4-7, Schalick 14-6.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-10, 25-16)