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.”
Category: BASEBALL
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)
Red Devils in waiting game
Penns Grove locked in a battle for one of the final South Jersey Group I baseball playoff spots, cutoff date is Saturday; roundup includes golf, tennis
THURSDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 4, Overbrook 1
Schalick 14, Salem 3
Wildwood 6, Penns Grove 1
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – If all the things Chuck Weigle is hearing are true, he has growing confidence the his team will have a spot in the South Jersey Group I baseball playoffs next week, but the Penns Grove baseball coach learned a long time ago not to count his chickens before they hatch.
The Red Devils have been doing a dance with Salem and Clayton for the final spots in the playoff. They had a chance to gain some major points Thursday, but lost to Wildwood 6-1 on their Senior Day to keep the race in the back tight.
Going into the day, the Red Devils (5-13) held the 16th and final power points spot, two points ahead of Clayton and 18.5 behind No. 15 Salem. But he’s also heard through the coaching grapevine that Salem (confirmed by Riverview Sports News) and Clayton both were opting out of the playoffs, potentially moving the Red Devils into the field without much more effort.
The cutoff date for power points is Saturday and the Red Devils are trying to find additional games before the deadline without much success. As it unfolds, Weigle is content to wait for the official word after Monday’s seeding meeting before making travel plans and as a 15 or 16 seed they will be going on the road.
“We’re waiting to see how everything pans out, we’re waiting until the information is sent out to us,” he said. “We’re looking ahead towards the future and hoping for the best.
“I don’t want to give these guys a false sense of reality and hope. It’s been going back and forth between us and Clayton for a week or so. It’s been real interesting to say the least. We look at it after one game’s entered and then you look at it 30 minutes later and it’s changed again.”
Had the Red Devils won Thursday, they would have netted more than 30 power points and basically punched their ticket. With the loss, they netted only six more points and have 162. Salem netted seven points for its loss to Schalick and Clayton netted just two for its loss to Glassboro for 157.
If the Red Devils make it, it will be their first playoff appearance since 2021, when they were 2-15 and lost to Woodstown in the first round.
“I just hope we have an opportunity to get in, but whatever happens happens,” shortstop Elijah Crespo said. “It would be a great experience, another journey that we can just have fun and come back and play baseball.”
“It would be the first time in high school for me playing baseball,” pitcher Chase Wills said. “From where we started at the beginning of the year to fight back and make it into the playoffs would mean a lot, especially being my last year. It’s been nice to even sniff out playoffs.”
With all that was at stake, the Red Devils sent their best arm to the mound to give them a chance. Wills gave up only three hits and struck out six in what might be his final home game, but some tough luck in the field worked against him. Only four of Wildwood’s runs were earned.
“I gave my all, did my best to help the team win,” Wills said. “Sadly, it didn’t come through, but I felt I did the best I could.”
Crespo’s RBI double to left center gave the Red Devils a 1-0 lead in the first. Wills smoothly retired the first seven batters he faced, but Wildwood got to him in the third.
Junior Hans gave the Warriors the lead with a two-run single and he later scored from second when he beat the throw from first on a slow roller in the infield. The Warriors added another run in the fifth and got two more in the sixth.
Wildwood pitchers Logan Totten and Harley Buscham made life difficult for the Red Devils. Tommy Mattioli’s single leading off the seventh was their first since Crespo’s RBI double in the first. They did put runners at second and third with two outs in the sixth, but couldn’t bring them home.
SCHALICK 14, SALEM 3: The Cougars broke away from a scoreless tie with eight runs in the third inning and backed it up with a six-run fifth.
Luke Pokrovsky and Ricky Watts had two-run singles in the fifth. Starting and winning pitcher Evan Glaspey had a two-run single in the sixth to walk it off.
Pokrovsky, Watts, Jake Siedlecki, Lucas D’Agostino and Jamari Whitley all had two hits for the Cougars.
Salem scored all its runs in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly, a bases-loaded walk and bases-loaded hit batsman.
PENNSVILLE 4, OVERBROOK 1: Logan Streitz’s two-run single with none out in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie. Chase Burchfield singled Streitz home two batters later.
Cohen Petrutz and Streitz combined to hold Overbrook to three hits. The Rams scored an unearned run in the first inning, but Pennsville tied it on Jacob Wagner’s one-out single in the second.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Power Points (as of 11 p.m. May 16)
1. Audubon (16-8) 495, 2. Gloucester (17-6) 477, 3. Pitman (17-5) 454, 4. Pennsville (14-8) 436, 5. Woodstown (13-8) 400, 6. Schalick (13-9) 374, 7. Haddon Twp. (8-13) 339, 8. Buena (7-17) 322, 9. Cape May Tech (10-11) 318, 10. Wildwood (13-8) 298, 11. Paulsboro (7-17) 256, 12. Maple Shade (9-11) 254, 13. Gateway (8-13) 253, 14. Glassboro (6-13) 221, 15. Salem (4-13-1) 183.5, 16. Penns Grove (5-13) 162, 17. Clayton (3-14) 157, 18. Camden Academy Charter (8-4) 134, 19. LEAP (1-12) 55.
GOLF
SCHALICK 176, CUMBERLAND 237: Ryan Johnson parred three of his last four holes to shoot a 4-over-par 40 and South Jersey Group I medalist Jaxon Weber shot 41 to lead the Cougars at Running Deer GC. Schalick also counted a 45 from Seth Fisher and chose between the 50s of Anthony Sepers and Michael Nelson.
BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, WILDWOOD 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Giorgio Palesano, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Brian Damian, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Christopher Olivera, 6-0, 6-1
Noah Flitcraft-Noah Bohn (P) def. Christopher Hernandez-Simon Palacias, 6-0, 6-0
Sawyer Humphrey-Luke Chamberlain (P) def. Miguel Amendondo-Kevin Damian, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Wildwood 4-10, Pennsville 15-3.
NOTES: Based on the South Jersey Group I power points standings that closed Thursday, Pennsville is No. 4, Woodstown No. 6, Schalick No. 7 and Penns Grove No. 12. There were 11 teams in last year’s SJ Group I Tournament.
Pitchers on fire
Tuesday roundup: Schalick pitchers continue to throw zeroes, Penns Grove wins third straight, eyes playoff spot, and more
By Riverview Sports News
BASEBALL
SCHALICK 10, GLASSBORO 0: Jamari Whitley went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and pitched two perfect innings of relief to close out a one-hit shutout. Luke Pokrovsky and Ricky Watt had two hits apiece and Enrico Hatz had two RBIs.
Hatz had a two-run single in the first. Whitley had an RBI single in the third and a two-run double in the fourth. Watt had a two-run single in the fifth to walk it off.
Cole Hartley for Schalick pitched the first three innings for Schalick (12-9, 6-2 TCC Diamond) and got the win. It was the Cougars’ second one-hit shutout in as many days. Their pitchers haven’t given up a run in their last 14 innings and have given up just two runs and five hits in their last three games (19 innings).
“The pitchers have done a great job of getting ahead of batters and pitching to contact, trying to limit free bases,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said.
PENNS GROVE 18, LEAP 5: Elijah Crespo hit his fifth homer of the year, Chase Wills hit his first career homer and came within a triple of the cycle and the Red Devils continued their march towards a South Jersey Group I playoff spot with their third win in a row and second over the Lions in three days.
The post-season prospects are looking better each day. The Red Devils (5-12) are No. 17 in the SJ-I power points standings, but current No. 16 Clayton and No. 15 Salem are said to be opting out of the playoffs. They can make a big move by beating Wildwood Thursday.
The five wins in the season are the most since 2017 (5-16) – they were 7-15 in 2016 – and the three-game winning streak is their longest since they won three in a row near the end of 2014 (14-10), a season that also included a five-game winning streak.
Dylan Hyatt pitched 2 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to get the win. Ryan Hyatt went 2-for-3 with five runs scored and two RBIs. Gio Torres went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
GIRLS GOLF
KINGSWAY 208, SCHALICK 223: Carly Kuminka (44) and Ava Volpe (46) shot rounds in the 40s to lead Kingsway at River Winds GC. Hannah Widdifield posted Schalick’s low round (52).
BOYS TENNIS
SCHALICK 3, TRITON 1
Steve Schilder (T) def. George Gould, 6-3, 6-3
Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Tristyn Malone, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
Conor O’Toole (S) draws with William Ahrens, 6-4, 2-6
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. Cole Durham-Sean Gorski, 6-1, 6-2
Cayden Brzozowski-Kaden Barnes (S) def. Tirth Patel-Brennan Zabala, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
Records: Schalick 12-6, Triton 7-9.
PITMAN 5, WOODSTOWN 0
Maddox Marker (P) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-2, 6-1
Chase Rollins (P) def. Drew Stengel, 6-0, 6-4
Cole Kelly (P) def. Erich Lipovsky, 6-2, 6-1
Charlie Duffield-Ethan Loudner (P) def. Joseph Kurpis-Mason Shimp, 6-2, 6-4
Michael Fisicaro-Max Pappalardo (P) def. Jason LaFond-Luke Shaw, 6-4, 6-3
Records Woodstown 10-5, Pitman 15-6.
NOTE: Wednesday is the cutoff date for power points to qualify for postseason play. Among the Salem County teams in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings, Pennsville is No. 4, Woodstown is No. 6, Schalick is No. 7 and Penns Grove is No. 12. Haddon Twp. is No. 1 and Pitman is No. 2. Entries are due to the state by noon Thursday with the seeding meet Monday.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter
BOYS LACROSSE
Millville at Woodstown
DeRamus, Velez recognized
Salem CC outfielder, catcher, big pieces of the Mighty Oaks’ second-half turnaround, named third-team picks on All-Region XIX baseball team
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
Salem Community College outfielder Demetrius DeRamus and catcher Angel Velez, two of the team’s hottest hitters in the second half of the season, were selected to the All-Region XIX baseball team.
Both were third-team picks, DeRamus and an outfielder and Velez as the designated hitter.
“They were both key parts to getting the ball rolling in the right direction,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “They both learned to make adjustments in regards to their approach and their swing throughout the year, which helped them in regards to their statistics.
“The thing I guess I preached the most that I spoke to them about was if you look at our stats nationally as a bunch of individuals we’re not very high in a lot of categories but if you look at the where we rank statistically as a team most of the good categories we’re in the top 15, top 20.
“I think that just proves we were better playing as a team than we were as a bunch of individuals and those two guys in particular really bought into that. They were keys to getting the season turned around and getting us where we had to be.”
DeRamus was the Oaks’ second-leading hitter (.374), was tied for the team lead in hits (64) and led them in doubles (17), homers (7) and RBIs (59). He made no errors in the field.
He hit .438 (42-96) with 36 RBIs during the second-half turnaround that culminated in the Oaks’ first Region XIX playoff appearance in 13 years. He went 8-for-14 with two homers and eight RBIs in their three playoff games against Northampton.
“Demetrius works very hard at his craft in regards to his swing and his hitting and made necessary adjustments throughout the year to adjust to college-level pitching and how people were attacking him,” Holt said.
Velez was the Oaks’ third-leading hitter (.369) with 55 hits and two homers. His 48 RBIs was second on the team. He was 24-for-46 (.522) with 18 RBIs during their 15-game winning streak that secured their playoff berth. He was 8-for-13 with nine RBIs in the playoffs.
“Angel made the adjustment to start hitting the ball to all fields and became an incredible opposite-field hitter to the point where that home run he hit against Northampton (in the playoffs) was opposite-field power,” Holt said.
The All-Region teams were dominated by top three tournament seeds RCSJ-Gloucester, Brookdale and Northampton. They had all 10 first-teamers, 24 total players and the Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year.
Brookdale’s Rocco Brzezniak was Player of the Year. Northampton’s Austin Beard was Pitcher of the Year. RCSJ-Gloucester’s Rob Valli was Coach of the Year.
The Oaks had the biggest turnaround in the region. They were 11 games under .500 on April 9. The next day they started on an 18-1 tear that included the 15-game winning streak that guaranteed their first winning season since the revival of the program.
“They were a resilient group,” Holt said. “A lot of teams being down 10 under .500 could’ve folded. Instead, those guys bought into what we were trying to teach them and they battled all the way through. To qualify for the playoffs and play as well as we did down the stretch, there’s a lot to be real pleased with this season and with the future.”
Milestone man
Baseball roundup: Pedrick becomes second Woodstown player this season to reach 100 career hits; Schalick’s Pokrovsky throws gem, Pennsville loses a heartbreaker and more
TUESDAY BASEBALL
Penns Grove 11, Camden Eastside 2
Pitman 4, Pennsville 3
Salem 10, Pleasantville 10
Schalick 5, Overbrook 0
Woodstown 18, Glassboro 3
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO – Andrew Pedrick and Brent Williams have gotten to be good friends playing alongside each other in the Woodstown infield and batting behind each other in the lineup.
As you’d expect of good friends they talk about a lot of things. Among them lately is the occasion conversation about getting 100 hits before they leave the program.
Williams got his milestone hit three weeks ago against Penns Grove. Pedrick joined the club Tuesday, landing on the number exactly after collecting two singles in the Wolverines’ 18-3 rout of Glassboro.
“It’s really nice we both have that connection together that we got 100 hits the same year, because I don’t think it’s happened for a while at Woodstown,” Pedrick said. “I know Brent was saying it’s been a long time, maybe since the early 2000s.
“It’s something me and my brother (Matt) always talked about,. He used to play on Woodstown (2015-18) and he just always told me I could get it. I never really thought I could. It’s just always something I really wanted.”
Pedrick has had at least 20 hits in each of his four seasons on the varsity. He has 25 this season and sports a .338 career batting average. He’s gotten at least one hit in each of the last four games.
“I really wanted to get it at the Lee Ware Tournament (last weekend),” he said. “Since I didn’t get it then, I really wanted to get it now, especially because we don’t have a lot of games left.”
After being denied earlier in the game, Pedrick reached the milestone on a soft infield single in the Wolverines’ 10-run sixth inning that broke open the game. He beat out a close play at first and then got excited because he reached a spot not many in the program have achieved.
Pedrick has a collection of baseballs from momentous occasions in his career on the ground floor of his house. He estimates between 30 and 40 balls in the stash. This latest milestone ball, he says, is going to be displayed “somewhere nice” in his room.
“It was really important to me because it’s something I can say I did and it’s a really big accomplishment for me, especially going to college next year (Harford CC) and having that under my belt,” Pedrick said. “It makes me feel better about myself.”
With the win, the Wolverines (13-8) clinched a share of the Tri-County Diamond Division title. They a game ahead of Schalick with one to play and have beaten the Cougars twice.
Williams led the Wolverines’ 16-hit attack with three hits and three RBIs. Jack Holladay went 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Pedrick had two RBI to go with his two hits. Mark Banff also had two hits and two RBIs.
SCHALICK 5, OVERBROOK 0: Luke Pokrovsky did it all for the Cougars. The junior went 3-for-3, hit a three-run homer and pitched a one-hitter with a career-tying 16 strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches and faced only two batters over the minimum.
He retired the first 14 batters he faced before Tyler Burger broke up the gem with a two-out infield single in the fifth inning. The only other baserunner he allowed came on a sixth-inning walk. Neither runner reached second base. His last 10 outs were all by strikeout.
Pokrovsky now has 91 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings this season and 226 in 131 career innings.
J.T. Fleming and Ricky Watt had two hits apiece and had RBI singles in fourth to give the Cougars (11-9) a 2-0 lead. Pokrovsky hit his three-run homer in the sixth. He’s 11 hits shy of 100 for his career.
PITMAN 4, PENNSVILLE 3: Connor Sharkey raced home with the winning run on a two-out, two-strike wild pitch with bases loaded to cap Pitman’s two-run seventh inning rally. The Panthers tied the game on Stephen Devanney’s RBI double.
The Eagles took a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning on Jacob Grant’s RBI ground out and Cohen Petrutz’ two-out RBI single.
Mason O’Brien and Peyton O’Brien had two hits apiece at the top of the Eagles’ lineup. Back-to-back doubles by the O’Briens in the third produced Pennsville’s first run and tied the game 1-1.
PENNS GROVE 11, CAMDEN EASTSIDE 2: Elijah Crespo homered and threw a complete game with 10 strikeouts as the Red Devils (4-12) continued their march towards a South Jersey Group I playoff spot. The Red Devils pulled away from a 4-2 game with a seven-run fourth inning.
Ryan Hyatt and Ethan Brooks both had a pair of hits as the Red Devils won back-to-back games for the second time this season. Ethan Brooks, Dylan Hyatt and Chase Wills all had a pair of RBIs.
With the win, Penns Grove now has 151 power points, five behind current No. 16 Clayton, but with Salem opting out of the playoffs the Red Devils would hold the 16th and final SJ-I playoff spot. The cutoff date for qualification is Saturday.
SALEM 10, PLEASANTVILLE 10: Andrew May homered for the Rams.
Riverview Sports News 