Here are scores and highlights from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Pennsville 7, GCIT 2: Grady Sanders’ two-run double capped a four-run fifth inning that gave the Eagles a 6-2 lead and control of the game. Logan Cowperthwait and Jeff Wagner broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single and Logan Cowperthwait singled home a run a few batters later before Sanders’ game-breaking hit. Mason O’Brien threw a complete game, holding the Cheetahs to three hits and striking out eight.
“We’re playing confident baseball right now, that’s all we can ask for,” said Pennsville coach Matt Karr, whose team is 6-2 in the month of May. “Just keep playing really good competition and get ready for playoffs.”
Clayton 16, Salem Tech 11: The Clippers took control with 11 runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Kevin Mosley hit a game-tying homer in the fifth and Jameson Emerle hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Mosley and Jaiden Keller drove in four runs apiece. Daulton Sites had three hits and two RBIs for the Chargers. Cole Sacks and Logan Hearn had two hits apiece.
SOFTBALL Woodstown 6, Glassboro 4: Leah Clark turns back Glassboro in seventh, Ellie Wygand homers, but denied her 100th career hit; separate story posting soon. Delran 7, Schalick 1: Chloe Carucci’s two-run homer capped a four-run third inning and Mary Masterson held the Cougars to four hits and struck out 10. Kassady Sickler gave Schalick a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second. Bridgeton at Salem Tech
GOLF Woodstown 159, Overbrook 184: Woodstown’s Nate Valente shot 1-over 37 to win low medalist at Kresson GC. Teammate Alejandro Vazquez was a shot back.
GIRLS GOLF Schalick 165, Delsea 182: Schalick’s Lena Virga and Delsea’s Claudia Bui shared medalist honors (40) at Washington Twp. Municipal.
BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown 12, Timber Creek 2: Bryce Downer records his 700th career save, Wolverines win fourth straight; separate story posting soon.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL Riverside at Salem Tech
TENNIS Pennsville 4, Burlington Twp. 1: The Eagles’ No. 1 doubles team of Coen Rinnier and Jacob Cheeseman won their 13th match in a row. No 2 singles Lucas Cooksey has won 14 straight.
PENNSVILLE 4, BURLINGTON TWP. 1 Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Adam Mortaja, 6-1, 6-3 Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Jay Patel, 6-0, 6-1 Caleb Shin (BT) def. Carter Willis, 7-5, 6-2 Coen Rinnier-Jacob Cheeseman (P) def. Prabhnoor Ghotra-Taylor Lahr-Tirado, 6-3, 6-2 Lucas Thomas-Ian Peacock (P) def. Vincent Contrati-Ashan Wickamanyake, 6-0, 6-2. Records: Pennsville 16-6, Burlington Twp. 10-9.
Woodstown senior Bryce Downer (20) and lacrosse coach Bryan Sperry celebrate the goalie surpassing 700 career saves in Thursday’s win over Timber Creek.
Pennsville softball players set two milestones in bounce-back win over Gloucester Catholic; Woodstown’s Wygand, Schalick’s Sepers, Watt closing in on 100 hits; also includes scores, details from Wednesday’s Salem County sports schedule
SOFTBALL Pennsville 6, Gloucester Catholic 3 Schalick 10, Glassboro 8 Wildwood 10, Salem 0 Woodstown 17, Penns Grove 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
GLOUCESTER – It was a milestone day for the players on the Pennsville softball team. Lily Edwards scored her 100th career run for the first run of the game and Graillyn Weber hit a pair of doubles to set the school’s single-season record as the Eagles bounced back from a bad loss to Millville the day before and topped Gloucester Catholic 6-3 to move within one win of an undefeated division season.
Edwards led off the game with a double and scored her milestone run on Weber’s 16th double of the season, breaking the record Kylie Harris set each of the last two years. Weber’s second double of the game came leading off the third inning and she later scored a game-tying run on a single by Avery Watson.
“I’m really happy about it and honestly I had forgotten before the game about the record, which definitely made it easier to accomplish because I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Weber said. “But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates because we had a great game.”
Weber may have forgotten about the record she was chasing, but Edwards had been counting down the runs and the 100 hits she’s closing on for the last couple weeks.
“For me it’s big because I missed my whole sophomore season (with a broken back) so just to accomplish something like that, that big, means a lot to me,” she said. “I definitely was looking for it. I knew it was going to happen. With Gray (Weber) and Kylie (Harris) behind me I knew I was going to get it, but I knew I needed to run really fast.”
It takes a lot of success at the plate to score 100 runs. She’s scored all those runs off 89 hits, 17 walks, eight HBPs and a couple of fielder’s choices. It’s not certain how many times she’s reached on an error. She’s scored in every game but two this year, and one of those was a shutout the third game of the season.
“My 100 hits is my main goal for high school softball,” she said. “You don’t get that recognition like travel ball or anything, but high school is the time to do it. It’s going to really nice to get it, hopefully.”
The Eagles came from behind twice to beat the Rams for the second time this season. They trailed 2-1 in the first inning and 3-2 in the fourth before scoring three runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead for good. Harris hit the go-ahead RBI triple, Watson followed with an RBI single and Kelsey Cook delivered a run-scoring ground out later in the inning. Weber pitched a scoreless seventh to wrap up a complete-game victory.
Watson, the Eagles’ senior shortstop and clean-up hitter, went 4-for-4 in the game. She also had a single in the first, a single in the fifth and another RBI single in the seventh.
“The game was important to us as a division game and I wanted to help be the fuel we needed to pick up the team after a tough loss the day before,” Watson said. “I have plenty of long at-bats where I’m looking to find my perfect pitch and fouling off what I don’t like, and that’s what I did today. I found a good mix of patience and aggression at the plate that helped contribute to our win.”
The Eagles (13-5) can complete an undefeated run through the TCC Classic Division with a win at Salem Monday.
WOODSTOWN 17, PENNS GROVE 0: Ellie Wygand went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, Lexi Taylor was 2-for-2 with three RBIs, Grace Hitchner drove in three runs and three Woodstown pitchers combined on a four-inning no-hitter.
SCHALICK 10, GLASSBORO 8: Khloe McGrath’s three-run homer gave Schalick the lead and highlighted a seven-run fourth inning that erased a 5-1 deficit. The win completed the Cougars’ first undefeated run in the Diamond Division since 2021.
WILDWOOD 19, SALEM 0: Emma Contreras went 4-for-4 with four four RBIs and pitched a four-inning one-hitter, facing one batter over the minimum. Julliana Love had the Rams’ hit, a leadoff single in the second inning.
BASEBALL Schalick 13, Glassboro 3 Vineland 12, Pennsville 9 Woodstown 12, Penns Grove 0 Wildwood 17, Salem 7
SCHALICK 13, GLASSBORO 3: The Cougars erased a 2-1 deficit with 10 runs in the third inning and sealed up back-to-back division titles for the first time in school history. Jamari Whitley and Evan Glaspey had three hits apiece, Evan Sepers had three RBIs and Whitley struck out nine in a five-inning complete game. Sepers (99) and Ricky Watt (94) are closing in on 100 career hits.
WOODSTOWN 12, PENNS GROVE 0: Luke Fraley went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, Walker Battavio went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Colton Williams pitched a five-inning one-hitter striking out seven. Josh Widen had the Red Devils’ lone hit.
WILDWOOD 17, SALEM 7: The Warriors were out front 15-0 to offset Salem’s seven-run outburst in the fourth. Trevor Troiano went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and is 8-for-8 with seven RBIs against Salem County foes the last two days. He’s 10-for-13 in his last three games overall. Jovanni Rios hit a three-run triple in the Rams’ big inning and was out at plate trying to stretch it into a homer.
VINELAND 12, PENNSVILLE 9: The Eagles trailed 9-2 after two innings, but battled back and brought the tying run to the plate in a seventh-inning rally but ran out of steam. Logan Streitz went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Mason O’Brien and Dante Cummings had two hits apiece.
Pennsville uses grit, luck to get past Glassboro; includes scores, details from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Pennsville 4, Glassboro 1: Eagles take lead with four in fortuitous fifth inning; full story below.. Wildwood 12, Penns Grove 2: Trevor Troiano goes 4-for-4; Wildwood holds Penns Grove to one hit through five innings while opening 7-0 lead. Bristol Scott, Tim Zamorano drove in Penns Grove’s runs in sixth. Piscataway Magnet 15, Salem Tech 7: NJTAC Group 1/2 Tournament semifinals. Chargers led early, but Piscataway (21-2) pulled away from a 9-7 game with six in home sixth.. SOFTBALL Woodstown 11, Deptford 1: Karly Spears and Macie Moore combine for four hits, four runs and three RBIs from bottom of Wolverines’ lineup. Leah Clark allows two hits, none after the first inning, and struck out eight to surpass 200 in her career (201). Millville 16, Pennsville 2: Thunderbolts put Eagles back on their heels with seven in top of the first inning. Pennsville’s Graillyn Weber ties Kylie Harris’ single-season school doubles record (15), Harris hits her 49th career double. Buena 12, Salem Tech 11: Chiefs score three runs on passed balls in home seventh to walk it off. Izzy Roberts had three hits and Carmen Mott three RBIs for the Chargers GOLF Schalick 161, Cumberland 196: Schalick’s Anthony Sepers posts 2-over 38 at Centerton CC for medalist honors. Teammate Jaxson Weber shot 39. GIRLS GOLF OLMA 214, Schalick 225: OLMA’s Eva Acerba and Schalick’s Lena Virga shared medalist honors (48) at Centerton CC TENNIS Middle Twp. 5, Schalick 0: See below Pennsville 4, Washington Twp. 1: See below GIRLS LACROSSE Holy Cross 13, Woodstown 12: The Lancers scored twice in the final 1:31 to win. Caroline Tobin and Brielle Mosteller scored six goals each for Holy Cross. Delaney Walker scored four (217) for Woodstown, Emma Morgan scored three for her 200th career point. BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Middle Twp. BOYS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at West Tech
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – At least one time every year Pennsville’s home field becomes a true advantage to play at home.
It certainly was Tuesday when the skin infield of Ed Rieger Field that the Eagles have come to love played a key role in the inning that propelled them to a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Glassboro.
The game carried some serious implications for the South Jersey Group i playoff bracket and it very much played like a playoff game. The Eagles trailed 1-0 going to the home fifth of a tight pitching duel between aces Jude Dempster and Gavin Spears, but they came out of the inning with a 4-1 lead thanks in part of the subtleties of the infield.
The inning started when Spears reached on a one-out dropped third strike and escalated into a bases-loaded situation on Mason O’Brien’s single and Jeff Wagner getting hit by a pitch. Logan Streitz followed with a fly ball to the gap in left center that centerfielder Jimmy McMahon had in his glove and couldn’t hold allowing the tying run to score.
With the bases still loaded, Stevie Fatcher lofted a high pop behind first that was circled under by first baseman Aidan Evangelisti but eventually fell between three fielders. The Bulldogs thought it should have been an infield fly rule out, but the umpires didn’t see it that way and the Eagles had a 2-1 lead.
Then came the play that makes the skin infield both feared and famous. Grady Sanders hit a routine grounder to the right side. It looked like it would be the third out of the inning, but at the last instant it took a wicked hop into second baseman Kody Harrell’s upper body. The sophomore infielder recovered the ball, but in his haste to get the out his throw to first was wide and two insurance runs raced home.
“We’ve been talking a lot lately about just finding a way,” Eagles coach Matt Karr said. “Ugly, pretty, whatever, just find a way. And that starts with just putting the ball in play and doing your job. Heads up play there by Gavin. Instead of standing there feeling sorry for himself he finds his way on base. Everything we’ve been preaching this season and always here, just give the guy behind you a shot. Whatever your job is at the moment go to the plate and do it and trust that the guy behind you is gonna pick you up and finish it off.
“Another thing I talk about all the time is luck. I really believe that part of the baseball game is creating some of your own luck. Some of those things that happened that inning, we had to put ourselves in situations for it to be capitalized on. Could’ve been nobody on and that pop up happens and falls and doesn’t mean anything. but we had guys on and we were fighting, so we created our luck in that situation. When you’re facing a pitcher like (Dempster) you have to almost ugly it up a little bit, fight, claw and find a way.”
Spears calls it “scrappy baseball … that’s what we symbolize around here.”
A similar scenario took place here 51 weeks ago when the Eagles scored a one-run extra-inning victory over Pitman. They fell behind that day 1-0 in the first, tied it in the seventh on a ball that got away from the catcher and won in it the eighth with the help of two fielding errors by two normally sure-handed infielders.
“We’re becoming one of the far and few between fields where it’s a skin infield; I don’t know how many of them are left in South Jersey, I would guess not many,” Karr said. “Here, as dry as the weather’s been, this field hardens up and our guys get the luxury of practicing and playing on it every single day. We were watching them take I/O and I told the guys, half-heartedly joking, Ed Rieger’s hardening up, you know what that means. Put ‘er in play and see what happens. It always finds a way. We love the home-field advantage.”
“This field is probably the worst I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sanders said. “On this infield, there’s been many black eyes that I’ve seen; I got hit over the forehead last year. Especially over there (waving to the right side), that’s one of the hardest spots in the infield. It’s great to play here. This is the most challenging place to play. Everywhere else feels like a joy ride. I love playing here. It makes me a better defender. It makes everybody here a better defender.”
“Basically anything that’s hit hard on the ground (is) guaranteed a base hit here,” Spears said. “It’s not the best place to play but for us I’d say it is. Any team coming in here is going to have a hard time fielding the ball. We get to work out here every single day, so we’re kind of used to it. This is just our home.”
Once the Eagles grabbed the lead, Spears had to go out and defend it. He went out and gave them a shutdown sixth, working the corners to retire the Bulldogs on a soft liner to second and two strikeouts. He allowed five hits and struck out eight in going the distance for his longest outing of the season. The Bulldogs scored their run in the first inning – on back-to-back walks to open the game, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly – then were blanked the rest of the game.
“We went up to Cherry Hill West for the Diamond Classic and threw him out there against one of the top teams in the state and he went out and battled his butt off,” Karr said. “We told the boys after the game I don’t know if you guys knew that we needed an ace or had an ace, but you’ve got a guy. We know when 10 toes the rubber we’re going to have a shot to win. Every start he’s been on the mound we’ve been right there or we’ve won. Our guys feel that. When they’ve got their guy on the mound they come out feeling different that day. He gives us that shot in the arm.”
“I never really considered myself an ace; I always feel like there’s things to work on, even in this game,” Spears said. “It’s good to know they have trust in me. I know my fielders have my back. I know they’re going to make every play that’s out there.”
Dempster was equally impressive for the Bulldogs. He held the Eagles to four hits over five innings and struck out 11.
The win allowed the Eagles to switch places with Glassboro in the SJ Group I power points standings. Glassboro was sixth and Pennsville seventh to start the day, but they flipped after the game. Schalick is No. 1, Woodstown No. 3. The power point window closes after Saturday’s games.
Here are the scores and details from games on Monday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Woodstown 3, Clayton 1: Chase Harding scored on a passed ball with Ty Coblentz batting to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead and Coblentz completed the at-bat with a sacrifice fly. Three Woodstown pitchers scattered five hits and struck out 11. Schalick 19, Salem 0: Mason Sanchez went 2-for-2 and pitched the first two shutout innings with five strikeouts. Cole Hartley had three RBIs.
SOFTBALL Deptford 8, Salem Tech 6: Molly Bulger and Soph McGuire (3 RBIs) both went 4-for-4 for the Spartans Woodstown 5, Clayton 1: Talia Guardascione singled home the first run in a four-run first inning that got Woodstown going. Pennsville 7, Glassboro 4: Kylie Harris’s leadoff homer broke a 4-4 tie and kicked off a three-run eighth inning for Pennsville. Savannah Guglielmo threw two innings of no-hit relief for the win. Lily Edwards scored her 99th career run. Schalick 6, Salem 0: The Cougars won for the second time this year at the Elmer LL complex.
GIRLS GOLF Williamstown 195, Schalick 206: Williamstown’s Kaci Adams was medalist (45). Cali Fisler posted the low round for Schalick (48)
VOLLEYBALL Washington Twp. 2, Salem Tech 0: 25-7, 25-8
GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown 16, Triton 3: Delaney Walker (5 goals) now at 213
BOYS LACROSSE Millville at Woodstown
TENNIS PENNSVILLE 5, SCHALICK 0 Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Gabe McFeeley, 6-0, 6-0 Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Reece Loatman, 6-1, 6-0 Carter Willis (P) def. Tyr Brattlie, 6-1, 6-0 Coen Rinnier-Jacob Cheeseman (P) def. Cooper Halperin-Jack Genievich, 6-0, 6-0 Ian Peacock-Lucas Thomas (P) def. Angelo Boston-Gavin McGrath, 7-5, 6-0 Records: Schalick 6-8, Pennsville 12-6
WOODSTOWN 5, TIMBER CREEK 0 Drew Stengel (WO) def. Kyle Clark Blanding, 6-4, 6-1 Luke Shaw (WO) def. Derek Sarpong, 6-1, 6-1 Nick DiTeodoro (WO) def. Adam He, 6-1, 6-3 Vincent Merendino-Josef Hummel (WO) def. Gabriel Castro-Keenan King, 6-0, 6-0 Josh King-John Hood-McGinley (WO) def. Stephen Fehon-Shawn Allen, 6-1, 6-1 Records: Woodstown 12-6, Timber Creek 3-11
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 11-16; all events start at 4 p.m. unless noted
MONDAY, MAY 11 BASEBALL Schalick at Salem Woodstown at Clayton SOFTBALL Clayton at Woodstown Pennsville at Glassboro Salem vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. Williamstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 3:45 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Triton BOYS LACROSSE Millville at Woodstown TRACK Woodstown in Deptford Invitational TENNIS Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Timber Creek, 3:45 p.m. Pitman at Penns Grove
TUESDAY, MAY 12 BASEBALL Glassboro at Pennsville Penns Grove at Wildwood Salem Tech at Piscataway Magnet (NJTAC) SOFTBALL Deptford at Woodstown Millville at Pennsville Salem Tech at Buena, 3:45 p.m. Wildwood at Penns Grove GOLF Woodstown vs. Lower Cape May, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. OLMA, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. TENNIS Middle Twp. at Schalick, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Timber Creek, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Washington Twp. TRACK Woodstown at West Deptford, 5 p.m. BOYS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at BCIT, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Holy Cross at Woodstown BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Middle Twp., 4:15 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 BASEBALL Glassboro at Schalick Penns Grove at Woodstown Salem at Wildwood Pennsville at Vineland, 7 p.m. SOFTBALL Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Glassboro Wildwood at Salem Woodstown at Penns Grove GOLF Schalick vs. Delsea, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. OLMA, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Middle Twp., 4:15 p.m. TENNIS Delsea at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Pitman, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Schalick TRACK NJSIAA Sectionals VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Timber Creek
THURSDAY, MAY 14 BASEBALL Clayton at Salem Tech GCIT at Pennsville SOFTBALL Bridgeton at Salem Tech Woodstown at Glassboro Delran at Schalick, 4:15 p.m. GOLF Woodstown vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.mm. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. Delsea, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m. TENNIS Delsea at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Burlington Twp. at Pennsville BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Timber Creek BOYS VOLLEYBALL Riverside at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 15 BASEBALL LEAP at Penns Grove Mainland at Schalick Oakcrest at Woodstown Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter SOFTBALL Bridgeton at Salem Camden Academy Charter at Salem Tech Clearview at Pennsville Delran at Schalick, 4:15 p.m. BOYS GOLF Woodstown vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. Delsea, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m. BOYS VOLLEYBALL Triton at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m. BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Timber Creek GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Paul VI, 6 p.m. TENNIS Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. TRACK NJSIAA Sectionals
SATURDAY, MAY 16 BASEBALL Pennsville at Cedar Creek, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Buena, noon Oakcrest at Woodstown Penns Grove at LEAP SOFTBALL Bridgeton at Salem Clearview at Pennsville LEAP at Penns Grove TENNIS Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Schalick at Pitman BOYS VOLLEYBALL Triton at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m. BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Camden Catholic, 11 a.m. TRACK NJSIAA Sectionals
Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown Woodstown 5, Camden Catholic, 0 Cherry Hill East 14, Washington Twp. 7 Consolation: Washington Twp. 10, Camden Catholic 0 Championship: CHE 4, Woodstown 2
SOFTBALL Fred Powell Invitational, Williamstown Williamstown 4, Woodstown 3 Cumberland 7, Mainland 4 Cherry Hill East 4, Absegami 3 Cedar Creek 14, Moorestown 5 Cedar Creek 7, Cherry Hill East 2 Williamstown 10, Cumberland 5 Absegami 17, Moorestown 14 Woodstown 13, Mainland 9 Williamstown 4, Cedar Creek 0
Salem CC swept out of Region XIX baseball playoffs by Brookdale, second game hopes dashed by 16-run first inning
REGION XIX PLAYOFFS Brookdale 11-18, Salem CC 3-3 FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT At Rutgers-Camden Thursday’s first-round games Camden vs. Brookdale RCSJ-Gloucester vs. Middlesex
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
LINCROFT – It certainly wasn’t way the Salem CC baseball team had hoped their stay in this year’s Region XIX playoffs would go, but, after all, it was a tall order.
The Mighty Oaks thought they had caught a bit of a break when they got some outside help to jump up to the seventh seed in the bracket on the last day of the regular season, but second-seeded Brookdale proved just as challenging as the top seeded team they felt fortunate to avoid.
It was anything but easy. They were run-ruled in both games of their first-round playoff doubleheader Saturday, falling to the Jersey Blues 11-3 in seven innings and 18-3 in five.
“We knew coming in we’d have to play good baseball to be successful,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “Brookdale’s a good team. They took advantage of the mistakes me made.”
Game 2 started savagely. Brookdale scored 16 runs in the bottom of the first and held an 18-0 lead when play was halted before the start of the home third for lightning in the area. The big inning lasted longer than the delay.
The Jersey Blues (41-10-1) sent 20 batters to the plate; two guys batted three times. It was only 7-0 when starter Logan Peters got the second out of the inning, but the next nine Brookdale hitters reached safely. There were 11 hits, three errors, two walks, two hit batsmen, five wild pitches and a passed ball.
“It didn’t feel too great,” outfielder Cliff Wysinger said.
“I didn’t realize they batted around (that many times),” first baseman Tyler Hacker said. “The leadoff hitter saw me three times at first base. I didn’t realize until after we got back to the dugout. I felt we had played four or five innings.”
Peters was out after 14 batters and Anthony Pizzuti’s three-run homer that made it 12-0. Holt said the left-hander was making good pitches and stayed with him that long because he was still going to make enough of them to get out of it. He did. Brookdale just hit them.
“Honestly, Logan didn’t pitch bad, they just hit it where we weren’t,” Holt said. “They’re a good-hitting team. They kept finding hole — all day. He was making some quality pitches and those guys were finding those holes. We could’ve had 15 guys out there today and it seems like they would have found that (open) spot.”
In the big inning alone, Pizzuti was 2-for-2 with four RBIs; Ryan Tan was 2-for-2 with three RBIs; Ray Mulhern, was 2-for-3 with two RBIs; and Ryan Adams had two hits.
If that weren’t bad enough, the Mighty Oaks had to sit through a 32-minute lightning delay with the big inning and margin staring at them from the scoreboard. And they still had to play when they were way behind.
“It especially feels worse because it’s the last game,” outfielder Jason LeBold said. “You don’t want to say it knocks the wind out of your sails because you always want to say you’re in the game and try to come back, but it is a tough thing to do because you feel almost unmotivated. Sixteen in the first is pretty tough and we know the rules are different in the playoffs so that makes it even harder for the comeback, but you have to stay in it and never give up.”
They did go down swinging. They scored three runs in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Aiden Nestor and LeBold before Hacker flew out deep to center for the final out of the season.
“At the end of the day we’re two-and-out,” Holt said. “It’s not where we want to be, but I try to look at the big picture. We’ve established a program here that’s expected to be in the playoffs now. It’s no long an ‘if we make it” kind of deal. That’s something to hang our hat on.”
The opener started well for the Mighty Oaks (23-28), as they held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 after batting in the third. Hacker, playing in his 100th game in a Salem uniform, homered in the first inning. LeBold put them up 2-1 in the third with an RBI single.
Salem starter Pat Seitzinger got one time through the Brookdale lineup with just one run scoring, but the Jersey Blues got him the second time around, batting around to score four in the third. Reliever Louie Rivera didn’t have Seitzinger’s early luck as the Blues reached him for four runs across two innings in his only time through their lineup.
The Blues scored four in the third on a leadoff walk and five consecutive singles and five in the fourth, highlighted by Nicco Maribo’s RBI double that ended Seitzinger’s day and Pizzuti’s first two-run homer off Rivera.
“They didn’t really hit a lot of balls hard in my opinion,” Seitzinger said. “They had four ‘real’ hits in my opinion. The rest were endcap singles; tough break.
“I was confident. The first inning went well, struck a kid out (Pizzuti). Second inning they hit that home run, but a solo shot, don’t really hurt. Third inning they got some lucky hits in my opinion and gave up four runs. It’s tough.”
Hacker drove in the Mighty Oaks’ third run of the opener with a single in the fifth. It was his 94th career RBI, tying Demetrius Deramus for second on the school’s all-time list since the program’s revival. He finished his Salem career as the school’s all-time leader in stolen bases since the revival (92) and second in hits (121).
Holt called him “a heck of a baseball player.” The Florida native appreciated the compliment and the faith the coach placed in him from the start.
“I think Coach Holt took a chance on me (when) no one did,” Hacker said. “All the stuff in high school, getting injured, that kind of stuff, it was like I quit baseball. I get it, but he brought me in, took a chance on me and gave me a shot, and that allowed me to prove myself not only to him, but to myself again and everyone else in the country. If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to show my skill set.”
Salem CC
101
100
0-
3
5
4
Brookdale
014
510
x-
11
15
1
WP: Gary Perone (8-0). LP: Pat Seitzsinger. (3-6). 2B: Nicco Maribo (B), Casey Gardiner (B). HR: Ryan Adams (B), Tyler Hacker (S).
Salem CC
000
03-
3
5
3
Brookdale
(16)20
0x-
18
16
1
WP: T.J. Legere (5-2). LP: Logan Peters (1-1). 2B: Ryan Adams (B), Ryan Tan (B), Ray Mulhern (B). HR: Anthony Pizzuti 2 (B)
Salem CC baseball coach John Holt puts the finishing touches on his Game 1 lineup card.
Here are the scores and highlights from Friday night’s Salem County sports calendar; includes Saturday’s schedule
FRIDAY’S GAMES SOFTBALL CLEARVIEW 11, SCHALICK 4: Sienna Garrison hit her eighth homer of the season and Ella Redheffer homered twice as Clearview rallied from a 4-0 deficit. Garrison’s three-run homer in fourth inning put the Pioneers (13-5) ahead 6-4. Redheffer’s first homer got them on the board in the third and her second gave them an 8-4 lead. Khloe McGrath had three hits for the Cougars (11-4). Emma Cain had two.
DEPTFORD 16, SALEM 6: The Spartans (7-11) broke it open with a 10-run third inning. Teyla Solimon had a two-run single and bases-loaded walk in the big inning. Solimon, Brooke White and Sophie McGuire all had three RBIs in the game.
COLLEGE BASEBALL Region XIX Tournament Camden 12-6, RCSJ-Cumberland 2-5, Camden wins series 2-0 Middlesex 11-14, Northampton 6-4, Middlesex wins series 2-0 RCSJ-Gloucester 10-13, Montgomery 2-1, RCSJ-G wins series 2-0
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE BASEBALL Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown Woodstown vs. Camden Catholic, 10 a.m. Cherry Hill East vs. Washington Twp., 10 a.m. Consolation game, 1 p.m. Championship game, 1 p.m. SOFTBALL Fred Powell Invitational, Williamstown Woodstown vs. Williamstown, 9 a.m. Mainland vs. Cumberland, 9 a.m. Cherry Hill East vs. Absegami, 9 a.m. Moorestown vs. Cedar Creek, 9 a.m. Woodstown vs. Mainland or Cumberland, 11:30 a.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Region XIX Tournament Salem CC at Brookdale (2), 11 a.m.
Softball, baseball teams from Pennsville, Schalick all clinch pieces of Tri-County division titles with wins around the region; Woodstown baseball gives DeCastro 100th career win
BASEBALL Clayton 20, Salem 14 Woodstown 9, Overbrook 3 Pennsville 5, Wildwood: 3 Schalick 27, Penns Grove 4 SOFTBALL Clayton 17, Salem 6 Schalick 20, Penns Grove 2 Woodstown 13, Overbrook 6 Pennsville 12, Wildwood 6 TENNIS Pennsville 4, GCIT 1 Williamstown 3, Penns Grove 2
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — The biggest rule in playing sports is always be ready because you never know when your number will be called. If that’s the golden rule, the silver rule is control what you can control … and if you happen to get some outside help along the way that’s, well, gravy.
Pennsville softball followed both rules to the letter Thursday in beating Wildwood 12-6 to clinch their third straight Tri-County Classic Division title and second straight outright.
The Eagles (11-4, 8-0 Classic) went into the day with a chance to clinch the division by beating the Warriors and a Pitman win over Gloucester Catholic. Both results happened, giving the Eagles a three-game lead in the loss column with two division games to play, but the only game the Eagles worried about was the one right in front of their dugout.
“I wasn’t really paying attention who was playing what; I didn’t say anything to them about it,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “We talk about the controllables. You can only take care of yourself individually and how you react and what you do. I’ve been telling myself that a lot. In life you can only control what you can do. You can’t control anybody else. You can’t control the strike zone. You can’t control what the other team does. You have to focus on you and what you can do and at the of the day we have to focus on what we do and what they do as a team.
“Help always helps, but first and foremost you have to take care of business with your own and then if there’s other help that’s great. But if you can take care of business yourself that’s your main focus because you want to take care of it yourself.”
Graillyn Weber was scheduled to start in the circle for the Eagles, but she felt too sore to be effective and 10 minutes before first pitch Savannah Guglielmo was moved from left field to the circle and four positions in the lineup shifted. Jackson said it was the first time in her 17 years as coach she can remember making that late a pitching switch. Luckily, all three Pennsville pitchers warm up before games for just such a contingency.
It was Guglielmo’s fourth career start and third this year, but first in such a significant game. The sophomore right-hander went all seven innings, giving up five hits, walking six and tying a career-high with nine strikeouts. Jackson said she did a “nice job.”
“I knew she could do it,” Weber said.
“When I’m warming up I’m always trying to make sure I’m focused just in case something happens like one of these moments, last minute,” she said. “I always try to set goals for myself during a game especially things last minute. Today it was make sure I throw strikes. I just tried to stay calm and into the game.”
Of course, it’s a lot easier to pitch when you have the kind of lineup Pennsville puts on the field. Virtually every time the Warriors scored, the Eagles came back the next half inning to put up a crooked number.
The Warriors scored a run in the second to tie the game 1-1, the Eagles put up four in the bottom of the inning. The Warriors got two in the fourth to make it 5-4, the Eagles got them back when they came in to bat. They eventually broke it open with four in the fifth after their first five hitters all reached safely.
Although she didn’t pitch, Weber still played — at short, moving Avery Watson to third – and came within an extra Wheatie at breakfast of hitting three balls out of the park. She still had a pair of doubles to the warning track that drove in three runs. “I do that all the time,” she said. “I need to start doing pushups or squats or something.”
Kylie Harris had three hits, including a solo homer in the first inning and her 48th career double. Kelsey Cook had two hits at the bottom of the lineup.
“I’m honestly never worried,” Guglielmo said. “I feel like you just have to have confidence throughout the game. You’ve just gotta stay calm and focus on the game and whatever happens happens. You just have to have confidence in yourself and your teammates.”
Sophomore right-hander Savannah Guglielmo threw a seven-inning complete game as Pennsville’s last-minute starting pitcher in the division-clinching game.
WOODSTOWN 13, OVERBROOK 6: Ellie Wygand continued to wield a hot bat for the Wolverines, going 4-for-5 with a three-run homer in the seventh inning. The Wolverines pulled away from a 6-5 lead with four runs in the sixth, highlighted by Kendall Young’s two-run single and a couple RBI ground outs. The top four hitters in the Woodstown lineup – Wygand, Talia Guardascione, Leah Clark and Young – were a combined 11-for-19 with eight RBIs. Madison LaPalomento drove in three runs from the 5-hole.
SCHALICK 20, PENNS GROVE 2: The Cougars scored nine runs in the first inning and went on to clinch their first Diamond Division title since 2021. They put 11 hits together with 11 errors and nine walks to score the win. The Cougars are now 7-0 in the division, hold a two-game lead in the loss column over Woodstown, their closest pursuer, and have one division game remaining.
CLAYTON 17, SALEM 6: Gabrielle Searle had three hits and three RBIs and Lana Kastrava struck out 10 from the circle to lead the Clippers. The Rams scored two in the top of the first, but Clayton answered with four in the bottom of the inning and never lost the lead. The Rams cut their deficit to 8-6 in the third, but the Clippers got one back when they came in to bat and then broke it open with six runs in the fifth.
TCC DIAMOND
ALL
DIV
TCC CLASSIC
ALL
DIV
Schalick
11-3
7-0
Pennsville
11-4
8-0
Woodstown
9-7
4-2
Pitman
13-8
6-3
Glassboro
10-7
2-3
Wildwood
8-8
4-4
Overbrook
5-13
2-6
Gloucester Cath
7-8
3-3
Penns Grove
1-13
0-6
Clayton
5-10
2-5
Salem
1-13
0-8
Baseball
Woodstown baseball coach Marc DeCastro pours over the data he uses to prepare his Wolverines for a game. DeCastro scored his 100th career coaching win Thursday.
PINE HILL — Woodstown pulled away from a tie game with seven runs in the third inning and four relievers allowed one run and four hits over the final four innings as the Wolverines beat Overbrook 9-3 and handed coach Marc DeCastro his 100th career coaching victory.
To commemorate the feat, the players presented their sixth-year head coach a poster and signed baseball. DeCastro is now 100-60 with a state championship in 2022. Thursday was his third attempt at the milestone win.
“Our kids have said things to me along the way and I kind of had an idea that they wanted to celebrate it some way,” he said. “I said something similar to this before, I don’t particular care about the accomplishment, but I care about the fact that the people that I coach care enough to want to celebrate it. At least that means to me that the relationship I have with them is a good one and one they want to be a part of something like that. Whether it means anything to me is kind of irrelevant. It’s important to them and anything that’s important to them is important to me.”
It wasn’t just another game. The Wolverines needed it to keep alive any hope they had of sharing the TCC Diamond Division title with rival Schalick. They remain one game behind the Cougars with one division game to play.
Luke Fraley had three hits to lead the offense. Noah Williams and Tommy Tucci had two hits apiece, while Walker Battavio and Ty Coblentz both had a pair of RBIs.
Their big inning started by loading the bases on a walk and two singles. Tucci broke the tie with pop single. The Rams looked like they were going to get out of it, retiring the next two batters, but Chase Harding walked to force in a run, Battavio doubled home two, Luke Fraley singled home another and Coblentz singled home two.
“Even before the seven-run inning I thought every out we made was really good contact,” DeCastro said. “Any time you have a seven-run inning it’s surprising, but with the contact we had in the first and second innings we were going to score eventually, it just so happened we scored in a big bunch. Overall, it was probably one of the better offensive performances that we had.”
Blake Rodriguez worked the first three innings on the mound for Woodstown and gave up four hits, two runs and struck out three. He was followed to the hill by Talyn Priore, Tucci, Drew Sutton and Carter Smathers.
The milestone adds on to the long-standing DeCastro family coaching legacy. His father was a long-time successful Haddon Heights American Legion baseball coach. His brother Jamie is a 700-game winner in basketball, and brother Greg coached in college. DeCastro credits them all with helping him develop into the coach he has become.
“I’ve learned a lot from the people who came before me,” he said. “My dad coached me my whole life. I was taught how to play the sport from him and then continued to learn as I got older from different people, paying attention to Jamie and learned how he goes about winning, big games and general character-based stuff. There’s a lot that goes on in our family of coaches.”
PENNSVILLE 5, WILDWOOD 3: The Eagles broke a 2-2 tie with three unearned runs in the fifth inning and Mason O’Brien basically gave them a quality start in relief as they completed a season sweep of the Warriors and clinched their fifth straight Classic Division crown.
The Eagles had runners at first and second with two outs in the fifth, then scored the go-ahead runs on a pair of errors on infield grounders hit by Stevie Fatcher and Logan Cooperthwait. Grady Sanders singled home the third run of the inning.
“It’s a great feeling to accomplish that against a good team on the road,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “Today had a playoff game feel to it and it’s always fun to play in those type of games.”
Both teams scored twice in the first, with Wildwood knocking out Pennsville starter Logan Streitz with two outs. O’Brien put out the first with a strikeout and was unyielding the rest of the way. He pitched the final 6 2/3. scattering five hits, allowing an unearned run and striking out eight while walking only two.
“He pitched lights out,” Karr said. “He had to come in relief earlier than we expected and went the distance.”
SCHALICK 27, PENNS GROVE 4: The Cougars used a dominating performance in their fourth game in as many days to clinch at least a share of their second straight Diamond Division title. They hold a one-game lead over Woodstown with one division game to play.
The Cougars broke on top with nine in the first inning, then erupted for 15 in the second. Ten players had at least one hit, 10 scored at least one run and 11 drove runs home. Jamari Whitley went 3-for-4 with four runs and four RBIs. Ricky Watt had two hits and four RBIs. Evan Glaspey, starting pitcher Will Sieminski and J.T. Fleming all had three RBIs.
The Cougars were playing their fourth game in as many days. They’ve won all four. They were scheduled to play Collingswood Friday before taking on Clearview Saturday in the second round of the Diamond Classic — an MLB like six games in six days — but the game was reschedule for May 20.
CLAYTON 20, SALEM 14: The teams put on a scoring fest over the final three innings to rival their basketball series with the Clippers outscoring the Rams 19-8 over the stretch to win the game. Jaiden Keller and Jameson Emerle drove in five runs apiece for Clayton
The Rams scored all their runs on only three hits, but with the help of 12 walks, 11 hit batsmen and four errors. They got an inside-the-park grand slam in the fifth inning to answer the Clippers’ four runs in the top of the inning and take a 10-5 lead.
TCC DIAMOND
ALL
DIV
TCC CLASSIC
ALL
DIV
Schalick
13-5
6-1
Pennsville
11-6
8-0
Woodstown
11-7
5-2
Wildwood
13-7
5-2
Overbrook
8-9
4-4
Pitman
6-10
3-4
Glassboro
6-10
3-4
Clayton
5-10
2-5
Penns Grove
3-12
0-7
Salem
0-14
0-7
Tennis
WILLIAMSTOWN 3, PENNS GROVE 2 Ethan Torres (WI) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-0, 6-1 Joshua Gailliout (WI) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-0, 6-0 Sal Everhart (WI) def. Juan Ortiz, 6-3, 6-1 Jesus Arredondo-Doel Torres (PG) def. Ben Passaro-Brett Quintavalle, 6-4, 6-2 Jordan Hernandez-Fernando Palacios Lima (PG) def. Aryan Patel-Ayaan Patel, 6-0, 6-1 Records: Williamstown 5-7, Penns Grove 4-5.
EGG HARBOR TWP. — Woodstown and Schalick both shot 260 as a team and finished tied for 33rd at the Carl Arena Memorial at Blue Heron Pines GC. Logan Jones shot Woodstown’s low round (83 with two birdies). Seth Fisher was low man for Schalick (82 with two birdies). Mainland won the boys title, while Moorestown won the girls crown.
Riverview Sports News 