Murphy breaks out

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

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Salem CC (13-15)	246 211 0-	16	10	5
Middlesex (21-11)	001 130 0-	5	4	4

WP: Jon Gambone (4-3). LP: J. Ryan. HR: Matt Murphy (S), Chris Kelly (S).

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

Lots of ball left

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

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gloucester Catholic (4-0)	104 101 0-	7	5	0
Pennsville (0-2)	021 000 0-	3	6	2

WP: Brody Gates. LP: Cohen Petrutz.

Tennis

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

Softball

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

Perfect Pokrovsky

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

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, it was.

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCHALICK 11, WOODSTOWN 0

Woodstown (2-1)	000 00-	0	0	3
Schalick (2-0)	(10)01 0x-	11	12	0

WP: Luke Pokrovsky. LP: Dante Holmes.

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

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

Pennsville (0-1)	010 000 1-	2	5	2
Pitman (3-2)	020 023 x-	7	8	0

WP: Hudson Rue. LP: Luke Wood.

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

Salem (1-1)	000 11-	2	4	4
Holy Cross (2-3)	203 (11)x-	16	9	0

WP: Luke Rogers. LP: Terrell Robinson.

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

LEAP (0-3)	010 00-	1	2	4
Penns Grove (2-2)	5(11)0 0-	16	8	2

WP: Tommy Mattioli, LP: Wilson Basora.

Big turnaround

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yen Rodriguez Week

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB-K	SB
Mercer	4	4	4	3	1	1-0	1
Montgomery	4	3	3	2	0	1-0	2
Montgomery	2	2	1	0	0	2-0	1
Montgomery	3	2	1	1	1	1-1	1
Totals	13	11	9	6	2	5-1	5

Instant impact

Freshman Battavio sharp in varsity debut; Woodstown, Schalick, Salem all win big in baseball; includes softball, golf, tennis, volleyball results

MONDAY BASEBALL
Salem 18, Wildwood 6
Schalick 12, Glassboro 2
Woodstown 12, Penns Grove 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Walker Battavio had been waiting for his chance to start a varsity baseball game since he got to the eighth grade. Woodstown coach Marc DeCastro made that dream come from Monday and the freshman left-hander was a nightmare for the batters who faced him.

Battavio racked up strikeouts the way his older sister Talia racked up 3-pointers on the basketball court. He struck out seven in his three innings of work and his teammates staked him to a big early lead in a 12-2 five-inning win over Penns Grove.

His first seven outs all came by punch-outs, including a run of six in a row. He probably would have had more, but was on a pitch count in his first varsity start and was lifted after three innings and 51 pitches.

“I was looking forward to this a lot; it was one of my goals coming into high school,” Battavio said. “I thought I did good. I threw a lot of strikes, so that helped out.”

Battavio learned late last week he was going to start the Wolverines’ division opener and had the weekend to think about it. He said he was a little scared at first, then settled in for the assignment as time went on. Even during the school day he was nervous, but calmed down once he got on the field.

He was really only in trouble once and got out of that like a crafty veteran. He loaded the bases with one out in the first on a walk and two singles, but took a couple deep breaths behind the mound to calm down and got through it by striking out the next two batters. He almost had an immaculate inning in the second striking out the side.

Sol Elmer, another freshman, followed Battavio to the mound and finished the game.

For DeCastro, Battavio checked two of the big boxes he has for evaluating a rookie pitcher. He settled in after some expected early uneasiness, and the next inning he treated the lead his teammates gave him “appropriately.”

There will be more starts in his future.

“I’m not going to be super fixed with him just because he is a freshman,” DeCastro said. “I want to see him handle a couple different types of experiences before I really start to put any real pressure on him. He’s going to start another game next week and we’ll see how he handles that and kind of build the type of intensity and the game pressure that he pitches (under).

“He’s a freshman so I’m not going to put him in a situation where I don’t think he can do what he can succeed. He did well enough he gets (next) Tuesday and we’ll see where he is on that game and go from there.”

After Battavio got out of the first, the Wolverines rewarded their pitcher with nine runs in the bottom of the inning. They sent 15 batters to the plate and actually did most of their damage – seven runs worth – with two outs. Rocco String delivered the crushing blow, a three-run double.

Penns Grove coach Chuck Weigle said things might have been different had the Red Devils (1-2) gotten those early runs home.

“You get one or two there, it puts little bit more pressure on them,” he said. “They’re expecting to come out here probably thinking ‘it’s an easy game for us,’ (but) we put two runs on the board early it’s different game. They have to come up here ready to swing. It puts a little bit of pressure on them, make them make the moves, come out here and have to play baseball.”

Top photo: Woodstown first baseman Jack Holladay has a thumb up for the pitching performance Walker Battavio (L) gave in his varsity debut Monday.

Penns Grove (1-2)	000 02-	2	5	1
Woodstown (2-0)	912 0x-	12	9	3

WP: Walker Battavio. LP: Josh Widen.

SCHALICK 12, GLASSBORO 2: Luke Pokrovsky homered and drove in five runs and starting pitcher Lucas D’Agostino struck out 10 in four innings as the Cougars opened their season in a big way.

Pokrovsky, a Penn signee, went 3-for-4 and was a single away from hitting for an Opening Day cycle to lead the Cougars’ 14-hit attack. He hit a two-run triple in the fourth and solo homer in the fifth. Evan Sepers, Jamari Whitley, J.T. Fleming and Eli Cummings had two hits apiece.

D’Agostino pitched the first four innings, giving up two hits and an unearned run. Cole Hartley wrapped it up, striking out four in his two innings.

Glassboro (0-1)	001 001-	2	7	2
Schalick (1-0)	122 412-	12	14	1

WP: Lucas D’Agostino. LP: Colin Riley.

SALEM 18, WILDWOOD 6: The Rams opened their season with the highest scoring game in their two seasons under coach Eric Fizur.

Eithan Longo and Terrell Robinson both had three hits and three RBIs, while Jacob Parkell and Austin Davis both had two hits and two RBIs. Chase Davis had two hits and scored four runs. The first three hitters in the Rams’ lineup – Longo, Davis and Robinson – were a combined 8-for-12 with six RBIs and nine runs scored.

They took the lead with a five-run third and blew it open with eight in the sixth.

“We played well today and took advantage of the opportunities we had,” Fizur said. “The players are more locked in this year, more focused. It showed today, and it’s something we can build on.”

The 18 runs were the most the Rams have scored in a game since putting 22 on Bridgeton in May 2023. They scored 18 in a win over Pleasantville later that season.

Salem (1-0)	105 228-	18	14	3
Wildwood (0-1)	220 101-	8	10	3

WP: Chase Davis. LP: Brian Cunniff.

Softball

MONDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 11, Gloucester Catholic 6
Schalick 14, Glassboro 7
Wildwood 15, Salem 4

PENNSVILLE 11, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6: Graillyn Weber’s two-run double in the fourth inning gave Pennsville the lead (6-4) and the Eagles broke it open with five in the top of the seventh. Kylie Harris Makenzie Widener and Salem CC signees Savannah Palverento and Sawyer Simmons all had two hits for the Eagles.

WILDWOOD 15, SALEM 4: The Rams fell behind 9-0 and couldn’t climb out of the hole. J Love and R Doerr both had two hits for Salem.

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. Simon Palaces, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Christopher Hernandez-Chris Olivera, 6-1, 6-0
Carter Willis-Ian Peacock (P) def. Gabriel Hernandez-Eric Miranda, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Pennsville 1-0, Wildwood 0-3.

PENNS GROVE 5, GLASSBORO 0
Alex Ramirez Martinez (P) def. Kevin Unbato, 6-1, 6-3
Poyraz Erdönmez (P) def. Andrew Miller, 5-7, 6-1
Stuart Mondragon (P) def. Rowan Somdhal-Sands, 6-0, 6-1
Anthony Pacheco-Rene Ruiz (P) def. Jesus Lopez-Jeffrey Guzman, 6-4, 6-2
Angel Perez Herrera-Juan Ortiz (P) def. Jeffrey Guzman-Nico Tsoulcalis, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Penns Grove 1-0, Glassboro 0-1.

Golf

GIRLS
WILLIAMSTOWN 205, SCHALICK 222: Williamstown’s Brynn DiGiamberardino was low medalist at Scotland Run (46). Cali Fisler and Abby Willoughby posted the Cougars’ low rounds (54).

Volleyball

HIGHLAND 2, SALEM TECH 0: The game scores were 25-15, 25-17

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports calendar from the week of March 30-April 6; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MARCH 31
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Woodstown
Salem at Wildwood
SOFTBALL
Pennsville vs. Gloucester Catholic, Stauffer Fields
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Salem
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown, Scotland Run
Woodstown vs. Deptford, Town & Country GL, 3 p.m.
TENNIS
Clayton at Schalick
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Glassboro at Penns Grove
LACROSSE
St. Joseph at Woodstown
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Highland, 3:45 p.m.

APRIL 1
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Pitman, Pitman CC
Schalick vs. Wildwood, Union League GC
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield at Woodstown, 4:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Camden County Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Lackawanna at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 2
BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
Pennsville vs. Pitman, Alcyon Park
Salem at Holy Cross
Woodstown at Schalick
SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pitman at Pennsville
Woodstown at Schalick
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Clearview, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Middle Twp. at Woodstown
Pennsville at Overbrook
TRACK
Schalick at Pennsville
Woodstown at Overbrook

APRIL 3
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove vs. LEAP at Rutgers Camden
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Cumberland, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Union League National
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville vs. Clayton, Williamstown MS
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Triton
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Camden CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 4
BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Woodstown
Pennsville vs. Gloucester Catholic, Brooklawn MS
Schalick at Delran
SOFTBALL
Salem at Camden County Tech
Schalick at Delsea
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Cedar Creek, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Pennsville at Bridgeton, 3:45 p.m.
Vineland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
LACROSSE
Lower Cape May at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Middlesex, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 5
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Millville Tournament, 9 a.m.
TRACK
Pennsville, Salem at Deptford Relays, 9 a.m.
Schalick at Buena Relays, 9 a.m.
Woodstown in Invitational at Univ. of Delaware, 9 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Middlesex at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Mercer County CC at Salem CC, noon

Saturday baseball

Penns Grove wins with big seventh-ining rally, Woodstown opens its season with a shutout

By Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – Alex Rubio delivered the game-winning hit with one out in the seventh inning to cap a five-run rally and lift Penns Grove over Bridgeton 9-8 for its first win of the high school baseball season Saturday.

Bridgeton broke a 3-3 tie with five runs in the sixth inning. Penns Grove got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth, then rallied in the seventh.

Bristol Scott went 3-for-3 to lead Penns Grove’s seven-hit attack. Rubio, Tommy Mattioli, Jaxson Raymond, Liam Irvin and Alex Pax were all credited with an RBI.

WOODSTOWN 6, GATEWAY 0: Ty Coblentz and Walker Battavio both had three singles and two RBIs and three Woodstown pitchers scattered four hits and struck out 10 as the Wolverines opened their season with a shutout.

Aaron Foote threw 3 2/3 inning of one-hit relief and struck out five behind starter Rocco String to get the win. Michael Valente finished it off with 2 1/3 of one-hit relief.

Lucas Fulmer had a pair of hits for the Wolverines.

Another nail biter

Salem CC baseball wins in bottom of ninth to split DH, but win series with Montgomery; softball splits at Morris

SATURDAY REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 5-4, Montgomery County 9-3
Morris 7-13, Delaware Tech 6-5
RCSJ-Cumberland 17-5, Ocean 4-0
Lackawanna 18-21, Raritan Valley 10-1
Union at Middlesex
Camden 28-10, Bergen 6-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 12-12, Northampton 8-0
Mercer 8-12, Sussex 5-2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Just another sensational Saturday at The Treehouse.

For the second straight Saturday on their Carneys Point Rec Complex field, Salem CC won the second game of a Region 19 doubleheader in their last bats in extra innings. This time, it was 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth to split the twinbill with Montgomery County CC.

Last week, the Mighty Oaks beat RCSJ-Gloucester 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th to sweep that doubleheader and the series. It wasn’t nearly as dark or as cold when the winning run crossed this time, but the score and circumstances were eerily the same.

“Baseball‘s a strange sport, that’s all I can say,” said sophomore first baseman Lee Rodriguez, whose two-out single deep into the right centerfield gap scored Yen Rodriguez from third with the winning run. “Are you not entertained?”

After dropping the opener 9-5, it took the Mighty Oaks (12-15) a while to come around in the nightcap. They rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game and then get the split. Yen Rodriguez got them on the board with a leadoff homer off the scoreboard in the fourth inning and they tied it in the fifth on Tim Bowlby’s RBI ground out and Cole Dawson’s sacrifice fly.

Yen Rodriguez got their eighth-inning rally started with a walk and stolen base. He moved to third on Demetrius DeRamus’ grounder to second and was held at third on Angel Velez’ grounder to the same place.

Lee Rodriguez, who entered as a pinch runner for Tyler Hacker in the fourth (hamstring), saw two pitches from Chris Tomlinson and then ripped a 71-mph fastball into the gap to score Yen. The shot was as hard as any ball Lee has hit with the Mighty Oaks and would have been a double in any other circumstance, but since it only took one base to score the winning run he was credited with just a single.

He figured it was his first walk-off hit since he was 14 years old.

“I’m usually the one who’s on base and somebody walks to bring me in or something,” he said. “I’m usually the one who scores it.

“With two outs my goal was really just to try and get Yen in. I was like, play small ball. First pitch I took was a ball. When I saw the first strike something in me was like, ‘you’re ready’. I got to looking at third and said I’m going to get you in no matter what. The next pitch, he threw it and I hit it. I thought it was going (out), too The umpire said it’s no home run, but it’s all right. At least we won the game.

“I’m going to be thinking about this all week now til the next game.”

The win went to Seth McCormick, a freshman righthander who earlier in the week entered a 6-6 game in the seventh but was lifted in mid-inning with right shoulder pain after giving up six runs. He showed no signs of the ailment Saturday, striking out the top of Montco’s lineup in order on 13 pitches, one of which was a career-best 87-mph fastball.

“I’ve struggled before with shoulder injuries,” McCormick said. “What I think it was was I pinched something and something happened. I did a little bit of rehab with our athletic trainer and I came in and it felt good today. I just tried to throw it as hard as I could where I needed to be and it worked.

“Going through my mind was getting out with as few pitches as possible. Don’t overstrain the arm and get out and give us a chance to win. It was definitely a stressful situation coming in after Pat (Seitzinger) threw a hell of a game and you’ve got to come in and throw as well if not better than he did. It’s a stressful situation, especially as the game rides on your shoulder.”

McCormick got the ball after starter Seitzinger threw seven strong innings and was brilliant over his last five. After giving up three consecutive doubles that produced the Mustangs’ 3-0 lead, the freshman lefthander retired 16 of the last 19 batters he faced and 14 of the last 15. He and McCormick retired the last 13 Mustangs in a row.

“My mechanics got better as the game went on,” Seitzinger said. “I was leaving pitches right down the middle, so I figured I’d change my mechanics a little bit, try to keep them more off balance. I felt good going into the game so I felt like I was going to have success, but after that second inning I knew we were struggling a little bit hitting so I had to pick up my teammates and throw strikes.”

“I’ve known Pat since he was 11; I coached him in 11U baseball,” Salem coach John Holt said. “I’ve been waiting for him to graduate when I got this job. I know he’s got the tenacity and the killer instinct as a lefty that when he gets the opportunity nothing fazes him. A true bulldog.”

ACORNS: Former major leaguer Fernando Rodney made it to The Treehouse in time to catch his son’s team play in the second game. The Mighty Oaks are undefeated this season when the former MLB All-Star is in the stands. They are off until Friday and aren’t back at home until next Saturday … Seitzinger dropped his ERA almost a run and a half to 7.14 with his outing … The Mustangs took the lead in the opener with a four-run fifth marred by a two-run fielding error in the outfield and extended it with Brett Minnick’s three-run homer in the sixth.

GAME ONE: MONTGOMERY 9, SALEM 5

Montgomery County	020 043 0-	9	9	1
Salem CC	101 012 0-	5	7	4

WP: Korbin Wale. LP: Jared Vanderstuer. HR: Brett Minnich (M).

GAME TWO: SALEM 4, MONTGOMERY 3 (8 INNS.)

Montgomery County	030 000 00-	3	6	1
Salem CC	000 120 01-	4	5	0

2 out when winning run scored
WP: Seth McCormick. LP: Chris Tomlinson. HR: Yen Rodriguez (S).

Montgomery County’s Ryan Bevins leaps over Salem catcher Angel Velez trying to score in the first inning of Saturday’s opener. Bevins missed the plate and Velez tagged him out to complete a double play. (Photo from Gamechanger video).

Softball

Hayes big game helps Mighty Oaks split

SATURDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem CC 4-18, Morris 5-6
Bergen 15-1, Ocean 2-9
Middlesex 9-1, RCSJ-Gloucester 6-10
Brookdale 4, Orange 1
Lackawanna 8-6, Sussex 0-2
Monroe Bronx 8-19, Raritan Valley 7-15
Mercer 9-4, Delaware Tech 1-5
Northampton 15-10, Camden 1-2

RANDOLPH – Ella Hayes hit a grand slam in the fifth inning and drove in six runs and Tiana Wilson went 3-for-3 with five RBIs as the Salem CC softball team crushed Morris 18-6 in the nightcap of their doubleheader after losing the opener to a two-run seventh-inning rally.

Hayes’ slam capped a six-run inning after the Mighty Oaks broke away from a 5-5 tie with seven runs in the fourth. Rozak broke the tie with a two-run homer and Wilson extended the lead with a two-run double.

Wilson had a big doubleheader, going 3-for-3 in both games. She is 9-for-9 with two sacrifice flies over her last four games since going hitless in Game 2 against Raritan Valley.

The Mighty Oaks took a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning of the opener. Morris got closer with a run in the sixth and then won it with two in the seventh. The Titans produced the tying and winning runs on back-to-back two-out singles.

GAME ONE: MORRIS 5, SALEM 4

Salem CC	103 000 0-	4	11	2
Morris	110 001 2-	5	9	4

2 out when winning run scored.
WP: Demm. LP: Raegan Wilson.

GAME TWO: SALEM 18, MORRIS 6

Salem CC	023 76-	18	14	4
Morris	302 10-	6	5	5

WP: Jill Robinson. LP: Prager. HR: Callie Rozak (S), Ella Hayes (S).

Kelly drives

Salem CC sophomore breaks out of slump with homer in Mighty Oaks’ rout of Montgomery County

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 20, Montgomery 7
RCSJ-Cumberland 16, Ocean 0
Delaware Tech 6, Morris 2
Lackawanna 14, Raritan Valley 1
Camden 10, Bergen 0
Mercer 9, Sussex 2
RCSJ-Gloucester 5, Northampton 4
Middlesex at Union

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BLUE BELL, Pa. – Chris Kelly has been having an awful time at the plate since the Salem CC baseball team returned home from its trip to Florida. But one swing Friday may have gotten him back on the right path.

The sophomore third baseman belted a three-run homer – his first college home run – in the fifth inning in the Mighty Oaks’ 20-7 rout of Montgomery County CC.

Before the blast – his first college homer – he had gone 2-for-18 with 10 strikeouts since coming back from Florida and, compounding the frustration, made an unfortunate error on a potential inning-ending bouncer in the ninth inning as a late-game defensive replacement Wednesday against Mercer.

But he came up with two on and two out against the Mustangs and sent left-hander Brayden Morton’s second pitch of the count deep to left field to put the game into run-rule territory.

“The batter before got four straight balls and my first pitch was a ball,” Kelly said. “I was expecting to get the take sign from Coach Holt, but he gave me the green light. Coach Ty (McGarvey) said find the mistake. I went up there and found the mistake and did what I was supposed to with the mistake.

“It brought a lot of confidence back after struggling against Cumberland. It felt good to produce for the team, to get a nice three-run RBI (that) helped out and got us the 10-run rule and kind of went from there. It felt good to get the swing feeling good again.”

You could almost feel the cloud lift as Kelly rounded the bases. He playfully engaged with first base coach Chip Chapman and when he rounded third to approach the plate you could hear his teammates calling out “Welcome back.”

“It was a big relief,” Kelly said. “Hearing that just kind of like boosted me up even more and then seeing everybody once I got there it definitely was relieving.”

The Delsea product had never been through an extended hitting slump like this before. While he didn’t lose any sleep over it, he was thinking about it “a lot.” Admittedly it had reached a point late in the Cumberland series where he dreaded going to the plate. But always in the back of his mind he felt he’d eventually find a way back.

“I wish I knew (the cause); I kind of just felt off at the plate,” he said. “I wasn’t as good, the approaches weren’t there. We talked after practice yesterday, went to no stride, did it for a little bit and it paid off today.”

His approaches were good throughout the day. He hit a deep fly to center in his first at bat and drove in a run in the fourth inning with a ground out. He walked in his two at-bats following the homer.

Throughout the slump, Mighty Oaks head coach John Holt expressed support for his third baseman. Kelly had been hitting .395 before the slump. He was back in the starting lineup Friday and delivered in a big way.

“I’m obviously happy for him,” Holt said. “He’s a good kid. He’s been with us two years now. He does everything we ask of him. It’s just nice to see that hard work paying off.

“Hard work pays off. He made adjustments. He’s worked with our hitting coach. Even with the home run he’s still not satisfied with where he is. I think he’s hungry to get better every day.”

Kelly’s bomb was one of three homers the Mighty Oaks (11-14) hit in the game. Demetrius DeRamus hit a three-run shot in the first inning – his second in three games – to get them started. Cole Dawson hit his first homer of the season leading off a five-run fourth.

Dawson had two hits and two RBIs. Yen Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Every player in the lineup scored at least one run, seven had at least one hit and seven had at least one RBI.

“The approach was good at the plate,” Holt said. “They worked themselves into good counts to hit in and when they do that we’re a real good baseball team.”

Jon Gambone pitched a complete game to get the win. He threw 109 pitches and struck out five. And even though he gave up a season-high 12 hits and six earned runs, none of it really hurt him the way the offense was delivering.

“He was a bulldog for us,” Holt said. “We extended him today as far as we’ve extended him pitch-count since the injury and he responded well.

“We’ve been talking lately with them about playing team baseball is lot more than patting somebody on the butt, about the offense picking up a pitcher when the pitcher needs to be picked up or the pitcher picking up the defense when it falters or vice verse, and that hasn’t been happening a whole lot very early in the season.

“I think once we got through Florida our guys started to figure that piece of the puzzle out and today the offense picked up the defense and Gambone when he needed it. Playing team baseball like that, they’re starting to understand that a little bit.”

The series concludes with a doubleheader at the Carneys Point Rec Complex Saturday starting at noon. The Mighty Oaks are scheduled to start Jared Vandersteur and Pat Seitzinger on the mound in the two games.

Salem CC	430 562 0-	20	10	2
Montgomery County CC	202 120 0-	7	12	9

WP: Jon Gambone. LP: Carver Perrone. HR: Demetrius DeRamus (S), Cole Dawson (S), Chris Kelly (S).

Photo: Salem CC third baseman Chris Kelly (L) is greeted at the plate by teammates Angel Velez (7) and Tyler Hacker (28) after hitting a three-run homer to give the Mighty Oaks a 16-5 lead. (Photo from Gamechanger video)

Tough way to learn

Salem CC baseball battles back from late six-run deficit to get within one, but loss to Mercer CC gets away in the ninth

REGION 19 BASEBALL SCORES
Mercer 18, Salem CC 11
Middlesex 11, Montgomery 1
Lackawanna 7, Delaware County 4
Union 7, Raritan Valley 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The last two games the Salem CC baseball team played at their Treehouse have been steeped in high drama that went down to the last inning. One of them the Mighty Oaks found a way to win. The other, the most recent one Wednesday, got away.

The Mighty Oaks came from six runs down in the seventh inning to get within one and then came within one strike of giving themselves a chance to win it in the ninth, but a two-out throwing error opened the door for a six-run Mercer ninth that sent them to an 18-11 loss.

“We’ve got to learn from this; it’s got to be a lesson,” Salem head coach John Holt said. “Any loss that you can learn from is not necessarily a loss. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned here today … We’ve got to learn to compete for every pitch.”

The Mighty Oaks (10-13) had leads of 5-2 and 6-3 in the first two innings, but Mercer (16-6) tied the game with three runs in the fifth, then scored six in the seventh off Seth McCormick to take the lead.

McCormick started the inning as the Mighty Oaks’ third pitcher, but had to leave after all the damage because of a shoulder/lat injury. Ironically, he entered Saturday’s doubleheader opener with RCSJ-Cumberland mid-at bat due to a pitcher’s injury and left Wednesday the same way. Jon Gambone got the final out of the inning and kept the Vikings off the board in the eighth to give Salem any kind of chance.

And the Mighty Oaks rallied. They cut two off the deficit in the bottom of the seventh and then scored three in the eighth on Yen Rodriguez’ two-run triple and Matt Murphy’s sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. They had the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position with two outs, but Hunter Cohen grounded sharply to second to end the threat.

Holt made wholesale defensive changes in the ninth to provide “what I thought was going to give us our best defense” after bringing hand-throwing Tyler Hacker to the mound from first base. The moves included sending Cohen across the diamond from third to first and inserting Chris Kelly at the hot corner.

The Vikings had runners at second and third with two outs. Hacker, who hadn’t given up an earned run in four previous appearances (six innings), got ahead of Geno Bianco 0-and-2, but Bianco bounced a ball in the infield that Kelly moved to his left to collect.

The pick up was clean and it looked like the inning was going to end safely, but Kelly’s throw to first was low and wide and got away from Cohen allowing the two insurance runs to score. The Vikings reloaded the bases against Hacker, then Donald Gallagher, hitting in the 9-hole, hit a grand slam to break it open.

“Hack hadn’t given up an earned run all year; we expected a little better there,” Holt said. “Chris was cold coming off the bench today. As I said, we’ve got to learn a lesson there. There are opportunities to go after even if you’re not in the starting lineup, you’ve got to understand your number may get called.”

Kelly had a rough weekend series at the plate against RCSJ-Cumberland and Cohen replaced him in Wednesday’s starting lineup. The Mighty Oaks completed the sweep of that series by winning Game 3 in the bottom of the 12th after tying the game on Demetrius DeRamus’ two-run homer in the 11th.

“Chris is a kid who has come a long way,” Holt said. “He’s really bought into a lot of the ideology we teach here. He works hard. There’s not a lot of consoling there. He’s a great teammate. He’s been a leader for us. I don’t think there’s anything to console there. I think he’s going to flush it and get after it.”

In addition to their rallies in the seventh and eighth innings, the Mighty Oaks answered Mercer’s two in the first with five in the bottom of the inning highlighted by Hacker’s go-ahead two-run single.

Holt said the rallies show the potential the Mighty Oaks have “if we play the game the way they’re taught that we can play with anybody and compete against anybody.”

ACORNS: Hacker still hasn’t given up an earned run as all six Mercer runs in the ninth were unearned. Only five of Mercer’s runs in the game were earned … Rodriguez hit his fifth homer of the season in the second inning and was 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs; he’s now hitting .397 for the season … Hacker had two hits and three RBIs. Murphy drove in two runs.

Mercer County CC	210 030 606-	18	12	0
Salem CC	510 000 230-	11	12	5

WP: Matt Juliano. LP: Seth McCormick. HR: Donald Gallagher (M), Yen Rodriguez (S).