Back level

Mighty Oaks overcome flat outing, hold off Union to extend winning streak to 9, get back to .500 for first time since mid-March

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – A month ago a .500 record looked like a bridge too far. The Salem CC baseball team was stuck in a losing streak that was sending it deeper and deeper into the abyss.

But the Mighty Oaks have caught fire. They’re back on level ground and hunting a spot in the region playoffs.

Cole Dawson’s two-run single in the eighth inning broke the tension of a tight game and the Oaks went on to beat a better-than-its-record-shows Union County CC team 8-3 Friday, extending their winning streak to nine games and getting back to .500 (20-20) for the first time since mid-March.

The Oaks were last at .500 on March 14 (6-6). They were 11 games below .500 (8-19) on April 9, but have won 12 of their last 13 to get even with nine games to play.

“It was a rough start, but we’re starting to pick to it up, we’re starting to get the hang of things now,” Dawson said. “Coming from the beginning it was looking real rough, but now that we’re back to .500 I feel like the team’s more confident again and we’ll be better.”

“One hundred percent I knew we had it,” outfielder Nick Ciesielka said. “We have too much talent to not be at .500 in the first place.”

Talent aside, the Mighty Oaks (20-20) were flat against a team that was only 3-30 entering the game. They never trailed, but they never shook the Owls until Dawson delivered in the eighth.

It was one of those games where you let a team hang around long enough they can eventually rise up to bite you. And the Owls put pressure on the Oaks throughout the game.

“We played today and we got the W and that’s probably what we’re taking out of it knowing we’ve got to play better,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “We could have lost that one; we can’t afford to have days like that. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to play aggressive baseball one through nine innings and we didn’t do that.”

Dawson’s hit, with Lee Rodriguez and J.D. Wilson at second and third, pushed the Oaks’ lead to 6-3 after Union drew to within 4-3 in the top of the inning. It also ignited a four-run outburst that included Ciesielka’s RBI triple and steal of home.

Dawson, a freshman second baseman who hits ninth in the batting order, went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the game. Ciesielka had an inside-the-park homer in addition to his triple and Angel Velez had two hits.

“There were runners on and I knew I had to score them; I had to get the job done,” Dawson said of his big hit. “The at bat I had before wasn’t the best, but I knew I had to make up for it. I’ve been watching him warm up and knew what he was throwing and I was ready for it.”

Dawson gave Salem a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. The Oaks added three in the third on Ciesielka’s leadoff race around the bases and back-to-back RBI doubles by Velez and Wilson. Velez is 15-for-27 in his last seven games.

“As soon as I saw it ended up in center field I knew I was scoring right off the back; just like Yen’s first game,” Ciesielka said, dropping a reference to Yen Rodriguez’ inside-the-parker in his first college at bat in the season opener. “(The triple in the eighth) I actually thought was over the fence. I seem to have more pop with a two-strike approach.”

Union scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to make it a one-run game.

Ben Foote gave the Oaks another deep outing from their starter in a stretch where the pitchers have little room for error. The sophomore right-hander pitched into the eighth inning, coming out after 94 pitches with one out and a runner on base. Inaki Hutchinson came on and although he allowed the inherited runner to score he finished the game without further damage for the save.

“They’re just going out there and doing their jobs, just throwing strikes, not worrying,” Foote said of the pitchers’ mindset. “They know the guys behind them can play defense, they know they’re going to swing the bats. They’re just going out there and not try to do everything themselves. I felt like I did OK. The defense played well behind me.”

The Mighty Oaks continue the series and their march towards a playoff spot Saturday with a doubleheader at Union.

They may now be on level land, but it’s no time to settle. They have go to 5-4 in their last nine game to make the playoffs.

“Our playoffs started two weeks ago,” Holt said. “We can’t look at it any other way. We can’t put the cart in front of the horse; we’ve got to win today. We can’t worry about what’s gping to happen next week. We can’t talk playoffs. We’re not there yet.”

The message is getting across.

“It feels good (to be back to. 500), but the job’s not finished,” Foote said, “We’re chipping away at what we need to do, but we still have a little bit of work to do.”

Running hard

Salem, Schalick girls 4×400 teams rn well at Penn Relays; roundup includes scores from Thursday’s Salem County sports action

By Riverview Sports News

PHILADELPHIA – The girls 4×400 relay teams from Salem and Schalick both finished in the top 10 of their respective Friday races at the Penn Relays Thursday.

Schalick’s team of Gia Martellacci, Grace O’Neill, Gabriella Simonini and Jordan Hadfield placed eighth in the high school girls division with a time of 4:30.47. Southern (Harwood, Md.) led the field at 4:07.11.

Martellacci got the Cougars started with a leg of 1:04.69 that had them in the top five and Hadfield brought them home with a leg of 1:05.70.

Salem’s team of Anyzha Williams, Rhionna Timmons, Sairis Jimenez and Anna Buzby finished fourth in the South Jersey Small Schools race, running 4:11.34. It was the first team in school history to medal there in any event.

The Rams had been in the top nine all race, with Buzby bringing them home with a final leg 59.99. Willingboro won it at 4:02.97.

Their 4×100 team of Karima Davenport-White, Buzby, Timmons and Dayana Jones ran a season-best 50.63.

PENN RELAYS
GIRLS PRELIMS
4×100: 71. Salem (Karima Davenport-White, Anna Buzby, RhiOnna Timmons, Dayana Jones) 50.63; 92. Schalick (Caileigh Schalick, Zoe Jenkins, Gia Marellacci, Brooke Watt) 55.83
4×400: 8. Schalick (Gia Martellacci, Grace O’Neill, Gabriella Simonini, Jordan Hadfield) 4:30.47
4×400 South Jersey Small: 4. Salem (Anyzha Williams, Rhionna Timmons, Sairis Jimenez, Anna Buzby) 4:11.34

BASEBALL
Delran 5, Woodstown 3
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 5, Bridgeton 0
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown 12, Sterling 5
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield 20, Woodstown 6
GOLF
Triton 177, Pennsville 225

Wednesday roundup

Here are the scores and highlights from Wednesday’s high school action involving Salem County teams

BASEBALL
SCHALICK 9, LOWER CAPE MAY 3: Luke Pokrovsky gave up three hits and struck out 13 in a complete game and the Cougars (6-6) broke it open with a five-run second inning to bounce back from a tough loss the day before. J.T. Fleming and Ricky Watt both had three hits and a pair of RBIs. The 13 strikeouts give Pokrovsky, a junior, 185 for his career.

WOODSTOWN 8, AUDUBON 3: The Wolverines answered Audubon’s three-run rally to fourth to get close with three in the fifth to pull away. Brent Williams, Blake Bialecki and Dante Holmes all drove in a pair of runs. Holmes’ RBIs came on a two-run double in the fourth that made it 7-3.

GLASSBORO 9, PENNS GROVE 2: Gavin Dillard had two extra-base hits and two RBIs for the Bulldogs, who scored two in the first inning and never trailed. Elijah Crespo, Ryan Hunt, Ethan Brooks and Bristol Scott had hits for the Red Devils.

PITMAN 13, SALEM 1: Connor Sharkey drove in four runs and Hudson Rue and Jackson Austin each drove in three for the Panthers. Ethan McDonnell-Longo went 2-for-2 and drove in the Rams’ run in the fourth inning.

2 IN DIAMOND CLASSIC: Pennsville and Woodstown both are in the field for the 50th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.

Pennsville is the No. 24 seed in the 32-team field and will visit No. 9 Rancocas Valley on or before May 1 in a Top Bracket game. The Eagles would get the Camden Catholic-Eastern winner if successful.

Woodstown is seeded No. 26 and will play at No. 6 Delsea in its first-round game. The Wolverines would get the Bishop Eustace-Audubon winner if successful. Notice above they beat Audubon today.

The title game is May 16 at Alcyon Park in Pitman.

SOFTBALL
PITMAN 12, SALEM 3: The Panthers broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the third, then broke open the game with eight runs in the sixth. The teams matched single runs each of the first two innings until Pitman broke on top. Julliana Love had three hits and Raegan Wilson had two for the Rams. Love and Morgan Johnson had RBIs.

GLASSBORO 19, PENNS GROVE 2: The Red Devils scored both their runs in the top of the first, but the Bulldogs responded with 13 runs in the home half of the inning. Jarlene Vichi had the Red Devils’ only hit and RBI.

GOLF
WOODSTOWN 131, OVERBROOK 174: Jacob Schermerhorn and Jeffrey Covely both shot 32 to lead the Wolverines (10-3) at Kresson GC. Kyle Brainard came in with a 33 and Joey Olbrich posted a 34.
PITMAN 208, SALEM TECH 245: Pitman’s Owen Boulton was medalist at Sakima CC with a 49. Jack Bermann posted Salem Tech’s low score (59).

WASHINGTON TWP. 195, SCHALICK GIRLS 250: Washington Twp. Delaney Schwartz (46) edged teammate Ryli Zee by a stroke for medalist honors at Wedgewood CC. Casey Widdifield posted Schalick’s low score (61).

BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, TRITON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Steve Schilder, 6-1, 6-2
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Tristyn Malone, 6-1, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. William Ahrens
Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (P) def. Sean Gorsky-Cole Durham, 6-0, 6-0
Sawyer Humphrey-Luke Chamberlain (P) def. Tirth Patel-Brennan Zabala, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Pennsville 11-1, Triton 2-5.

Oaks getting closer

Silnik sharp as Mighty Oaks continue to advance on a playoff spot, kick Mustangs for eighth straight win

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT, N.J. – Ryan Silnik bounced off the mound after another strikeout ended the eighth inning. As soon as he crossed the first-base line he was greeted by Salem CC coach John Holt who lovingly patted the right-hander on the chest. The sophomore knew immediately what that meant.

There would be no ninth inning and complete game for the pitcher on this day. But he was OK with that.

Silnik gave his team eight strong innings in the longest outing of his college career and the Mighty Oaks moved another step closer to playoff qualification with a 7-1 victory over Montgomery County CC Wednesday.

The sophomore from Washington Twp. allowed four hits, eight base runners and struck out a career-high 12 before giving way to hard-throwing J.D. Wilson in the ninth. But he also threw 114 pitches.

“I knew it was done and I was totally fine with that; I totally understood what he was doing,” Silnik said. “It honestly didn’t feel like 114. The way my body feels right now I probably had one more (inning), but I’m not bummed. I knew J.D. was going to go out there and finish up the work for the day.”

Silnik had gone eight innings in travel ball before, but he had only gone longer than five innings for the Oaks three times and never longer than four this season. Holt has never had a pitcher throw a nine-inning complete game in his time with the Oaks. Silnik may have earned a shot at it, but he had just thrown too many pitches.

“His pitch count was just way too high,” Holt said. “Normally Ryan’s about a 70- to 80-pitch kind of kid, but he had good stuff today so we kept him going. If it wasn’t that high of a number we’d probably let him go, but at 114, that’s honestly we stretched him further than I was even comfortable with letting him go.

“I told him great job, you gave us what we needed today – length – and you did what you were able to do. Ryan works his tail off. He’s worked hard for two years. To see it come to fruition was good.”

Silnik gave up a run in the first inning, but the only real trouble he ran into was in the fifth when the Mustangs put runners at second and third with none out. But as he had done all game he got through it without without further damage. The next inning he had a runner at second with none out and then struck out the side.

“I do remember (the fifth),” he said. “There was a lot of emotion after that knowing I got out of a jam. I remember telling myself out there if I get through this it’s going to be a good day because if I didn’t get through that I think that inning could have ended my day.

“Starting off second and third with no outs is honestly a really scary situation for a pitcher. Even a fielder; I played infield in high school. I’m sure my guys behind me were nervous, but they had my back no matter what. Sielky (Nick Ciesielka) I remember made a good throw from left field and when he came in was like ‘actually I didn’t even know where my cut was, I just threw the ball in.’ I told him, ‘Dude, you made a great throw.’”

The win was the Oaks’ eighth straight win and moved them within one game of .500 (19-20). They have won 11 of their last 12. Teams .500 or better at the end of the season qualify for the Region XIX playoffs.

They get their first chance to get back .500 for the first time since March 14 Friday in a single game at home against Union.

“Even just coming here last year the playoffs is like everybody’s dream coming to the school,” Silnik said. “Just making the playoffs is what you work for all season. Just having this run and the fact we can talk about making the playoffs after the way our season started it brings up the whole mood in the dugout and locker room. It’s crazy to think about. We have a very good chance right now.”

But they can’t afford to relax. The Oaks have 10 games remaining, meaning they must go no worse than 6-4 down the stretch. They would prefer to build enough of a cushion to take their season-ending series with No. 2-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester out of the equation.

“We try not to talk about it,” Holt said, “but what I told them today is we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we can have the conversation but we’ve still got to approach it one game at a time and it doesn’t matter what their jersey says. We’ve got to play to our standard, not the scoreboard, not to who we’re playing. We’ve got to come out and play the way we’re capable of playing; it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We’ve just got to come out and win.”

It also was their second come-from-behind win in as many days. The Oaks answered the Mustangs’ run in the first with Demetrius DeRamus’ RBI single in the bottom of the inning. They took the lead for good in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by DeRamus and Matt Murphy and a sacrifice fly by Jared Vandersteur.

DeRamus, Murphy, Yen Rodriguez and Angel Velez all had two hits for the Salem. Vandersteur had two RBIs. Murphy is batting .478 with 12 RBIs over the last 12 games – a run that started with a 15-10 win over the Mustangs. DeRamus is hitting .429 with 17 RBIs over the same stretch.

The Oaks stretched their lead with Cole Dawson’s RBI triple in the fifth, added Nick Ciesielka’s RBI single in the seventh and got two runs in the eighth. Velez and Vandersteur opened the eighth with back-to-back doubles and Joe Fekete delivered a sacrifice fly.

“They’re coming together as a unit, they’re playing for each other and they’re really learning the college game,” Holt said. “it took us a little while to figure some things out as a unit, but we’re figuring it out.

“This is what I envisioned at the beginning of the year. It’s just starting to come together a little later than we hoped.”

Salem CC Tuesday

Mighty Oaks baseball routs Luzerne to move within two games of .500, softball swept at Mercer

By Riverview Sports News

NANTICOKE, Pa. – The Salem CC baseball team moved another step closer to .500 and a playoff berth with a 23-1 rout of Luzerne County CC Tuesday.

The Mighty Owls, 18-20 with 11 games remaining, trailed 1-0 after two innings, then took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the third. They pulled away with six in the fourth and didn’t slow down.

They have won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11

They return to action Wednesday at home against Montgomery County CC and could get back to .500 for the first time since March 14 (6-6) in a Friday home game with Union.

Softball swept at Mercer

WEST WINDSOR – The Salem CC softball team had a tough day at one of the best teams in the region. The Mighty Oaks were swept by Mercer CC 10-0 and 8-0. They were one-hit in the opener and no-hit in the nightcap.

Haylee Pickrell had Salem’s only hit in the doubleheader, a two-out single in the fourth inning of the first game. The Oaks (26-12) loaded the bases in the inning, but left them loaded.

The Mighty Oaks had only three base runners in the nightcap against Shea Krebs. Mercer improved to 35-5.

The Oaks have four games remaining in the regular season – a home doubleheader Thursday against Camden CC and a Friday doubleheader at Bergen.

It’s never over

Burchfield’s first-ever game-winning walk-off hit caps seventh-inning Pennsville rally to sting Schalick

TUESDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 11, Schalick 10
Woodstown 14, Penns Grove 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Whether it’s two outs, two strikes or three runs down in the bottom of the seventh, Pennsville coach Matt Karr preaches to his players to never give up.

The Eagles didn’t give up Tuesday and were rewarded for it with a come-from-behind victory over a county rival.

Faced with a three-run deficit entering the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles rallied for four runs and escaped with an 11-10 victory over Schalick, breaking the heart of a team coached by a Pennsville alum.

Chase Burchfield got the game-winner on a one-out, two-run double to left center right after Peyton O’Brien’s two-run bases-loaded single got the Eagles close the hitter before. Burchfield said it was his first-ever game-winning walk-off hit on any level of baseball.

“First one, my whole life, honestly; I’ve hit a 10-run-rule walk-off, but nothing like that,” he said. “That’s just how we’ve been trying to play all year. In the past years we probably wouldn’t have won that game, so I feel like this team has more fight than last year’s.”

The Eagles’ rally started from the bottom of the lineup with pinch-hitter Mason O’Brien drawing a leadoff walk and 9-hole hitter Logan Streitz delivering a single. Luke Wood then walked to load the base.

A visit to the mound netted the Cougars a strikeout, but Peyton O’Brien came through with his two-run single to right to make it 10-9 and Burchfield followed him with his game-winner.

“One of our big team mantras is give the guy behind you a shot,” Karr said. “Our guys at the top are really good. We trust those guys and we gave them shots with guys on to cash in and they did.

“We’re still trying to work through those type of things. We’re still a young ballclub – we’ve got one senior – and we’re trying to learn there are ups and downs in this sport that when things aren’t going well or things don’t seem to be going right for you, you have to find a way to keep it together, stay level headed and push through to the other side and we were able to do that today.

“It’s been a challenge for us. When we find ourselves in a tight situation we’re learning to push through that and come out on the other side. I keep preaching to these guys that’s what playoff baseball is gonna be. If we want to make a deep run, we have to be able to compete in those kind of games because the teams we play are going to be good. Today was a good test and a great game for us to get that experience.”

Before Burchfield’s heroics sent the Pennsville players pouring out of the dugout the game belonged Jake Siedlecki. The Schalick senior parked a three-run homer on a two-out 0-2 pitch in the fourth inning to give the Cougars an 8-7 lead and then pitched three innings of no-hit relief until the Eagles figured him out in the seventh.

His teammates gave him an even bigger cushion by scoring two more in the top of the seventh.

Of the homer, which capped a seven-run Cougars rally, Siedlecki said, “when I go up to bat I just try to have fun. I think that pitch looked good to me. I haven’t been able to hit a high fastball all year and finally my barrel got to it.”

As a pitcher he had only gone longer than 2 2/3 innings once in his career and that was his first career appearance as a freshman (four innings and 96 pitches against Pitman). But the Cougars were running short on arms and they needed to get as much out of him as they could.

He wound up throwing 73 pitches, two more than he had in his previous four appearances this season combined. But he was fresh. He only threw 18 pitches last week, 10 in getting the final out of Luke Pokrovsky’s 16-strikeout Friday gem against Gloucester and eight in two innings the next day against Eastern.

He was on top of it early. Over his first three innings he allowed only two walks, neither runner past first base, and struck out five. He retired all the Pennsville hitters who got to him in the seventh the first time around.

“I’m not really a pitcher so I decided to have fun with it; they couldn’t hit my slider,” he said. “Then in the last inning I’ve never pitched that long and my arm never really felt that tired before, so my slider started being more of a hanger. I was still pitching strikes, but they finally got a hit and made good contact on it.”

Under the circumstances, Schalick coach Sean O’Brien thought his regular short reliever/closer “did a great job.”

“I said to the guys I would still go with him in that situation because I trust him,” O’Brien said.

Overall, the Cougars’ coach was happy with the way his team fought to get back in the game after being down 6-0 and 7-1 to give it a chance to win, but lamented a lack of execution in certain situations that could’ve put them over the top. Still, they should leave the ballpark feeling they can play with the top teams in South Jersey Group I, he said.

Schalick leadoff man J.T. Fleming had two hits and two RBIs. Ricky Watt also had two hits, including a two-run single to chase Pennsville starter Peyton O’Brien right before Siedlecki hit his homer.

WOODSTOWN 14, PENNS GROVE 2: Andrew Pedrick and Blake Bialecki both had a pair of hits and Pedrick drove in three runs to lead the Wolverines (7-5). Woodstown pulled away from a 1-1 game with three runs in the second inning, then after Penns Grove (0-7) closed within 4-2 it scored four in the fourth.

Thomas Boyles, the first reliever behind winning pitcher Cole Begley, struck out all five batters he faced. Seven of the eight outs Boyles has recorded in two appearances this season have come on strikeouts.

Getting to know …

Schalick’s Luke Pokrovsky

EDITORS NOTE: This is the latest in a recurring series of in-depth interviews with athletes in Salem County. Coaches, if there is a player in your program with an interesting background or backstory the community would be interested in “Getting to Know …” forward details in an email to Riverview Sports News at al.muskewitz@gmail.com.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Along the back wall of the Schalick baseball dugout there is a row of poster boards where each Cougar player can apply award stickers similar to helmet stickers the Cougars wear in football.

Everybody player on the team has a poster and every player has at least one of the rewards on their card – except the player you’d expect would have the most. But there’s a story to that.

Luke Pokrovsky’s poster is as empty as those that don’t carry a player’s name, but that’s because he just hasn’t gotten around to putting them on. Of course, that time will come.

The junior left-handed pitcher and right-handed hitting DH/1B/OF is one of the top players in South Jersey. He’s also the last of three brothers who have donned the Schalick uniform and has a real chance to surpass all their records by the time he graduates next spring.

He’s currently the Cougars’ ace pitcher (0.89 ERA/36K/15.2IP) and one of their best hitters (.400/7 RBIs).

He sat down with Riverview Sports News to talk about growing up with two baseball-playing brothers, committing to a baseball-only existence and all things that shape a young baseball player with a big upside.

At some point he’s going to get around to putting those stickers on his poster. And when he does, he’s probably going to need a bigger poster.

RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: Well, since we’ve seen it, let’s start with this: What’s the story with the blank sticker card? I’d have thought with the year you’re having there would be stickers all over it.

LUKE POKROVSKY: One day we were practicing and it just got done raining and the field was destroyed with all the rain, so I hand-raked the whole entire field by myself – one of the drag-behind rakes – and everybody was doing stickers, so I still have to get all my stickers up there. It’ll end up getting a lot because of all the pitching ones and I have some hitting ones, too.

RSN: I’ve only been here for about a year, just about the end of the whole cycle of an athletic calendar, but I don’t think I’ve seen you in other sports here. Are you just a baseball guy or do you play other sports?

LP: I just play baseball here.

RSN: There’s always been a debate about diversifying or specializing in one particular sport. Why are you only a baseball guy and what are the advantages and benefits to being locked into one sport?

LP: I used to play basketball in middle school and I always wanted to play basketball in high school. We got to high school and I played with my brother Jarrett here. He always gets in the weight room and I wanted to get in the weight room, so in the off-season (going into his freshman year) I decided to not play basketball and get stronger, get in the weight room and try to get stronger to throw pitches faster.

I want to play other sports and I was thinking about playing basketball, but getting stronger and staying in shape, I’d rather do that. Playing basketball will keep you in shape, but you won’t have time for the weight room.

RSN: You come from a family of baseball guys – one brother’s at Penn and another’s at Seton Hall. Are there any more like you at home or others in the family who play or have played?

LP: No. My dad played (at Schalick) and my uncle played (at Schalick and Drexel).

RSN: How has your brothers’ success influenced your baseball? You could’ve played a mini-game at your house with a pitcher (Luke), catcher (Staus) and infielder (Jarrett) if you all got together at the same time.

LP: When Staus got committed to college, I was still very young, so I didn’t really understand anything, so he really wasn’t a big impact on my baseball. I played with Jarrett for my Little League and I started really enjoying it and he kept getting harder on me because I’m a lefty and he wants me to be strong as a pitcher.

I got to play freshman year with him for high school and it was fantastic. He kept being hard on me, trying to get me to be better, stronger, get in the weight room with him every single day, help me with my swing, all that.

When I got to watch Penn play I just realize how the pitchers are bigger and stronger they are compared to me. I just want to be able to play that next level and get stronger and be able to throw 90, 90-plus. I know I’m (currently) like low- to mid-80s fastball and trying to get my off-speed to go good.

RSN: Have you ever faced them in a game?

LP: I never got the chance to go against them and I really didn’t want to because they can both swing the bats good. I’d get smoked.

RSN: You’ve got a couple milestones coming up – 100 hits, 100 RBIs, 200 strikeouts (he’s currently at 73 hits, 64 RBIs, 172 strikeouts) – maybe even get them this season. Do they mean anything to you? Is one more important than the other? Will you eventually overtake your brothers’ numbers, and how sweet is that going to be? (Jarrett had 118 career hits and 139 strikeouts; Staus had 105 hits and 100 RBIs).

LP: All my brothers have most of the records here at school and I want to end up getting my name on it, so I was looking at the record for strikeouts and I realize I wasn’t that far away; it’s like 234 or 5. So then I was like I just have to try to strike them out and get all my pitches going. After I had that Gloucester game (Friday, 16 Ks in 6 2/3 innings) I was really excited because I only had 28 more strikeouts to 200 and I still have a whole ’nother year to go. That’s what my main goal is right now, 200 strikeouts.

I’ll always remember the Gloucester game because that was probably the best time I ever threw, the longest I ever went, the lowest walks and highest Ks. I don’t know what it was. It just comes.

RSN: And what about the 100-hit part?

LP: It’s kind of hard because everybody knows my name. Obviously I’m not going to get any fastballs. It’s harder and harder because I keep seeing curveballs, off-speed pitches. I’m trying to work in practice trying to get the off-speed pitches down to try to get my hits up trying to get to the 100 hits just like my brothers did.

RSN: Another thing I’ve always been curious about with pitchers is you’ve no doubt had managers come out to you on the mound either to get on your or get you going. What are some of the funniest or oddest things they’ve said to you either to break the tension or you’re your attention?

LP: Most of the time they come out, if it’s in the middle of an inning or an at bat, just to breathe and calm down and try to focus on the batter, not worry about any runners. I don’t remember any funny ones. There were definitely some, but I don’t remember any real funny ones. We joke around after, but not so much while the game is going on.

RSN: What do you do away from the field to relax and decompress. The other Luke – Pennsville’s Luke Wood – for example, likes Legos and Harry Potter. What do you do to get away from it all?

LP: I like to hang out with friends. I like to fish and hunt. During the offseason, in the fall, I love to go hunting with people from the team, just to be together with somebody else. I don’t like to do anything by myself, it’s just so boring. I got my first buck last year. I prefer duck hunting over anything. It’s so much fun.

RSN: It’s hard not to notice the tattoo running down the inside of your right forearm. It’s reads ‘Pokrovsky’ in script. What’s that all about?

LP: It was actually Jarrett’s idea. He wanted to get me, Staus, Jarrett, my dad all the same matching tattoo, so we all have it down our forearms. We just all wanted to match. It kind of hurt a little bit, but it has a good meaning.

RSN: What’s happening with you on the recruiting front? Is there a commitment? Where’s the most interest?

LP: I haven’t really gotten into looking at a school yet or really thought about it because I was thinking about going into a trade and try to do something with that, just go straight to work, so I don’t have to pay for all that schooling and stuff.

Both of my brothers keep saying that I’d just be wasting my talent, especially given I’m a left-handed pitcher, all I need to throw is like upper 80s and I’ll be good to go. I told them I’ll keep working. If the opportunity comes I want to take it, obviously. I was looking forward to summer, try to get in some more high-end showcases, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.

RSN: Lastly, are you pitching Tuesday against Pennsville and do you get any more amped pitching against a county opponent? I think you drew the start against Woodstown in the opener. In eight career appearances against Salem County teams (25.1 innings) he has a 3.03 ERA (his career mark over 103 innings is 2.98).

LP: I’m not pitching (against Pennsville). I’m pitching Wednesday against Lower Cape May. I’m one of the top pitchers on the team and (Coach Sean O’Brien) is going to give me the best teams to go against and I’m excited to go against real talent and I’ll be challenged a little bit. I like seeing our bounce back. We’ve already played some of the teams before this season and we lost and I wanted to bounce back and try to help the team out more, especially on the mound.

Milestone days

Donahue’s 10-goal haul highlights Woodstown’s lacrosse win; Pennsville baseball senior Grant hits first career homer; includes baseball, softball and tennis around Salem County

BASEBALL
Pennsville 15, Glassboro 1
Pitman 8, Penns Grove 1
Camden Tech 12, Salem 2

GLASSBORO – The day off was just what the Pennsville baseball team needed.

Chase Burchfield hit one of four Pennsville homers and drove in six runs as the Eagles overran Glassboro 15-1 in five innings Monday, the day after a welcomed day off from a busy week.

The game was expected to continue a run of nine games in eight days for the Eagles, but they got a reprieve when they split at the Oakcrest Tournament Saturday and didn’t make it to the Sunday final. Their second game Saturday was their sixth in five days.

The Eagles banged out 17 hits in the game. Peyton O’Brien went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, Burchfield and Luke Wood both went 3-for-3, and lone senior Jacob Grant had two hits. Every batter in the Pennsville lineup had at least one hit.

Cohen Petrutz, Grant and Stevie Fatcher also homered. Grant (three-run), Burchfield (two-run) and Petrutz (two-run) all homered in a seven-run fifth inning that put the game in run-rule mode. It was Grant’s first career home run came in his 72nd game after 191 high school at bats and 231 plate appearances.

Wood pitched all five innings, allowing five hits and one unearned run, and struck out 10.

The Eagles (9-3) are back at it Tuesday at home against Schalick.

PITMAN 8, PENNS GROVE 1: The Panthers (8-2) scored two runs in the third inning on an error to pull away from a 1-1 tie and never looked back. Three Pitman pitchers held the Red Devils to one hit, a single by Ryan Hyatt leading off the sixth inning.

Penns Grove (0-6) scored its run in the home first when Pitman misplayed Ethan Brooks’ infield grounder with Chase Willis at third.

CAMDEN TECH 12, SALEM 2: Johnny Laurick went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three Warrior pitchers held Salem to five hits. The Rams fell behind 4-0 after two innings and couldn’t catch up. Colin Finney, Bryce Harris, Andrew May, Chase Davis and Ryan Timmons had the hits for Salem.

SOFTBALL
Pennsville 13, Glassboro 3
Pitman 18, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 13, Deptford 8
Woodstown 16, Clayton 3

PENNSVILLE 13, GLASSBORO 3: Bella Farina went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and came within a homer of the cycle to lead the Eagles’ 10-hit attack. Bella Rappa had two hits and three RBIs and Reagan Wariwanchik capped a seven-run fifth with a walk-off two-run triple. Savannah Palverento went the distance in the circle, allowing three hits, no earned runs and striking out seven.

SCHALICK 13, DEPTFORD 8: The Cougars scored seven runs in the first two innings of the game and six in the final two innings to score the victory. Cloe Elliott was one of seven Schalick batters with a pair of hits in the game and drove in four runs.

The Cougars opened their six-run second inning with six straight singles. Elliott singled home the final two runs of the inning. Maddie Brown’s two-run single highlighted their five-run sixth.

WOODSTOWN 16, CLAYTON 3: Cara Delia had a three-run double among her three hits and drove in four runs to lead a 21-hit attack in Woodstown’s fourth straight win. Delia cleared the bases in a six-run third that gave the Wolverines a 14-0 lead.

Tulana Mingin had two hits – giving her 118 for her career, fifth on the school’s all-time list – as did Ellie Wygand, Kayla Brown, Hannah Hitchner, Alyssa Baber and starting pitcher Grace White.

PITMAN 18, PENNS GROVE 0: Emery Sharpnack went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two Pitman pitchers held Penns Grove to one hit.

GOLF
WOODSTOWN 145, SCHALICK 151: The county rivals battled it out for the second time in six days and this time the Wolverines came out on top. Woodstown’s Kyle Brainard and Joey Olbrich both shot 1-under 35s and Jacob Schermerhorn an even-par 36 to post the three low scores at Town & Country Golf Links. Anthony Sepers and Jaxon Weber had Schalick’s low score (37s). Schalick won the first meeting by two strokes.

BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Chase Fronczkiewucz, 6-1, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Troy Hollis, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Chase Murphy, 6-0, 6-0
Noah Bohn-Noah Filtcraft (P) def. Jacob Turpin-Ian Johnson, 6-0, 6-0
Sawyer Humphrey-Carter Willis (P) def. Jayden Sanchez-James Mai, 6-0, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 9-1, Clayton 0-3.

WOODSTOWN 5, DEPTFORD 0
Tim Schwienbacher (Wo) def. Xavier Dean, 6-1, 6-0
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Ethan Bui, 6-1, 6-1
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. Bradyn Gee, 6-3, 6-0
Ben Stengel-Joseph Kurpis (Wo) def. Joseph Crowley-Olaoluwa Gureje, 6-1, 6-2
Jason LaFond-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Chase Umbra-Zane Rauner, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 6-1, Deptford 2-4.

PENNS GROVE 5, GLASSBORO 0
Alex Ramirez Martinez (P) def. Rowan Somdhal-Sands, 6-0, 6-0
Poyraz Erdonmez (P) def. Jesus Lopez, 6-0, 6-1
Ricardo Vichi (P) def. Kileche Umbaofu, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Penns Grove 2-3, Glassboro 0-5.

PITMAN 4, SCHALICK 1
Maddox Marker (P) def. George Gould, 6-2, 6-3
Chase Rollins (P) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-0, 6-0
Cole Kelly (P) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-1, 6-2
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. Michael Fisicaro-Max Pappalardo, 6-2, 6-7, 10-8
Matthew Bauman (P)-Ethan Loudner (P) def. Cayden Brzozowski-Kaden Barnes, 6-3, 6-2
Records: Pitman 7-3, Schalick 4-4.

BOYS LACROSSE
WOODSTOWN 18, OAKCREST 5: Bobby Donahue scored 10 goals and four others had two each for the Wolverines (5-4). Sean Hopp, Laitton Roberts, Lucas Sperry and Zach Bevis (four assists) scored their other goals. Donahue had scored eight goals three times previously in his career, including this year’s season opener, and now has 47 for the season. He scored 50 a year ago.

GIRLS LACROSSE
CLEARVIEW 15, WOODSTOWN 9: Clearview’s Avery Roberts scored her 100th career goal in the game.

TRACK
Schalick’s girls improved to 4-0 in dual meets this season with a victory over Overbrook. Double wins by Jordan Hadfield (1600/3200), Grace O’Neill (400 hurdles/discus) and Brooke Watt (100 hurdles/triple jump) highlighted 10 winners in 13 events.

The Cougars’ other winners were Gabriella Simonini (pole vault), Phoebe Alward (long jump), Kylee Cole (high jump), Gia Martellacci (400), Sophia Longo (800), Ally Green (shot), Alivia Klancic (javelin).

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 22-27; all events 4 p.m. unless noted

MONDAY, APRIL 22
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Glassboro
Pitman at Penns Grove
Salem at Camden Tech
Woodstown at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Pitman
Schalick at Deptford
Woodstown at Clayton
GOLF
Williamstown girls vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown boys vs. Schalick, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Union League National, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Overbrook at Schalick, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Clayton at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Schalick at Pitman
BOYS LACROSSE
Oakcrest at Woodstown, 5 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Clearview, 7:30 p.m.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Kingsway at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 23
BASEBALL
Schalick at Pennsville
Woodstown at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
West Deptford at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Luzerne County CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Mercer CC, 3 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Kingsway at Woodstown
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville at Penns Grove
TRACK
Gloucester Catholic, Wildwood at Salem
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Woodstown at Pennsville
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Camden Tech, 3:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Lower Cape May
Woodstown at Audubon
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Salem at Pitman
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Montgomery County CC at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Washington Twp., Wedgewood CC
Pennsville vs. Triton, Valleybrook CC, 3:45 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Pitman, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville at Triton, 3:45 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 25
BASEBALL
Delran at Woodstown, 4:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Camden CC at Salem CC (2), 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Bridgeton at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Clayton
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Sterling
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield at Woodstown
GOLF
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Sakima CC
TRACK
Schalick girls, Salem at Penn Relays

FRIDAY, APRIL 26
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Gateway

Mainland Coaches vs. Cancer
Schalick vs. Cape May Tech
SOFTBALL
Salem at Palmyra
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Union at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Bergen (2), 3:30 p.m.
TRACK
Salem, Schalick at Penn Relays

SATURDAY, APRIL 27
BASEBALL
Woodstown at Haddonfield, 10 a.m.
Salem at Collingswood, 10 a.m.
SOFTBALL
Woodstown vs. Moorestown at Williamstown, 9 a.m.
Deptford at Salem, 11 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Union (2), noon
TRACK
Schalick at Penn Relays

How sweep it is

Salem CC baseball continues late-season roll, sweeps doubleheader, series from Camden CC; softball swept for second straight day

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Fueled by two strong complete games from its pitchers, the Salem Community College baseball team dumped Camden CC 10-2 and 12-4 Saturday to sweep its third consecutive doubleheader and the three-game weekend series with the Cougars.

Freshman lefthander Sean Kelby allowed four hits and tied his career high with nine strikeouts in the first game. After giving up a walk to load the bases in the third inning, he retired 12 in a row and 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.

Sophomore righthander Aiden Ewe took a one-hitter into the seventh inning of the nightcap before running out of gas, but the converted catcher still finished with a five-hitter and six strikeouts in his first career complete game.

“They’re starting to hit their strides,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said of the two pitchers. “They both have worked very hard to get where they are. They’ve gradually gotten better and better throughout the year and today they get two complete games and get length out of them. That was huge for us with the schedule we have coming up.”

The sweep extended the Mighty Oaks’ winning streak to a season-best six games. It’s their longest streak since a six-gamer April 30-May 8, 2021. They have won nine of their last 10 to pull within three games of .500 (17-20). It’s the closest they’ve been to .500 since March 24 (7-10).

“It’s nice anytime to get a sweep,” Holt said, “but where we are with our schedule and where we are with what we’re trying to do, we’ve got to worry about one game at a time. We can’t worry about sweeping series.

“Our approach is let’s win inning by inning because when we get too big it can become a little bit too much. If we were worried about just winning today, let alone trying to make up a 10-game under .500 thing that’s overwhelming. But if you’re just worried winning today then it kind of seems a little bit more doable.”

To qualify for the playoffs a team must finish .500 or better either overall or within the region. With 12 games left, the Mighty Oaks must go 8-4 to make it and the last three games are against current JUCO D-III No. 3 RCSJ-Gloucester.

“I feel good about where we are as a team,” Holt said. “In the approach we have adopted with it, win or lose, we’re just trying to get better every game and we’re trying to learn even from the losses.

“The carrot’s there, it’s attainable, but at the end of the day we can’t get too big. We’ve got to stay with the focus and the approach that we have.”

With a tight margin for error, the pitchers feel additional responsibility to be sharp each time they go to the mound.

“As the season is starting to go on and we’re winning games I feel like we’re getting more pumped up and I feel like we have to give it our all,” Ewe said. “We have to give more than what we’re doing.”

“When we’re pitching good everything follows – the hitting, the fielding – and I feel like we’re really in a groove and feeding off each other right now,” Kelby said. “It definitely was a different approach than when I was out here in the beginning of March. There is a responsibility. We needed that sense of urgency.”

The Mighty Oaks rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to win Game One. They tied the game with Angel Velez’ RBI single in the third and took the lead in the fourth on Nick Ciesielka’s RBI triple and Demetrius DeRamus’ second sacrifice fly of the game.

They broke it open with six runs in the fifth, highlighted by Cole Dawson’s two-run double and Velez’ two-run single. Velez was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the game and had five hits in the doubleheader.

Ciesielka, Matt Murphy and Dane Thomas all had a pair of hits in the game.

The Mighty Oaks took control of the nightcap with six runs in the second inning. Yen Rodriguez had a two-run single in the inning, while the other runs scored on a series of errors and DeRamus’ third sacrifice fly of the twinbill.

They added four in the in the fifth and two in the sixth on a two-run double by Thomas.

Thomas, Velez and Murphy all had two hits in the game.

With Ewe throwing what he agreed was his best six innings of the year – and he allowed two hits and fanned 12 in six innings against Bergen last Saturday – the lead looked even more formidable.

His defense helped preserve the gem with several web gems. The Oaks turned a double play in the first inning and in the sixth second baseman Dawson knocked down a chopper headed for the outfield and got the out at first and then Murphy laid out after a long run in left to flag down the last out of the inning.

Salem softball swept

SCRANTON, Pa. – The Salem CC softball team ran into another team headed to the Region XIX playoffs Saturday and met the same fate as the day before, this time getting swept at Lackawanna College 10-8 and 8-2.

The Mighty Oaks (24-10) led twice in the opener, but couldn’t overcome a five-run fourth inning. They put together a three-run rally in the sixth on Courtney Hoggard’s two-run double and Vaye Savage’s RBI single to get within 10-8. They had the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs in the seventh, but couldn’t bring it around.

Hoggard had two doubles among her three hits and drove in three runs. Ella Hayes had three hits and Savage had two hits and two RBIs.

Hoggard gave the Oaks a 2-0 lead in the second game with a two-run double in the third, but once again Lackawanna put together a big inning, scoring seven in the fourth, to take control. The Falcons sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning and took advantage of four Salem errors.

Salem coach Angel Rodriguez praised his team’s defense in its doubleheader sweep by Delaware Tech on Friday, but the Mighty Oaks were charged with seven errors in the nightcap and 12 in the twinbill. Only six Lackawanna’s runs in the doubleheader were earned, none in the second game.

Haylee Pickrell was the only Salem player with multiple hits in the nightcap. She was 2-for-3.

They’ll look to get back on the winning track Sunday in a home doubleheader with Ocean starting at noon.