Salem shocks the system

Mighty Oaks give a performance for the ages, stun No. 1, two-time reigning national champs in opening round of Region 19 D3 Final Four

REGION 19 TOURNAMENT
Thursday’s Games
Game 1: Salem 6, RCSJ-Gloucester 5 (12 inns.)
Game 2: Brookdale 9, RCSJ-Cumberland 8 (10 inns.)
Game 3: RCSJ-Gloucester 12, RCSJ-Cumberland 1 (5 inns.)
Friday’s Games
Game 4: Salem vs. Brookdale, noon (winner to championship)
Game 5: RCSJ-Gloucester vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Championship (2 if necessary), noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CAMDEN — John Holt had one simple message for his blue-collar Salem CC baseball team before it boarded the bus for the trip up 295 for the Region 19 tournament.

We just have to win three, fellas.

Now they just have to win two – as long as they keep winning.

The Mighty Oaks shocked everyone in the JUCO baseball world except themselves Thursday when they stunned top-ranked, top-seeded and two-time reigning national champion RCSJ-Gloucester 6-5 in 12 innings at Rutgers-Camden.

The benefit of the win was to happily go back home early without having to play another game today and will play second-seeded No. 3 Brookdale Friday at noon. Jared Vandersteur, the region’s leader in ERA, is expected to draw the start for the Mighty Oaks (28-24) with Seth McCormick slated for their third game, which could be Friday’s 3 p.m. elminational game or Saturday’s championship game.

The win was Salem’s record 28th of the season and 401st of Holt’s coaching career. The Roadrunners fell to 47-5; they hadn’t lost to a Region 19 opponent since last May.

The Mighty Oaks (28-24) won despite striking out 21 times in the game.

“Our boys showed up today,” Holt said. “They played their hearts out, they really did. I’m as proud as I’ve been of a group in almost my entire career. These guys laid it all out there today. They played a tough game against a great team and they just out-toughed them today.”

It was the second time the Mighty Oaks have knocked off a No. 1-ranked team under Holt, the last being RCSJ-Gloucester in 2021.

The Mighty Oaks were defeated handily by the Roadrunners during the season, but they showed they could play with the best teams in the nation by hanging with now No. 2 SUNY-Niagara twice on their Florida trip in mid-March.

“Great that we get to go home early, enjoy the rest of the day, chill out, get ready to come back tomorrow,” third baseman Chris Kelly said. “It means a lot.

“It means everything, from 1 through 28, including the coaches, coming out here beating the No. 1 team in the country. No one else thought we could do it. We believed 1 through 28. We came into this weekend thinking we know we got it, we’re going to come in, dominate, and we did it. We did what we had to do.”

Heroes were plentiful, with Demetrius DeRamus and Matt Murphy at the top of the list.

Kelly brought Angel Velez home from third with the winning run on a two-strike sacrifice fly in the 12th.

DeRamus was down to the Mighty Oaks’ last strike of the game, but gave them life with a two-out, two-run homer over the park’s version of the Green Monster in right to tie it 5-5 in the visitors’ ninth. He had three RBIs in the game, leaving him three shy of 100 for his career.

Cole Dawson got the rally started with a one-out single, then stole second and went to third on a passed ball.

“I’ve been in that situation so many times, it’s just routine at this point,” said DeRamus, who hit a two-run game-tying homer in the 11th inning of a 12-inning win over RCSJ-Cumberland earlier in the season. “We work on it a lot in practice, two-strike approaches. I think it’s just something about RCSJ in general that lights the fire in me. I’m just lost for words right now, just happy we get to go to the next game.”

Jon Gambone gave the Mighty Oaks six strong innings as the starter, throwing 115 pitches on the heels of a 133-pitch effort in his previous tournament start. Pat Seitzinger pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings through the 11th and Murphy, pitching for only the second time in college, closed it out like a veteran in the 12th.

“We knew the last time we played them that wasn’t our team,” Seitzinger said. “I didn’t do good (in that series), but I did good today and that’s what matters more.”

Murphy had pitched only one Inning previously in his college career (March 8), but he had been getting up to 90 in his bullpens and Holt thought that velo in that situation with Murphy’s closer mentality was just what they needed. The head coach shifted the day’s lineup to put Murphy at DH – with Yen Rodriguez in rightfield and Jason LeBold in left (his first action since April 13) – for just such a circumstance.

The sophomore righthander worked through the 12th on 15 pitches. He ended the game on a double-play grounder that shortstop Dawson took himself to second and then fired to first to set off a raucous celebration in the dugout.

“I’ve been telling coach all year I’ve wanted to pitch,” said Murphy, whose last extended pitching appearance was June 1, 2022, at Eastern Regional High School. “He’s been telling me to get ready every series. I’ve been ready every series, I’ve just been waiting for it. He gave me the call and I did the best that I could. I was doing it for my team.

“All day we were picking each other up. I didn’t want to let my teammates down so I went in there, gave it all I had and a great outcome happened.”

**Demetrius DeRamus reaches the plate after his game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning. (Screenshot from Gamechanger video)**

Wolverines walk one off

Bialecki’s 12th-inning single lifts Woodstown over Glassboro, 2-1

By Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Blake Bialecki made a spectacular catch in center field in the top of the 12th to keep the go-ahead run off the bases and then delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the inning as Woodstown walked off Glassboro 2-1 Wednesday.

Bialecki’s game-winning hit, a scorcher past first baseman Aidan Evangelisti into right field, came with one out after Tommy Tucci singled to center and Lucas Fulmer walked. It made a winning pitcher of Rocco String, the Wolverines’ fifth pitcher of the game.

Bialecki’s catch took potential extra bases from Jude Dempster for the second out of the inning.

Woodstown scored the first run of the game in the third inning on String’s two-out double to left. Glassboro tied it in the seventh on Brennan Crosbee’s one-out double, but the Wolverines prevented further damage with an inning-ending double play.

The Wolverines (13-8) also turned an inning-ending double play in the 11th to turn back another threat. They made four twin killings in the game.

This story will be updated.

Hall of Fame level

5 Schalick pitchers combine on no-hitter, get all outs by strikeout, walk-off Bridgeton 13-3 in five innings

MONDAY BASEBALL
Schalick 13, Bridgeton 3
Woodstown 9, Clayton 1
Pennsville 12, Glassboro 7
Wildwood 11, Penns Grove 1
MONDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 19, Glassboro 8
Woodstown 11, Clayton 1
Schalick 19, Salem 0
Wildwood 21, Penns Grove 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The Schalick baseball team went to the home of baseball, got the tour and (presumably) the T-shirt, and then put on a Hall of Fame performance Monday morning, dispatching Bridgeton 13-3 in five innings.

Five Schalick pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter, retired 12 of the first 13 batters they faced and got all 15 outs by strikeout. The Bulldogs did not put a ball in play against them, getting all their baserunners via walk.

Aptly-named Cooper Willoughby’s long bases-loaded single to left with one out in the fifth inning walked it off after the Bulldogs intentionally walked Luke Pokrovsky to load the bases, denying Schalick’s all-time home run and RBI king the opportunity to walk it off.

“I think it’s pretty special what we did today,” senior pitcher Lucas D’Agostino said. “No matter what the circumstances are, 15 strikeouts in 15 outs to go along with a no-hitter is something special and I believe it reflects how dominant our pitching staff has been all year. Especially in Cooperstown, that definitely meant a lot to me personally, as well as the team as a whole.”

Cougars coach Sean O’Brien gave his two senior aces the first two innings on historic Doubleday Field and they put on a Hall of Fame performance.

Starter Pokrovsky and D’Agostino both struck out the side in their inning. On his final pitch, D’Agostino’s windup looked like something you might’ve seen from one of the pitcher inductees inside the Hall. He wrapped his arms around his back, came around and tucked and then fired his final strike.

“I figured I’d pay some homage to some of the great pitchers that are immortalized and have some fun with an old-timer windup,” D’Agostino said. “I didn’t have anyone in mind. In my head I thought to myself ‘something in the ballpark of Walter Johnson’ and I guess that pitch is what ended up coming out.”

Cole Hartley got the next two innings and he struck out his six batters. He fanned the side in the third on 10 pitches.

Senior Matthew LaMazza started the fifth inning but had trouble locating the plate and walked the four batters he faced. He was replaced by senior Eli Cummings, who struck out his first two batters and eventually the side, but walked in a run and allowed another when a pitch got away at the plate.

The Cougars (15-1) answered with three in the bottom of the inning to walk it off. Their first three batters reached to load the bases. Travis Snodgrass’ ground out brought home the first run, Cummings’ RBI single made it 12-3 and Willoughby followed the walk to Pokrovsky with his game-winner.

Cummings sacrifice fly in the fourth got the game into run-rule territory. Pokrovsky had two hits and Ricky Watt went 3-for-3.

“The team’s experience will be one the players won’t forget,” O’Brien said. “Touring the museum and having the opportunity to play on Doubleday Field is something they will aways remember. Every player on the team got at least one at bat.”

“You really can’t have a bad time when you’re in Cooperstown,” D’Agostino said.

This story will be updated.

WOODSTOWN 9, CLAYTON 1: The Wolverines erupted for six runs in the first inning. Rocco String went 3-for-3, Caiden Spinelli had two hits and Lucas Fulmer and Nate Williams each had a pair of RBIs.

PENNSVILLE 12, GLASSBORO 7: The Eagles opened 9-0 lead in the fourth inning, then held off the Bulldogs’ comeback bid. Cohen Petrutz had two hits and four RBIs at the plate and set the Bulldogs down in order in the seventh with two strikeouts to close out the game. Logan Streitz and starting pitcher Luke Wood both had two hits, while Connor Starn, Jeff Wagner and Stevie Fatcher all had two RBIs.

WILDWOOD 11, PENNS GROVE 1: The Warriors erupted for seven runs in the second inning after Penns Grove grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. Liam Irvin doubled home Elijah Crespo for the Red Devils’ run :

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 19, GLASSBORO 8: Kylie Harris, Savannah Brewer-Palverento and Makenzie Widener had perfect days at the plate, combining to go 12-for-12 with 12 RBIs as the Eagles (17-3) pounded 20 hits. Harris went 5-for-5 to tie her career high, Brewer-Palverento went 3-for-3 with six RBIs and Widener went 4-for-4 with four RBIs

WOODSTOWN 11, CLAYTON 1: Aubrie Rennie and Talia Guardascione both went 3-for-4 for the Wolverines. Leah Clark scattered six hits and struck out eight in her six-inning complete game.

SCHALICK 19, SALEM 0: The Cougars took advantage of 23 walks.

WILDWOOD 21, PENNS GROVE 0: Emma Contreras homered, had six RBIs and spun a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the circle. She had a perfect game for 3 1/3 innings, until Jarlene Vichi-Torres broke up the gem with a fourth-inning single for Penns Grove’s only hit.

Photo: Schalick’s Luke Pokrovsky delivers the first pitch in the Cougars’ game with Bridgeton this morning at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y. (Submitted photo)

**The Schalick baseball team stops at the gates of Doubleday Field before making their entrance in today’s game. (Submitted photo)**

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 12-17; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MAY 12
BASEBALL
Salem vs. Bridgeton, Doubleday Field, Cooperstown, N.Y., 10 a.m.
Clayton at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
Wildwood at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Wildwood
Schalick at Salem
Woodstown at Clayton
GOLF
Salem Tech vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. OLMA, White Oaks GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Haddon Heights, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pitman
Pennsville at Schalick
Timber Creek at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Schalick at Penns Grove
Salem at Deptford, 5 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Maple Shade at Woodstown

MAY 13
BASEBALL
Woodstown at Delran
GOLF
Schalick vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Collingswood, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Pennsville at Woodstown
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Clearview, 5 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.

MAY 14
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Pennsville at Salem
Schalick at Cumberland
SOFTBALL
Cumberland at Schalick
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Salem at Pennsville
Woodstown at Glassboro
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Pitman, Pitman CC, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Delsea, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m.
LACROSSE
Rancocas Valley at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m.

MAY 15
BASEBALL
Buena at Schalick
Pennsville at Triton
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Buena
Triton at Pennsville
GOLF
Schalick vs. Hammonton, Pinelands GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Sterling, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Woodstown at Highland, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Eastern
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden
Salem CC vs. RCSJ-Gloucester or Brookdale, TBA

MAY 16
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Cedar Creek
SOFTBALL
Salem at Cape May Tech
Triton at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Millville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Woodstown at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Millville
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden, TBA

MAY 17
BASEBALL
Schalick at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden, TBA

Salem County Saturday

Here are the results from Saturday’s Salem County sports calendar

BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown
Washington Twp. 11, Woodstown 0
Cherry Hill East 7, Camden Catholic 1
Consolation: Woodstown 11, Camden Catholic 7
Championship: Cherry Hill East 4, Washington Twp. 1

WOODSTOWN – After being silenced the last four games, Woodstown’s bats came alive and outscored Camden Catholic 11-7 in the consolation game of the Lee Ware Tournament.

Ty Coblentz led the Wolverines’ 12-hit attack with three hits and two RBIs. Sam Chard and Rocco String had two hits apiece and Thomas Tucci drove in a pair of runs.

The Wolverines (11-8) broke a 5-5 tie with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. Noah Williams’ RBI single broke the tie. Caiden Spinelli and String each had a two-run double. And Coblentz had an RBI double.

Cherry Hill East won the tournament with a 4-1 win over Washington Twp. in the championship game.

SOFTBALL
Pitman Tournament
Pennsville 6, Pitman 5
Pennsville 9, Deptford 4

PITMAN – Kylie Harris and Savannah Brewer-Palverento drove home runs in the sixth inning to finally give Pennsville the lead and the Eagles held on to claim a division win over Pitman 6-5.

The Eagles trailed 2-0, 4-1 and 4-3 at various points in the game. Harris, Lily Edwards, Avery Watson and Makenzie Widener had two hits apiece for Pennsville.

They followed that with a 9-4 win over Deptford. Edwards had two hits and two RBIs, while Sawyer Simmons and Reagan Wariwanchik had two hits apiece.

Fred Powell Tournament
Absegami 18, Woodstown 6
Woodstown 9, Cumberland 8

Ellie Wygand’s RBI double with none out in the bottom of the seventh scored MMMM LaPalomento with the winning run in Woodstown’s 9-8 walk-off win over Cumberland.

Kendall Young and LaPalomento got the winning rally started with singles. Young was caught stealing, leaving only LaPalomento on the basepaths. She scored on Wygand’s double. Wygand went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

Cumberland tied the game 8-8 with four runs in the top of the seventh.

In their first game, the Wolverines fell behind Absegami 14-0 after two innings. Lila Bowling had two hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs for Woodstown.

GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown 20, Haddon Heights 3: Delaney Walker scored five goals and Jaime Deal and Angelina Lindenmuth each scored four to lead the Wolverines. Sienna Land had five assists.

Milestone day

Mighty Oaks win first region playoff series in sweep, hand coach John Holt his 400th career victory

REGION 19 DIVISION III TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s Games
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester 17-9, No. 8 Montgomery 0-1 (Gloucester wins 2-0)
No. 4 Salem 6-10, No. 5 Middlesex 5-2 (Salem wins 2-0)
No. 3 RCSJ-Cumberland 15-3, No. 6 Camden 5-14 (Series tied, 1-1)
No. 2 Brookdale 15-3, No. 7 Northampton 5-1 (Brookdale wins 2-0)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – John Holt stood on the grass just outside the Salem CC dugout twirling an autographed baseball in his sports-drink-soaked hands courtesy of the water bucket bath he just received in the outfield. The ball, signed by all the players on the team, represented a lifetime of success and a gateway to the future.

The Mighty Oaks won their first region playoff series in more than 30 years and handed head coach John Holt his 400th career coaching victory in sweeping Middlesex College 6-5 and 10-2 to take their best-of-3 playoff series two games to none.

“I was crying out there,” Holt admitted. “It means a lot to do it with these guys. These guys are a special bunch. I’m glad all the hard work that they’ve put in is finally going to get them to the Final Four. That’s just the next step. We’re not done yet.”

The fourth-seeded Mighty Oaks (27-24) now advance to the double-elimination Region 19 Division III Final Four next week at Rutgers-Camden, to face either top-seeded No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester (47-4) or second-seeded No. 4 Brookdale (37-8) in the opening round.

Holt has won a playoff series before – in 2011, his last year at Burlington County CC – but the Mighty Oaks have never won one or even hosted one as far as Holt’s research goes back. They did win a playoff game last year at Northampton, but lost the series.

Holt began his collegiate coaching career at Burlington CC and was hired at Salem to restart the program in 2019. He has 107 wins with the Mighty Oaks, including career wins 300 and 400. His last two seasons have been the winningest in school history.

“There’s been a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches,” Holt said. “It’s been a hell of a ride. It’s been special.

“I’ve tried not to measure my successes in coaching based on wins and losses. For me it’s predominantly been about those relationships. Four-hundred wins, that’s awesome, but for all the good husbands, the good dads, the good men, if I’ve had anything to do with that, that’s more important than 400 (wins). I don’t take that for granted.”

The Mighty Oaks walked off their coach’s milestone win with three runs in the seventh inning capped by Yen Rodriguez’ game-ending single into the right centerfield gap. The sophomore outfielder said as soon as he made contact he knew it was over and Holt had his 400th win.

They led the game wire-to-wire, scoring a run in the first inning on Matt Murphy’s RBI triple and taking control with a four-run third that included home runs by Cole Dawson and Demetrius DeRamus.

DeRamus’ homer, a two-run shot that made it 5-1, ended a 4-for-28 skid that was part of a larger 9-for-59 over his previous 18 games. He admitted the slump was eating at him “just a little bit,” but when he went to the plate he just tried to “keep things simple, be less technical” and it seemed to have done the trick.

He followed his seventh homer of the year with a single in his next at-bat for his first multi-hit game since April 13.

Tyler Hacker went 3-for-3 with a walk in the game and came within a home run of hitting for the cycle.

Jared Vandersteur pitched a complete game, scattering six hits and striking out five. He threw 118 pitches and even without his best stuff reduced his region-leading ERA to 2.67. The Colts scored both their runs in the fourth inning.

“I just knew I had a job to do and thankfully I was able to do it,” the righthander said. “I didn’t know it was for his 400th win, I just knew I had to get it done today. It’s fun to go out there and have the pressure on and get it done.”

The Mighty Oaks came out swinging in the opener, scoring five runs in the first inning to erase a 1-0 deficit and then held on.

They sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning. Angel Velez, Hatcher and Hunter Cohen drove in the first three runs, then Tim Bowlby capped the outburst with a two-run single to right field.

Velez had three hits and two RBIs in the game. Since the nightcap of the Mighty Oaks’ April 5 doubleheader with Middlesex (20 games), Velez is batting .486 (35-of-72) with a 10-game hitting streak.

Jon Gambone pitched the first seven innings for the Mighty Oaks, leaving with a 6-3 lead after throwing 133 pitches (one more than Middlesex starter Ryan Rzepinski in six innings), and got the win. Hard-throwing J.D. Wilson pitched the final two innings and although the Colts scored two runs in the eighth inning and threatened in the ninth to make it interesting, he kept it from getting ugly and closed it out for the save.

There was a lot to Wilson’s outing. He’s basically pitching without a UCL in his pitching elbow and will need Tommy John surgery to repair it. He was so determined to keep his college career from meeting a premature end, he “made” the doctor clear him to pitch in the playoffs and “kind of told” Holt he was going to throw if the game was close.

“The doctor basically said you need surgery, you’re not going to do any more damage, it’s already done, you can throw as tolerated,” Holt said. “The thing about J.D., I think he gets a bum rap sometimes because he’s a hard-nosed kid, but I don’t know how many guys who can throw the ball 90-plus would call their coach and say I’m looking at Tommy John but I’ve got at least two innings this weekend for you. That just says a lot about who he is.”

“I just wanted to win,” Wilson said. “I just went out there and gave my team my best of what I had and came out of here with a win.”

It was his first appearance on the mound since April 13 and the first time his mother Jessie had seen him play since suffering a brain aneurysm the day before Easter, making for an even more poignant Mother’s Day for the family.

“It was just like the old days, before everything happened,” Wilson said. “It was nice.”

Photo: Salem CC baseball coach John Holt holds the ball from his 400th career victory surrounded by his players after the Mighty Oaks swept Middlesex in the Region 19 playoffs Saturday.

Schalick slams Salem

Pokrovsky homers twice in first inning, passes 100 career RBIs; he and D’Agostino both hit grand slams and the Cougars roll before heading to the Hall of Fame

By Riverview Sports News

ELMER – It must have felt like the good old days to many a Schalick baseball player Friday night.

The Cougars returned to the Elmer Little League complex where it all began for a lot of them for the second time this week and put on an impressive display of power.

They hit three home runs – two grand slams – and had eight extra-base hits in crushing Salem 26-2 in five innings.

It was just the kind of game they needed to send them to Cooperstown, where they’ll play Bridgeton at Doubleday Field Monday.

Luke Pokrovsky and Lucas D’Agostino, two of the players recognized during Senior Day activities here Tuesday night, led the 22-hit attack. Pokrovsky homered twice in the first inning, doubled and drove in a career-high seven runs to surpass 100 for his career. D’Agostino homered, doubled and had five RBIs.

Pokrovsky homered leading off the home first to tie the game and hit a grand slam later in the inning. They were his 17th and 18th homers of his career to stand alone as Schalick’s all-time home run king. It was the second multi-homer game of his career and 24th multi-RBI game.

D’Agostino hit a slam in the second inning for his first career homer. The Cougars scored nine runs in each of the first two innings.

Every Schalick starter had at least one hit and 14 Cougars had hits in the game. Starting pitcher Jamari Whitley had two hits and three RBIs, while Ricky Watt, Mason Sanchez, Enrico Hatz and Evan Glaspey had two hits apiece.

Bryce Harris drew a bases-loaded walk to give Salem a 1-0 lead in the first. The Rams scored their other run in the fourth inning on a error off the bat of Chase Pompper. Terrell Robinson had two of their four hits in the game.

Another centurion

Pennsville’s Wood collects his 100th career hit in Eagles rout of Wildwood; includes results from throughout Salem County

THURSDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 21, Wildwood 3
Overbrook 4, Woodstown 1
Clayton 7, Salem 6
THURSDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 15, Wildwood 1
Woodstown 17, Overbrook 7

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WILDWOOD – A lot of players might have been a little anxious being so close to a milestone they’ve chased all their life and not seeing it happen, but as long as he was helping his team win while he waited Luke Wood was OK with it.

The Pennsville senior needed one more hit since Monday to get the 100th hit of his high school career, which with his eye at the plate figured to come at any minute. It just seemed to be taking forever.

Wood finally reached the milestone Thursday. It came on a two-out single to right field in the fifth inning – his last at-bat of the game – of the Eagles’ 21-3 rout of Wildwood.

Since collecting hit No. 99 – a bases-loaded triple in his last at-bat against Clayton – he went 0-for-2 with two walks against Pitman (reaching on an error in the eighth inning) and 0-for-2 with two walks and an error before finally breaking through Thursday.

“When you’re going for 100 hits it’s frustrating, but at the same time you just have to realize your team’s up a lot of runs and that’s not what matters at the end of the day,” Wood said. “As nerve wracking as it might be or as big a deal as it is to some people, I always kind of push it to the back of my mind and do what I can to help the team win.

“Just through the last 10 plate appearances I had there was a string of bad luck, but that’s kind of how my approach is. I don’t want to make outs easy for them. I want to go up there and I want to get walked, I want to hit balls on the ground. If I don’t get hits because of this but I get on base that’s all I really care about.

“I needed one hit, so it’s not like I was sitting here stressed out about getting it for the rest of the season. I needed 13 coming into the season, I knew it was going to happen eventually. I just wanted to go out and do my job every day, get on base, because that’s always been my best asset, never really being just a hitter.”

Now, he can put this milestone with his 200-plus career strikeouts as a pitcher and 1,000-plus career points in basketball. Soon he can add 100 career runs to his collection of milestones (he needs three).

He is the third Pennsville athlete to collect their 100th career hit this season, joining baseball teammate Chase Burchfield (who has 100-plus RBIs as well) and softball junior Kylie Harris.

“Obviously, it feels really good,” he said. “It’s another milestone I can add to my high school career. It’s nice everything I’ve worked for and everything I’ve done is finally paying off. It’s nice to see the results of all the work you’ve put in.

“It’s super cool. It’s something I thought about doing since I was in seventh and eighth grade. It’s one of the coolest things. I don’t know any other words to put it as. It’s a good feeling.”

“I’m really happy for Luke,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “To be able to achieve 100 hits in baseball is very impressive. And for him to miss most of his junior season due to injury and still be able to achieve the feat speaks volumes … In nine years as head coach I’ve only had three guys get 100; again, speaks volumes about how difficult it is.”

After scratching and clawing to score the runs to beat Pitman the day before, the Eagles batted around twice and erupted for 15 runs in the first inning against the Warriors.

Twenty batters saw 76 pitches from three pitchers in the inning. Logan Streitz, Cohen Petrutz, Jeff Wagner and Mason O’Brien all had two hits in the inning. Wagner and O’Brien both drove in four runs. Wood walked twice.

“We came out today and were swinging the bat well and getting a lot of things go our way,” Wood said. “We swung the bats extremely well top to bottom. We had I think three JV guys get their first hits today (Jay Nickels, Jacob Hand and Grady Sanders). We just swung it well up and down the lineup.

“It goes to show when we bear down, work at bats, and be what I would call reasonably aggressive at the plate we’re gonna be really hard to beat. Like you saw today, we put up a ton of runs.”

Sanders’ first hit kept the fifth inning alive bringing Wood to the plate for his 100th.

With the win, the Eagles can clinch their fourth straight TCC Classic Division title and first outright since 2023 with a win Wednesday at Salem.

OVERBROOK 4, WOODSTOWN 1: The Wolverines slump at the plate against some pretty good arms continued as they were held to just two hits by a pair of Rams pitchers. Over the last three games the Wolverines have managed just four hits.

Woodstown tied the game 1-1 in the fifth on Caiden Spinelli’s run-scoring ground out, but the Rams answered with three in the bottom of the inning. They loaded the bases against Wolverines starter Aaron Foote on two singles and a walk, then Louis Hanna cleared them with a double to left.

CLAYTON 7, SALEM 6: After losing in a walk-off the day before, the Clippers turned the tables on the Rams with three in the bottom of the seventh. Jamison Emerle provided the crushing blow, a two-out double to center after Jackson Petsch stole second to move the winning run into scoring position.

The Rams took a 6-1 lead on Chase Davis’ grand slam in the fourth inning.

Softball

PENNSVILLE 15, WILDWOOD 1: Avery Watson continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with a pair of triples, four runs and four RBIs. Over her last eight games the Eagles’ infielder is 16-for-24 with six of he seven triples and 17 RBIs. She has a 10-game hitting streak.

Savannah Brewer-Palverento also two extra-base hits and four RBIs for the Eagles. Makenzie Widener had two hits and three RBIs and Kylie Harris added two more hits to her state-leading total.

Brewer-Palverento held the Warriors to two hits and an unearned run on 55 pitches over five innings and faced only two batters over the minimum. She struck out five.

WOODSTOWN 17, OVERBROOK 7: Ellie Wygand went 3-for-4, Talia Guardascione and Aubrie Rennie both had three RBIs and the Wolverines erupted for 10 runs in the fifth inning to turn a close game into a walkoff rout.

Actually, it was a come-from-behind win for the Wolverines. They trailed 2-0, 6-5 and 7-6 at various points in the game.

Rennie tied the game for the last time in the fourth inning when she raced home on Kendall Young’s bunt, then gave the Wolverines the lead for good in the fifth with a two-run single. Guardascione had a three-run double later in the inning.

Grace Hitchner, Young, Shyann Higinbotham, Wygand and Lila Bowling each drove in a run in the big inning.

Golf

Woodstown 176, Highland 194: Woodstown’s Erich Lipovsky (41) was low medalist at Valley Brook.
Washington Twp. girls 177, Schalick 202: WT’s Tessa Reilley’s 2-over 37 was low medalist at Centerton. Lena Virga had Schalick’s low round (47).

Tennis

PENNSVILLE 5, GCIT 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Ilan Torres, 6-2, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Jeffrey Smith, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Gabe Ferraro, 6-1, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. James Helder-Jacob Everson, 6-1, 4-6, 12-10
Ian Peacock-Carter Willis (P) def. Robert Helder-Gavin Shainline, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7
Records: Pennsville 13-0, GCIT 4-11.

SCHALICK 5, WASHINGTON TWP. 0
George Gould (S) def. Zach Torbik, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. William Minchin, 6-0, 6-1
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Alex Fogg, 6-4, 6-4
Cayden Brzozowski-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Aaron Begin-Andy Wu, 6-4, 6-2
David Santana-Anthony McGrath (S) def. Jack Hanson-Jack Laubin, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Schalick 12-4, Washington Twp. 1-15.

Photo: Pennsville’s Luke Wood comes out of the batter’s box after delivering his 100th career hit Thursday at Wildwood. (Screenshot from Gamechanger video)

Field of screams

Pennsville takes advantage of two infield errors to score the winning run in the eighth inning, beat Pitman to take upper hand in Classic Division

WEDNESDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 2, Pitman 1 (8 inns.)
Pennsauken Tech 4, Woodstown 2
Schalick 11, Penns Grove 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Matt Karr knows he doesn’t have the prettiest baseball field in the game. Heck, it doesn’t even have grass on an infield that’s as hard as the parking lot and he’s not altogether sure he’d want it if offered the chance. But for all of its agronomic challenges, the Pennsville coach wouldn’t trade what he’s got for the most manicured sea of green in the major leagues.

The Eagles have one of the few skin infields still in regular high school use. Umpires have remarked on its appearance when they’ve shown up to work a game at Ed Rieger Field for the first time. Elite infielders have tried to stand their ground and been brought to their knees.

Pennsville’s “home field advantage” claimed another victim Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles took advantage of errors by two normally sure-handed middle infielders in the eighth inning to push across the winning run in a 2-1 victory over Pitman that split the season series and gave them the upper hand in the Tri-County Classic Division.

“It is what it is, it’s our field and I try to get these guys to buy into lovin’ it,” Karr said. “Your home is where you are. It may not be the prettiest, it may not be the best, but it’s yours.

“I told them in the outfield today we get an opportunity to practice on this field every day, we know what to expect. We know that it’s rock solid. Ever since I played here, it’s the same thing. Use it to your advantage. Even offensively we tell these guys focus on hitting the ball down and hard, down and hard. Make them field the ball. Fly balls are easy to catch. Hard ground balls on this are not so easy to play.”

The infield does take its toll. Earlier this week Mason O’Brien and Stevie Fatcher collided in a drill near first base. O’Brien emerged with a big scrape down his back and Karr wanted to know if Fatcher did it to him. O’Brien said no, it was the field when he slid along the ground.

The field can be so harsh previous players have come to call it “The Parking Lot.” A couple years ago while they were repainting the dugouts to match the color scheme of the surrounding school buildings one of the players referred to it as “The Yard” because it reminded him of what you see at recess in prison movies.

“Aesthetically it’s not the prettiest baseball field in South Jersey,” Karr said, with assistant coach Ryan Wood asserting nearby it’s 100 times better than it was in their day. “But it’s ours and we love it.

“Everybody loves home games. I love being here at Ed Rieger Field. We’re comfortable here and we get the advantage of playing here every single day. This is our field. Learn how to play it. That’s part of having home field advantages.”

The infield also played a role in the Eagles’ tying run in the seventh when Wood raced home on a pitch that bounced in the dirt and got away.

“This infield’s tough,” Luke Wood said. “The ball’s gonna skid. It’s pretty much concrete solid. You field on it every day and trust your glove so even if you do boot one it’s not the end of the world.”

It was for the Panthers.

Pennsville was down to its last out when it put together the winning rally. Mason O’Brien got it started by drawing a walk and moving into scoring position on a wild pitch.

It brought Wood to plate seeking his 100th career hit. The storybook ending would have to wait. Wood pulled a ball to second that got on Drew Keefe quick and caught a piece of his shoe to prevent the winning run for scoring. Logan Streitz followed with a grounder to short that got under Hudson Rue allowing O’Brien to score the winning run.

“Sometimes the ball bounces the wrong way for you, right,” Pitman coach John Hopely said. “They’re two solid guys who have been in the varsity lineup since they’ve been freshmen, both of them. Routine ground balls they probably make 999 times out of a 1,000. It’s unfortunate it happened for them. They’re going to have to eat that one for a little bit; we’ll get them ready to play on Friday.”

“Our infield isn’t the best so you have to take advantage of that,” said Streitz, who got a water bucket bath from his teammates in the outfield after the game. “Other teams come here with better infields and when they come to ours it’s rock solid so you don’t know where the ball’s going. The more you sit back, the more bad hops you’ll get so you’ve got to kind of change the ball or you’ll just get eaten up on the play.”

Wood and Rue were locked in a classic pitching duel for most of the game.

The left-handed Wood had to come out with two outs in the seventh after reached his pitch limit down 1-0 from the run Pitman scored in the first. He gave up six hits and struck out seven, but he stayed in at second base to keep his bat in the game.

Rue came out after six innings for Nick Watson in a typical piece of Pitman strategy. Rue gave up four hits and struck out six on 81 pitches.

The run Wood allowed in the first came after a protracted duel between him and leadoff man Rue over at first base. Wood threw over several times in an attempt to pick off his opposite number and it looked like he got him on one of the attempts.

“My whole thing is in that first inning if I give up a runner, which happens an awful lot, I try to pick off a bunch,” Wood said. “I’m trying to help my catcher out and make it as easy for him, too. I thought I had him.”

But Rue was ruled safe, even after the umpires conferred, and eventually stole second. He scored on a single by Aiden Stranahan. It was the only run of the game until the seventh inning – when the field had its say.

The Eagles (9-5, 5-1) now hold a one-game lead over the Panthers (12-7, 5-2) in the loss column with two winnable division games to play (at Wildwood Thursday and at Salem May 14). They’re looking for their fourth straight piece of the division crown and first outright since 2023.

**Logan Streitz puts the ball in play in Pennsville’s ‘skin’ infield to bring the winning run home against Pitman.**

Historic seeding

Salem CC pulls down No. 4 baseball tournament seed, first home playoff series since revival of the program

REGION 19 DIVISION III TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s Games
No. 8 Montgomery County (14-17) at No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester (45-4)
No. 5 Middlesex (30-18) at No. 4 Salem (25-24)
No. 6 Camden (26-15) at No. 3 RCSJ-Cumberland (29-15)
No. 7 Northampton (21-18) at No. 2 Brookdale (35-8)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – In the end it was all about the numbers and the extra game made all the difference for the Salem CC baseball team.

The Mighty Oaks left last weekend’s series with the fourth-best record in region play, but because of a quirk in the schedule were uncertain where they’d fall in the Division III region tournament seedings.

The tournament committee made it easy, seeding straight down the line based on winning percentage regardless of the number of games played. It installed the Mighty Oaks as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, their first home playoff date since the revival of the program in 2019.

They will host fifth-seeded Middlesex (30-18) and open the tournament with a noon nine-inning doubleheader Saturday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex. A sweep sends them to the Final Four at Rutgers-Camden starting May 15, a split forces a decisive Game 3 Sunday at noon. The Mighty Oaks took two of three from the Colts in early April.

“It’s exciting,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “I wasn’t anticipating it. Now we just have to take advantage of it.”

“I’m just excited for John and his team that they earned the opportunity to host,” athletics director Bob Hughes said. “It’s a testament to the work John has done for the last several years and what the team did this year to be in a position to be in the top quadrant of the region. It’s a great thing for the institution. It’s another sign of the progress that’s been made in Salem athletics.”

The Mighty Oaks finished 25-24 overall and 18-13 in region play, the 31^st region game the result of unbalanced schedule created by two teams opting out of the master schedule after it had been established and agreed upon.

They were alone with 18 wins, but among four teams with 13 losses. If the committee seeded off the 13 losses, the Mighty Oaks would have opened the tournament on the road.

“You hope you can control what you can control in the variables but at the end of the day when we didn’t get the job done this weekend we left it up to the committee to make the decision,” Holt said. “We were obviously worried about that, not sure what was going to happen.

“We won 18 games, there’s got to be something to be said about that.”

“Winning percentage is the top priority and we had the best winning percentage (among the 13-loss teams),” Hughes said. “Ultimately our winning percentage won out.”

Because they are the host team, the Mighty Oaks will be the home team in all the games played this weekend. They were 11-10 at home this season, 22-18 over the last two years. Last season they opened the playoffs on the road and lost the series to Northampton two games to one.

“I think we play better at home,” Holt said. “Home field advantage is a real thing in baseball. Our guys call it ‘The Treehouse’ for a reason; they feel a certain kind of way about where they play. Hopefully they’ll be excited to host a playoff game and have that little bit of extra energy because of it.”

Middlesex has won 30 games for the fourth year in a row. They have one of the top power pitchers in the country in right-hander Ryan Rzepinski (5-1, 4.20 ERA, 79Ks/45 IP). He beat the Mighty Oaks on April 5, fanning 10 over six innings. The Colts earned by fifth seed by virtue of their series win over Camden, the sixth seed.

The Mighty Oaks will attack them with a lineup that includes the four Centurions – four batters with 100 career hits (Yen Rodriguez, Demetrius DeRamus, Matt Murphy and Angel Velez) – and the region’s second-leading RBI producer in Division III (Murphy) and the region leader in ERA (projected Game 2 starter Jared Vandersteur, 2.98)

“We’ve got to play better baseball than we’ve bene playing, bit I think these three days off is what we needed to kind of reset and get back at it,” Holt said.