Salem CC clinches a spot in Region 19 baseball playoffs, but that was only part of the story in bizarre sweep of Union
REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 8-3, Union 0-2
RCSJ-Gloucester 22-24, Delaware County 4-0
Brookdale 15-17, Ocean 0-4
Delaware Tech 11-7, Westchester CC 7-3
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The simple thing to say was there was a lot to digest from Salem CC’s second straight Saturday sweep, but there really was nothing simple about it.
The Mighty Oaks clinched a spot in the Region 19 Division III baseball playoffs in the first game of their 8-0, 3-2 sweep of Union and that should’ve been the headline of the day. But that was only the half of it.
Angel Velez collected his 100th career hit in the opener and then delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit in a nightcap. The Mighty Oaks threw their second no-hitter of the season in the second game. But there’s even more.
Salem head coach John Holt got ejected in the seventh inning, right after Union broke up the no-hitter – or so it seemed – on a bases-loaded triple to take the lead. As Holt was leaving the field, a lightning strike was detected in the area right before a 15-minute deluge rendered the field unplayable reverting everything back to the sixth inning to preserve the Mighty Oaks’ win, the no-hitter and the sweep.
And it just so happened the Mighty Oaks scored in that sixth inning to snap a 2-2 tie.
“After yesterday we were kind of down so it’s cool to have some of this stuff happen that’s kind of uplifting,” first-game starter Jared Vandersteur said after the opener, unknowing, of course, the bizarre events that were to follow.
“This has been the craziest day of baseball I’ve ever played in my life,” Velez added, “and I’ve played a lot of baseball being an old man.”
Vandersteur pitched his best game of the year in the opener. The sophomore right-hander took a perfect game into the fourth inning and retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. He gave up two hits, allowed only four base runners and struck out seven in his 69 pitches over six innings. Andre Stewart pitched the seventh and completed the shutout.
“Every fastball I threw I knew where it was going for the most part, just getting ahead early,” the Pennsville product said. “Pretty much everything I was throwing was in the strike zone, so it makes it easy to pitch when you’re doing that.”
Second-game starter Seth McCormick took a no-hitter in the fourth inning of the nightcap, too, but the Owls put two runs on the board under the weight of his seven walks. Tyler Hacker was dispatched to keep the Owls silent and he pitched the fifth and sixth without allowing a hit. Leftfielder Yen Rodriguez kept the gem alive and the game tied at 2 with a diving catch in the fifth inning the Mighty Oaks turned into a double play.
The seventh inning started in the rain, turning the mound into a mess and making any ball Hacker threw slippery. He loaded the bases with three walks that included some pitches of debatable location, then Fraelyn Rosario lined a shot into the right field corner that cleared the bases and put Union up 5-3.
“I was slipping,” Hacker said. “Dirt accumulated on my cleats, you couldn’t even see the spikes, I kept slipping. Ball got wet, those things combined you don’t practice too much.”
After Rosario’s hit, Holt and the Mighty Oaks directed their ire at the umpires, which got Holt hooked. Descriptions of “overmatched” and “not a college level umpire” were used.
“I’m not a guy that’s gonna argue balls and strikes and I get ejected for it,” Holt said. “I mean, when both teams are mad about the strike zone there’s a problem.”
Just as Holt was leaving the field a lightning strike was detected in the area, and then the skies opened. As the quagmire that became the Carneys Point infield grew, ended the game and left the facility.
By rule, the game reverts back to the last completed inning and that was the sixth.
That’s when Velez gave the Mighty Oaks the lead, singling home Demetrius DeRamus after falling behind 0-2. It was his third hit of the game and fourth of the doubleheader. Since the team returned from Florida, he is 16-for-23 in doubleheader nightcaps coming from behind the plate in the opener to DH, 9-for-11 in the last three.
His first hit of the day, an RBI single in the opener, was the 100th of his career. He’s the third Salem player to reach the milestone this season (DeRamus and Matt Murphy). Rodriguez needs seven hits to become the fourth.
“It was a great feeling,” Velez said of the milestone. “Being the first one my family to play baseball in college, to get 100 hits, not a lot of people it’s going to mean something to, but to me it was a big deal. So it was great to get that.”
The rain stopped and the skies cleared shortly after the game was called. The Owls wondered why the game couldn’t have continued with work – the field has lights and there was plenty of time in the day – but were told by the umpires they couldn’t compel the home team to do yard maintenance.
“We don’t need the win with respect that it’s not going to move us up or anything like that,” Union coach Rich Martin said. “The only thing, and I have to blame the umpires, is we’re here, we’ve got lights, it’s 5 o’clock, if we can get this field in shape in two or three hours then let’s play the last inning or if we can’t do that let’s come back.
“The idea the umpires called it as opposed to anybody else I’m going to look into and write up myself. What he said to me – and this is a quote — I can’t force the other team to fix the field.”
Holt has a reputation for going to the wall to make sure his field is game ready, but said in this situation “there’s nothing I could have done to get this right.”
Since the seventh inning of the nightcap technically didn’t happen, it’s uncertain if Holt’s ejection even formally exists. If it is upheld, it’s also uncertain if his subsequent suspension is just for the next game or three games as softball coach Angel Rodriguez served after his ejection in the April 5 Mercer doubleheader. Holt is four wins shy of 400 for his coaching career and the Mighty Oaks have six games left in the regular season.
The Mighty Oaks have a special night game scheduled with Camden CC Monday to honor the memory of Rob Andrey and his family. Andrey, a South Jersey baseball coach and close friend of both head coaches, passed away unexpected in February. The game and ceremonies are expected to continue whether or not Holt is in attendance.
Winning the opener Saturday guaranteed the Mighty Oaks a winning record in region play, one of the criteria for making the playoffs. The currently hold the fourth spot.
“That was the expectation all along,” Holt said. “Going into the season the expectation was playoffs. We have a tough road the next few games, but we want to play for the highest seed we can possibly get and that was kind of the goal going into this, to maybe get a home game first round.
“We’re still in OK shape for that, but we’ve got to play better baseball. We’ve got to tighten up a little bit. We’ve just got to keep grinding.”
Photo: Salem CC catcher Angel Velez delivers his 100th career hit in Saturday’s opener against Union.
| REGION 19 DIVISION III PLAYOFF CONTENDERS | REG | ALL |
| x-RCSJ-Gloucester | 27-0 | 40-3 |
| x-Brookdale | 24-6 | 32-8 |
| x-RCSJ-Cumberland | 20-7 | 27-12 |
| x-Salem CC | 17-9 | 23-20 |
| x-Camden | 16-13 | 24-14 |
| x-Middlesex | 15-12 | 27-17 |
| Northampton | 13-13 | 19-18 |
| Montgomery | 11-16 | 12-16 |
Softball sweep
BRANCHBURG – The Salem CC softball team should feel a little better about themselves going into the Region 19 Division II playoffs after sweeping Raritan Valley in its final regular-season doubleheader, 18-4 and 12-1.
Ella Hayes, Chantelle Haskie and Bella Rappa all had two hits and three RBIs in the opener and Callie Rozak hit a game-tying homer. The Mighty Oaks (19-23) erased an early 2-1 deficit with eight runs in the second inning.
Hayes continued to pound the ball in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Lilly Peverelle also went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Tiana Wilson went 3-for-3 and Val Hatterer and Haskie each had three RBIs.

