Pennsville senior homers in his first at-bat back in the game, drives in 3 in Eagles loss; Burchfield collects 100th career RBI
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
MILLVILLE – Peyton O’Brien never dreamed of having a return like that. It was the kind of thing he could have brought back as a souvenir from Disney on the senior class trip.
The Pennsville senior made his long-awaited season debut Saturday morning at Millville. And wouldn’t you know it, five pitches into his senior season, less than eight hours after getting to bed from that senior trip, he drills a two-run opposite-field homer to give the Eagles a lead.
But it didn’t stop there. He added an RBI single in his next at bat and wound up going 2-for-2 with two walks and three RBIs in a game the Eagles lost 6-5.
“I couldn’t have expected that at all; I kept saying it was like a Disney movie,” O’Brien said. “It was something you only see in the movies. I wasn’t expecting that.
“That was one of the most nervous times I’ve been ever in a baseball game. From not playing in a baseball game since last July … it was crazy. I was not expecting that.”
O’Brien was expecting a banner senior year, but he has been on the mend since feeling something pop in his elbow throwing a pitch during a baseball showcase last September. What he initially thought was just a fracture in his elbow turned out to be a fracture that damaged his UCL. Tommy John surgery was required to repair it with a six-month recovery process.
He missed the rest of football season and skipped the entire basketball season to protect the injury. He only was cleared to hit and run the bases April 30 while in the Magic Kingdom. He was doing some baseball work during the season while coming along, but he didn’t see live pitching for the first time until Saturday morning.
Eagles coach Matt Karr joked during O’Brien’s rehab that he was going to be the greatest trade deadline acquisition in baseball history when he returned. And after one game he has lived up to the analogy.
“It was awesome,” Karr said. “I usually write the lineup on the whiteboard when they come in on game days and I didn’t have it up on the board because we were making some changes, but he knew he was playing today. He just didn’t know that I was going to put him right back in the 3-hole, but that’s his spot and he makes us so much better when he’s hitting there.
“Peyton, forget baseball, he’s one of the best kids I’ve ever coached top to bottom. He’s a leader, he’s a good kid, a locker room guy. He came in this morning on like three hours of sleep, walked past the coaches’ door and was like, ‘Morning, coach, let’s get it done today.’ I’m like, awesome. To have him back in the lineup and then first at-bat to do what he did was freaking awesome.”
Unless he gets a favorable report when he returns to the doctor next week, the Harford (Md.) CC signee is likely will be the Eagles’ designated hitter going forward and even that Karr will take “100 times out of 100.”
Think of the way the Dodgers used Shohei Ohtani after his injuries or the way Bryce Harper returned to the Phillies last year. O’Brien just wishes he could have gotten back that soon. Still, his wait was only about 10 days longer than Harper’s.
The original plan was for him to return Monday against Clayton, but the timetable moved up when Karr was able to get a game with Millville for when the seniors returned from the trip to Disney. O’Brien didn’t really have a lot of time to think about his return, having gotten back in his bed from the trip at around 3:30 Saturday morning.
“I woke up this morning just amped up, just ready to go,” he said. “I started freaking out a little bit before the first at bat. When I saw I was in the 3-hole I started freaking out a little bit, but as soon as I got in the box I settled down a little bit and my confidence came back.”
He took his first pitch for a strike and fouled off the next pitch to fall into a quick 0-2 hole. He drew a ball, fouled off another pitch, then sent the next offering over the centerfield fence, scoring his brother Mason ahead of him.
“It was awesome,” he said. “It would’ve been a little bit better if we had won the game, but it’s just nice to get back. I just hated having to sit in the dugout and watch and not contribute or anything. It feels good to be back and help out my team in any way possible.”
O’Brien’s return wasn’t the only landmark event for the Eagles. Chase Burchfield was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth inning for his 100th career RBI. He collected his 100th hit on April 18.
As the ultimate show of respect to the new guy, the Thunderbolts intentionally walked O’Brien to load the bases to get to one of the best hitters in South Jersey and then they hit Burchfield in the leg to force in the tying run.
Category: BASEBALL
Walkin’ on the Ocean
Salem CC takes advantage of 17 walks to walk over Ocean CC, move closer to clinching a home playoff series
REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 17, Ocean 5
RCSJ-Gloucester 6, RCSJ-Cumberland 4
Middlesex 14, Bergen 8
Montgomery 22, Delaware County 6
Northampton 16, Union 8 (Thur.)
Brookdale 10, Morris 0
Camden vs. Cape Atlantic
By Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER – You could say the Salem CC baseball team walked on water Friday afternoon.
The Mighty Oaks took advantage of 17 walks – three in a row with bases loaded in the inning they took the lead – and walked over Ocean CC 17-5.
With one win in Saturday’s home doubleheader or a Middlesex loss in its twinbill with Bergen the Mighty Oaks (24-22) will clinch fourth place in Region 19 and play at home in the playoffs for the first time since they revived the program in 2019.
“It’s nice to pick up the win, but we’re trying to take it one game at a time and focus on winning one game at a time,” Salem coach John Holt said. “Getting ready for the playoffs.”
Nine of the Mighty Oaks batters drew at least one walk. Demetrius DeRamus had four. The four pitchers Ocean used threw 247 total pitches. Salem starter Jon Gambone threw 100 pitches in eight innings.
The 17 walks tied the most Salem has had in a game since the revival. Delco passed 17 Mighty Oaks in March of last season. Four of the walks forced runs home. Eight came around to score.
The Mighty Oaks fell behind 2-0 in the second inning, but took the lead in the fourth inning on consecutive bases-loaded walks to Cole Dawson (four pitches), Yen Rodriguez (six pitches) and Demetrius DeRamus (six pitches) and a wild pitch.
When the Mighty Oaks did make contact, Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, Jared Vandersteur went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Dawson went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Angel Velez also had two hits.
Rodriguez’ two hits left him four shy of becoming the fourth Salem player this season to collect his 100th career hit. DeRamus needs 11 RBIs for 100 in that career category. He did score his 100th run.
“We put together a lot of good at bats and executed on offense,” Holt said.
Tired and rushed
Schalick suffers first loss of season in Diamond Classic; in a span on 16 hours, seniors come back from class trip, play the game, then go to prom
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — Schalick was making its first appearance in the Diamond Classic in 29 years, but the circumstances of a senior year kept the Cougars from being their best.
It was a tired, rushed group of Cougars that suffered their first loss of the season, 10-4 to Haddonfield in the opening round of the 51st Classic Thursday. And there were reasons for it.
The team’s five seniors had gotten back in their South Jersey beds from the Senior Trip to Orlando at 3 a.m. Thursday morning. And they were back at school and the ballpark at 10 a.m. for the 3 p.m. game.
But that was only the half of it. The prom was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and most of the players, seniors or otherwise, were going. The game ended at 5:30 and they still had to clean up and slip into their tuxes, meaning a lot of prom dates were waiting at the door.
Senior Luke Pokrovsky drew the start for the Cougars (10-1) against Haddons’ ace Marty Foust.
Understandably, Pokrovsky wasn’t sharp. He came out with one out in the fourth inning, down 4-0 after giving up three hits and striking out seven, but walking four and hitting one. He wound up being charged with five runs.
“I’m really tired,” he said. “I came out trying to do something for the team but it was hard. Very hard.
“It’s been a long week, trying to get everything done and then having this game scheduled right on prom and getting home at 3 o’clock and having to be going into school early it’s hard to play as a team, especially for seniors, when half our team is seniors. Nobody was ready to play today.”
Pokrovsky’s first inning was very Luke-like, with the left-hander setting down Haddonfield in order on 12 pitches on a fly to left and two strikeouts. He worked through two runners in scoring position with one out and bases loaded with two in the second inning. It started to get away in the third and that’s when Cougars coach Sean O’Brien knew the effects of the schedule had kicked in.
The Haddons (10-4) scored three runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Their three runs in the third came with only one hit. Half of their runs were unearned.
“As much as you don’t want to make excuses you could see when we did I/O we were kind of flat, not doing things we usually do,’ Cougars coach Sean O’Brien said. “I knew it could go either way where they’d come out and maybe surprise me or we’d come out and look like we hadn’t played in a week. That’s the way we looked.”
Woodstown faced a similar scheduling squeeze against a smaller Diamond Classic field last year and decided not to play. If his seniors wouldn’t have been back in time to play O’Brien might have considered declining the invitation, but with three decades between appearance if at all possible he wanted his players to have the tournament experience.
“It does make it hard with the short window you can play, but I think it was more unfortunate of the scheduling with the school having prom and the senior trip back-to-back,” O’Brien said. “It’s too long of a layoff and there’s too much could go wrong in that situation where the kids just don’t have time to recuperate.
“I just wanted for these guys, the seniors, to have an opportunity to play in it because they’ve worked hard to get to this moment so they deserve it. If they couldn’t play I probably would’ve thought about it, but as long as the seniors were out here we’re going to give it a shot.”
Lucas D’Agostino, another senior, followed Pokrovsky to the mound and worked an inning and a third. He collected his 100th career strikeout during his stint, but didn’t realize it until he was in the outfield after being lifted in the fifth.
“The part of the seniors being away for the whole week wasn’t even so much the tiredness, it was just the team chemistry,” D’Agostino said. “They weren’t here to lead practices, weren’t here to make sure we were ready for this game and prepared. The tiredness does come into effect off little sleep, but … it was more mental than physical.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge, for sure. We tried to keep our head up as much as possible, but it was tough definitely to keep the mental strength to do that.”
The Cougars, the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, came to life in the fourth inning, finally getting on the board on Jamari Whitley’s RBI single. Whitley dropped a two-run single into right field in the seventh, too.
Photo by Brian Tortella
Race to the finish
Mighty Oaks show grit, but drop wild one with Northampton, still looking to clinch a home series in opening round of playoffs
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – A little more than a week ago Salem CC baseball coach John Holt was pretty confident about the Mighty Oaks hosting a Region 19 playoff series for the first time since they brought the program back. Now, heading into the final series of the season this weekend, he’s a little less sure.
The Mighty Oaks are in the playoffs, but whether they play at The Treehouse in the opening round or go on the road to open post-season play won’t be determined until the weekend after they lost a wild 16-12 runniest to Northampton Wednesday.
The loss eliminated the Mighty Oaks (23-22, 17-11) from being able to finish third, but with one or more wins over Ocean (8-26) this weekend and one Middlesex loss to Bergen (7-31) they will clinch fourth. If Middlesex (27-17, 15-12) sweeps, Salem will have to win two.
The loss also means the earliest Holt can claim his 400th career coaching win is Monday in the Mighty Oaks’ regular-season finale at Atlantic Cape.
“We can’t take anything for granted right now,” Holt said. “Middlesex is going into a Bergen series (and) Bergen is kind of down this year. I think it’s going to come down to us continuing to prove that we belong there. We’ve got to grind and go get it. We’ll see what happens. We’ve just got to find a way.”
Playing with a makeshift lineup and an even more makeshift pitching plan, the Mighty Oaks showed more fight against the Spartans (20-18, 14-13) than they have in recent games. They rallied from deficits to one (twice), two (twice), four and six to tie the game in the seventh inning. They just didn’t have one more rally in them in the ninth inning after the Spartans put four more on them in the top of the inning.
“Compared to the way the games have gone the last two weeks I feel like this is the first time we’ve actually clawed back and fought,” second baseman Tim Bowlby said. “I like that out of us. Obviously we’re not happy with the results, but I’m happy with how the guys came out and fought.”
The Mighty Oaks trailed 1-0, 2-1. 6-4, 8-4, 8-6 and 12-6, but tied the game with runs six in the seventh inning. They also were tied 1-1 and 4-4 and led 4-2 in the third.
“They showed heart today,” Holt said. “We showed some heart. We haven’t played like that in a little bit. I hate losing more than I like winning, but at the end of the day we have to look for the positives where we can find them and they competed most of the day. We had a talk after the Camden game and the big point of that was we wanted them to compete harder and grind harder and they did that today. And they needed to. It’s a step.”
Singles by Tyler Hacker and Chris Kelly and Hunter Cohen’s groundout drove home the first three runs of the seventh-inning rally, Joe Fekete scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-10 and the two tying runs scored when Tim Bowlby’s bouncer up the middle went through shortstop John Pushkar.
Pushkar’s vision and focus likely were disrupted by Jones racing past to avoid being hit by the batted ball.
“In those situations you can’t make the moment too big,” Bowlby said. “It’s kind of like what we’ve all been saying: We don’t need a hero. I was just trying to put the ball in play and it worked out for us.”
The Mighty Oaks were missing two of top four hitters in their lineup and only three starters were batting in their usual spot in the order. Even starting pitcher Jared Vandersteur was uncertain about 30 minutes before game time. Cleanup hitter Matt Murphy, their top RBI producer, was serving a one-game suspension for his home-plate collision Monday night and 2-hole hitter and leftfielder Yen Rodriguez was out with a wrist injury.
The Mighty Oaks used seven pitchers. The most effective was seldom-used Brady Sweeney who gave them a shutdown inning in the eighth after the offense tied the game with six runs in the seventh.
Sweeney was making only his fourth appearances of the season, first since April 14 and second since March 11. The lean freshman righthander from Springfield, Pa., faced four batters at the bottom of Northampton’s lineup, threw 15 pitches and walked one. He dropped his ERA from 11.57 to 8.18.
“I didn’t know who was even going in to start the inning; it was me and Nando (Fernando Rodney Jr.) warming up down there,” Sweeney said. “Once he called my name for a second I got all nervous, but once I got on the mound and looked around for a second, I was like, all right, it’s time to go. First pitch, the dude popped it up so after that I was good to go.
“I had something to prove this game. Proving that I could be here.”
Catcher Kyle Stoner led the Spartans’ 16-hit attack with five hits (three doubles) and six RBIs. He had a three-run double off an 0-2 pitch from Jon Gambone in seventh inning to make it 12-6 and an RBI single in the ninth that broke the 12-12 tie. Cody Miller hit a bizarre three-run homer in the sixth when he lifted a fly ball to left that hopped out of Will Jones’ glove and over the wall after the leftfielder hit the fence.
Stoner was 1-for-11 in his previous five games before breaking out against the Mighty Oaks.
“I came into this game knowing that this team needed a fire,” he said. “I know I’ve been struggling a little bit and I just thought going into today I’ve just got to realize it’s a game and I’ve got to have some fun.
“I feel like a lot of the guys on our team, kind of like me lately, aren’t taking it as a game and taking it a little too seriously and I wanted to set an example to make sure everyone knows it’s still a game and have fun. That’s when we’re best, when we’re out there and playing the game we love instead of thinking about it too much.”
| Northampton | 101 024 404- | 16 | 17 | 2 |
| Salem | 103 002 600- | 12 | 8 | 0 |
| REGION 19 PLAYOFF RACE | ALL | REG |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 41-4 | 27-0 |
| Brookdale | 33-8 | 24-6 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 29-12 | 21-7 |
| Salem CC | 23-22 | 17-11 |
| Camden | 25-14 | 17-13 |
| Middlesex | 27-17 | 15-12 |
| Northampton | 20-18 | 14-13 |
| Montgomery | 12-16 | 11-16 |
WEEKEND SERIES
Salem vs. Ocean
RCSJ-Gloucester vs. RCSJ-Cumberland
Middlesex vs. Bergen
Montgomery vs. Delaware County
Northampton vs. Union
Morris vs. Brookdale
Camden vs. Atlantic Cape
Dreadful defeat
Mistake-prone Mighty Oaks lack fight in loss to Camden, but still in position to get a home playoff series
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Chip Chapman didn’t really feel like talking after the game. Nobody did. Actually, there really wasn’t much to say.
Chapman ran the team Monday night with Salem CC head coach John Holt serving a one-game suspension following Saturday’s ejection and what he endured was one of the Mighty Oaks’ most dreadful defeats of the year.
They fell to Camden CC 19-8 in a game they were never really in or into. They scored enough to runs to win most games, but just made too many mistakes on the bases and in the field for it to matter.
And this was just hours after receiving votes in the JUCO Division III baseball poll for the second week in a row.
“We just didn’t fight. We didn’t come out to play,” Chapman said. “They were more prepared than we were today.”
The Mighty Oaks gave up four runs in the first inning and fell behind 9-1 in the third. They lost one run in the second inning when Matt Murphy was thrown out and ejected on a home-plate collision and another when Tyler Hacker didn’t get to the plate before Ben Charbonneau was thrown out at third tagging up on Chris Kelly’s fly to right.
And that was before things got really bad. The Mighty Oaks were charged with a season-high nine errors in the game by independent scoring, six in a forgettable fourth inning that ran the score to 13-4. Holt couldn’t be on site during his suspension and was said to be watching the live stream of the game from his office. No one would have blamed him if he turned it off at that point.
He declined to comment when reached after the game.
The Cougars took the game into run-rule territory with a six-run sixth.
The loss may have been more costly to the Mighty Oaks than they know. It wasn’t immediately known how long Murphy will be suspended following his ejection. Salem CC softball second baseman Jocelyn Melendez was suspended four games for her home-plate collision in their April 5 home doubleheader with Mercer. The length of the suspension will be determined by the severity and intent of the hit.
Murphy got caught in a pickle between third and home by Camden starter Garrett Gordy and ran through catcher Kyle Leiser who was standing at the plate with the ball. Leiser suffered a bloody nose, was evaluated for a concussion and came out of the game.
A four-game suspension would leave the Mighty Oaks without their clean-up hitter and top RBI producer through the weekend. In that scenario he would be eligible to return for the Mighty Oaks’ regular-season finale at Atlantic Cape May 5.
Despite the loss, the Mighty Oaks (23-22, 17-10) held onto fourth place in the Region 19 Division III standings, but are tied with Camden (25-14, 17-13) in the win column and have four region games remaining – Northampton Wednesday and three with Ocean.
With one win and one Middlesex loss, they will clinch fourth place and a projected first-round home series in the playoffs. If they win all four and RCSJ-Cumberland gets swept by No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester, they’ll be third.
“Hopefully ithis game) just fuels the fire, gives us something to play for the next couple days; gets us in there, gets us where we want to be,” Chapman said.
ACRONS: Chapman had been given the reins one time before, as a high school assistant at Olney Charter. He won that game … The Mighty Oaks had two games of seven errors last year … Ian Monteith hit a two-run homer for Camden in the second inning and leftfielder Tyler Gavura pulled a two-run homer back from Hacker in the fifth inning … Yen Rodriguez moved within six hits of 100 for his career with his third-inning RBI single … Tim Bowlby reached base all four times he batted for Salem … The Mighty Oaks used six pitchers in the seven-inning game.
Photo: Camden CC catcher Kyle Leiser braces for impact as he’s about to collide with Salem CC sophomore Matt Murphy in the second inning. (Screenshot of Salem CC live stream)
| Camden | 423 406 0- | 19 | 11 | 3 |
| Salem | 013 100 3- | 8 | 9 | 9 |
This week’s schedule
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 28-May 3; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted
APRIL 28
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
LEAP at Salem
SOFTBALL
Paulsboro at Penns Grove
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Cumberland, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Glassboro
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Timber Creek, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Camden at Salem CC, 6 p.m.
APRIL 29
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Gateway
GOLF
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Wildwood at Penns Grove
TRACK
Glassboro at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
APRIL 30
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Salem
Penns Grove at Pitman
SOFTBALL
Salem at Overbrook
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Cumberland, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Glassboro at Schalick
Woodstown at Penns Grove
TRACK
Pennsville at Overbrook
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Northampton at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
MAY 1
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Bridgeton
Wildwood at Salem
Diamond Classic
Haddonfield at Schalick, 3 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Lindenwold
Salem at Wildwood
GOLF
Carl Arena Tournament
TRACK
SJTCA at Delsea, 5 p.m.
MAY 2
BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at LEAP
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Wildwood
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Ocean CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region 19 Tournament at Mercer
Salem CC vs. Delaware Tech, 10 a.m.
Lackawanna vs. Mercer, noon
Losers, 2 p.m.
Winners, 4 p.m.
MAY 3
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Millville, 11 a.m.
Salem at Mastery Charter, noon
TRACK
Schalick girls in SJTCA, Rancocas Valley, 1 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Ocean CC at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region 19 Tournament at Mercer
Elimination game, 10 a.m.
Championship game, noon
More than a sweep
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.
Friday roundup
Woodstown baseball, girls lacrosse pick up wins; Schalick girls run at Penn Relays
BASEBALL
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown came out of the gate swinging, scored nine runs in the first inning and rolled over Gloucester Christian 11-0 Friday for its fifth win in a row. The big blows in the inning were Blake Rodriguez’ three-run double and a two-run double by Rocco String.
It was the fourth shutout delivered by the Wolverines’ pitchers this season.
GIRLS LACROSSE
WOODSTOWN 17, WEST DEPTFORD 12: Delaney Walker scored a career-tying eight goals for the Wolverines. Walker, who now has 117 career goals, scored eight times in a loss at Haddon Heights last season.
PENN RELAYS
PHILADELPHIA – Schalick’s girls 4×100 relay team of Gia Martellacci, Caileigh Schalick, Brooke Valentine and Phoebe Alward posted their best time of the season with a 51.65. The Cougars finished sixth in their heat and 71st in the elite field.
Their 4×400 relay team is scheduled to run Saturday.
This one hurt
Gambone has no-hitter, lead through six, but Salem CC gives up 5 runs in next two innings and falls to Union
REGION 19 BASEBALL
Union 5, Salem CC 2
RCSJ-Gloucester 25, Delaware County 10
Northampton 12, Camden 9
RCSJ-Cumberland 17-26, Bergen 2-6
Montgomery 5-7, Middlesex 3-11
Brookdale 12, Ocean 9
Raritan Valley 28, Rockland 1
Harford 11, Mercer 5
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CRANFORD – Jon Gambone had it going on for six innings, then as these things sometimes do, it got away from him in a hurry.
The Salem CC ace took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Union Friday, but he lost the gem and the shutout in the inning and the Mighty Owls eventually lost the game 5-2 to delay clinching a spot in the region playoffs.
Gambone had allowed a few baserunners in the first six innings, but still looked strong enough to record his second no-hitter of the season striking out eight on 76 pitches. But Union opened the seventh with back-to-back singles, then the right-hander either lost his focus or certainly his command briefly and the Owls ultimately tied the game.
A sacrifice advanced the baserunners in the seventh, then Gambone walked the next two hitters to force in a run. The Owls tied on Fraelyn Rosario’s single to right, but the Mighty Oaks avoided further damage when rightfielder Matt Murphy cut down Brandon Brito at the plate. But the storm was brewing.
The Mighty Oaks (21-20, 15-9 Region 19) threatened in the eighth, putting runners at first and second with two outs, but with designated hitter J.D. Wilson at the plate Murphy was tagged out after getting caught between second and third.
Gambone got the first two outs in the eighth, then the Owls (11-21, 7-18) got to him again and ultimately got him out of the game.
They put runners at second and third on a single, walk and wild pitch. Robert Mateo knocked in the go-ahead run when he singled. He fell coming out of the box but had plenty of time to get to first.
Holt lifted Gambone at that point – after 112 pitches – for fireman Alex Newman. Brito greeted Newman with a two-run double and suddenly a game the Mighty Oaks looked to have in hand with their ace on the mound had gotten away 5-2.
Demetrius DeRamus drove in both of Salem’s runs with a first-inning ground out and a fifth-inning triple. Angel Velez had two hits, leaving him with 99 for his career.
The Mighty Oaks had runners in scoring position in each of the three innings between the runs they scored, but left them all stranded. They had a runner at third with two outs in the second, a runner at second with one out in the third and a runner at second with one out in the fourth.
The teams play a doubleheader at the Carneys Point Rec Complex Saturday at noon. One win will guarantee the Mighty Oaks a winning record in Region 19 and mathematically clinch a spot in the region playoffs.
REGION 19 DIVISION III PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
x-RCSJ-Gloucester (38-3) 25-0
x-Brookdale (30-8) 22-6
x-RCSJ-Cumberland (27-12) 20-7
Salem (21-20) 15-9
x-Middlesex (27-17) 15-12
x-Camden (22-14) 14-13
Northampton (19-17) 13-11
Teams .500 or better either in region or overall qualify
x-clinched a spot
Taking the fifth
Thursday roundup: Pennsville softball uses a five-run fifth inning to take down Gloucester Catholic; Woodstown 4×400 third in Penn Relays, includes baseball, tennis, golf, lacrosse and Salem CC softball
THURSDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 6, Gloucester Catholic 1
Woodstown 18, Penns Grove 1
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Savannah Brewer-Palverento is determined to throw her pitch when she’s in the circle. She approaches hitting the same way.
After falling behind 0-2 and fouling off two more pitches to the right side of the field, Brewer-Palverento straightened one out over the first baseman into right field for an opposite-field two-run single. It broke a 1-1 tie and sparked a five-run fifth inning that helped Pennsville take down Gloucester Catholic 6-1 for sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Classic Division.
“I think she put herself in hole 0-2, but that’s her call,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “Some (hitters) want to wait until they see that good pitch. I don’t know if she’s one of them, we don’t talk about it, but some want to see all their pitches, all the strikes they get. Some of them feel like they perform better when they have that stress on them.”
Interestingly, the Rams intentionally walked Kylie Harris, the state leader in hits, to load the bases for Brewer-Palverento. Jackson did the same thing to Madelyn McGinn with a runner on second in the fifth inning to set up a force and the Eagles got an inning-ending ground out on the next hitter.
The Eagles weren’t done after Brewer-Palverento’s tie-breaking hit, though. A walk to Sawyer Simmons reloaded the bases and Avery Watson followed with a bases-clearing, opposite-field triple to right make it 6-1.
“My dad kept telling the girls to hit it to right field, take the outside pitch because that’s where she was throwing most of the balls,” Jackson said. “He kept saying hit the ball to right field. Avery’s ball went out there and the girls wasn’t anywhere near it because she had shaded more towards right center. It fell in the right spot.”
The Rams scored the game’s first run in the first inning, but the Eagles tied it in the fourth on Watson’s RBI single. In the Eagles’ last eight games Watson is 14-for-23 with seven walks and 16 RBIs.
Brewer-Palverento pitched the first four innings giving up two hits, an unearned run and striking out six. Graillyn Weber threw two perfect innings of relief behind her.
After playing four games in four days for the second week in a row, the Eagles now have 10 days off. They did the same thing last year and when they returned won 10 in a row all the way into the South Jersey semifinals, so Jackson isn’t worried about rustiness when they come back.
“We did it last year, too,” she said. “I think we’ll be fine.”
WOODSTOWN 18, PENNS GROVE 0: The first six batters in the Wolverines’ lineup all had two hits and combined for 12 RBIs and pitchers Maddie Roback and Ava White combined on a four-inning no-hitter with five strikeouts.
Track: Penn Relays
PHILADELPHIA – Woodstown’s boys 4×400 relay team finished third in the South Jersey Small Schools race and just missed qualifying for the Philadelphia Area final at the Penn Relays.
The team of Joshua Crawford, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz and Karson Chew ran 3:22.25 and finished behind Camden (3:20.26) and Deptford (3:20.89). They were leading the race after usual anchor Crawford’s opening 400 meters (49.50).
Camden made the Philadelphia Area final as a flight champion and Deptford is one of three alternates.
The Schalick and Salem boys ran in the same flight of the High School Boys 4×100. The Schalick team of Michael Eberl, Kenai Simmons, Reggie Allen and David Stewart ran a 43.126 and finished second in their heat. Salem’s team of Jelani Beverly, Omarion Pierce, Terrance Smith and Anthony Parker ran a 43.7.
Schalick’s boys 4×400 team of Allen, Eberl, Stewart and Steve Chomo ran 3:39.99 and finished 13th in its flight.
The Schalick and Salem girls 4×100 teams run Friday and the Schalick 4×400 runs Saturday.
Baseball
Woodstown 13, Penns Grove 2
Schalick 9, Glassboro 1
WOODSTOWN 13, PENNS GROVE 2: The Wolverines’ bats came alive in the fourth inning, erupting for seven runs to break it open. Blake Bialecki, Noah Williams and Walker Battavio had two-run singles in the inning and Tommy Tucci had an RBI triple.
SCHALICK 9, GLASSBORO 1: The Cougars broke open a close game with six runs in the sixth inning. J.T. Fleming had two hits and two RBIs, Luke Pokrovsky had a pair of doubles and Ricky Watt had two RBIs. Starting pitcher Jamari Whitley scattered six hits and gave up one run over five innings and struck out six.
Golf
Kingsway 153, Pennsville 222
Schalick vs. Cumberland
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown
Woodstown vs. Overbrook
KINGSWAY 153, PENNSVILLE 222: Kingsway’s Christopher Parris was low medalist with a 5-under-par 31 at RiverWinds GC.
Tennis
Pennsville 5, Clayton 0
Schalick 3, Haddon Heights 2
PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Chase Fronczkiewicz, 6-2, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Troy Hollis, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. James Mai, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Saywer Humphrey (P) def. Ian Johnson-Jacob Turpin, 6-0, 6-0
Jacob Cheeseman-Ian Peacock (P) def. Michael Tummings-Eliut Ramirez, 7-5, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 10-0, Clayton 1-5.
SCHALICK 3, HADDON HEIGHTS 2
Owen Peakes (H) def. George Gould, 6-7 (0-7), 6-3, 10-8
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Jackson Zalkind, 6-2, 6-0
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Mike Pender, 6-1, 6-3
David Santana-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Gavin Ewing-Milan Stocker, 6-2, 6-3
Aske Hammer-Nibal AlKhaltib El Baayni Abou (H) def. Kaden Barnes-Christian Negron, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11
Records: Schalick 8-4, Haddon Heights 6-3.
Lacrosse
Washington Twp. 14, Woodstown 3
College softball
REGION 19 SCORES
Lackawanna 11-8, Salem CC 2-7
Raritan Valley 10-7, Sussex 4-5
Middlesex 18-6, Bergen 6-4
SCRANTON, Pa. – Kizbelth Ortiz singled home Laniah Tasker with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give Lackawanna an 8-7 walk-off win over Salem CC and a sweep of their doubleheader.
The Mighty Oaks (17-23) are guaranteed a spot in the Region 19 Division II playoffs despite a losing record, but they’ll be limping into post-season play. Going into their final doubleheader of the season Saturday at Raritan Valley, the Mighty Oaks have lost nine of their last 10. They are 7-15 in April.
They led the nightcap 7-3 in the sixth inning, but Lackawanna tied it with four in the bottom of the sixth before winning it in the seventh.
Ella Hayes had four hits in the nightcap and six hits in the doubleheader for Salem. Callie Rozak three RBIs in the nightcap.
Lackawanna won the opener 11-2.
Riverview Sports News 