Here are the tresults of the Tri-County Conference Showcase at Pitman GC
GIRLS
Clearview’s Stella Bernardi survived a double bogey on her final hole and a late charge from her twin sister Lydia to win medalist honors. Stella made four birdies in a 1-over-par 74. Lydia made four straight birdies (7-10), a bogey and a par over her final six holes to finish with 75. Salem/Cumberland Challenge winner Nicole Tarquinio of Cumberland finished fourth (81). Salem Tech’s Hannah Kormann was the top Salem County finisher (108, T-11).
TEAM SCORES: Clearview 149, Washington Twp. 184, Williamstown 204, Kingsway 221, OLMA 222, Salem Tech 223, Schalick 243, Pennsville 247, Delsea 252. TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS: Stella Bernardi, Clearview 74; Lydia Bernardi, Clearview 75; Tessa Reilley, Washington Twp. 79; Nicole Tarquinio Cumberland 81; Adrienne Abalos, Gloucester Catholic 92.
SALEM TECH (223): Sophia Conto 115, Hannah Kormann 108. SCHALICK (243): Lena Virga 118, Miya Watkins 125. PENNSVILLE (247): Abigail Bohn 121, Makenna Minguez 126.
BOYS
Kingsway sophomore Nick Fargnoli made three birdies and shot 1-under-par 69 to win medalist honors and lead the Dragons to the team title. Schalick finished second and Woodstown was fourth. Schalick’s Jaxon Weber was the top Salem County finisher, (75, T-5). Teammate Mikey Nelson, the Salem/Cumberland Challenge runner-up, was T-14 (82)
TEAM SCORES: Kingsway 297, Schalick 338, Pitman 343, Woodstown 368, Triton 384 TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS: Nick Fargnoli, Kingsway 69, Christopher Parrish, Kingsway 73; Christian Trabosh, Washington Twp. 73; Ryan Stankoski, Clearview, Clearview 73; Michael Links, Kingsway 75; Jaxon Weber, Schalick 75
SCHALICK (338): Jaxon Weber 75, Mickey Nelson 82, Reed Bucolo 92, Shawn Kelly 89. WOODSTOWN (368): Logan Jones 97, Jack Bucksar 93, Nate Valente 94, Alejandro Vazquez 84. SALEM TECH: Thomas Conto 122. PENNSVILLE: Trevor Hann 103.
Girls medalist Stella Bernardi (C) is flanked by runner-up Lydia Bernardi (L) and third-place finisher Tessa Reilley.
TEE ASSIGNMENTS 1A: Bradyn Skokowski (Triton), Landen Hedrick (GCIT), Christopher Parris (Kingsway), Thomas Luu (Clearview) 1B: Cole Murray (Delsea), Mac Weldon (Highland), Nick Fargnoli (Kingsway), Ryan Stankoski (Clearview) 2A: Austin Tennyson (Deptford), Jaxon Fretz (Williamstown), David Dempsey (Delsea), Jack Kessler (Kingsway) 2B: Braydon Lewis (Triton), Dylan Simonson (Williamstown), Jake Bowen-Ashwin (Pitman), Jaxon Weber (Schalick) 3: Colin Buri (Triton), Evan Hall (GCIT), Christian Trabosh (Washington Twp.), Michael Links (Kingsway) 4: Joseph Nolan (Cumberland), Logan Jones (Woodstown), Max Pappalardo (Pitman), Mike Gallagher (Washington Twp.) 5: David Prante (Deptford), Madden Goss (Timber Creek), Nate Valente (Woodstown), Mikey Nelson (Schalick) 6: Nick Landi (Triton), Jack Bucksar (Woodstown), Joey Zubert (Pitman), Anthony Beach (Gloucester Catholic) 7: George Schultz (Timber Creek), Alejandro Vazquez (Woodstown), Zack Payne (Gloucester Catholic), Reed Bucolo (Schalick) 8: Manntram Patel (Cumberland), Sam Adams (Pitman), Shawn Kelly (Schalick), Luca Calabro (Highland) 9: Jackson Venuto (Clayton), Braxton Gillis (Overbrook), Trevor Hann (Pennsville) 10: Kyle Lex (Clayton), Daniel Atanasio (Salem Tech), Caden Thomas (Pennsville) 11: Angel Gonzalez (Wildwood), Thomas Conto (Salem Tech), Jeffrey Boyd (Overbrook) 12: Nicole Tarquinio (Cumberland), Tessa Reilley (Washington Twp.), Stella Bernardi (Clearview), Adrienne Abalos (Gloucester Catholic) 13: Maahishee Patel (Cumberland), Kendall Stewart (Kingsway), Lydia Bernardi (Clearview), Kaci Adams (Williamstown) 14: Julia Świerczyński (Woodstown), Camryn Heil (Clearview), Olivia O’Neill (Kingsway), Lena Verga (Schalick) 15: Sophia Conto (Salem Tech), Hannan Meloro (Clearview), Isabella Gordon (Williamstown), Emily Devecchis (Washington Twp.) 16: Hannah Kormann (Salem Tech), Claudia Bui (Delsea), Amelia Voronov (OLMA), Jess Alameno (Wildwood) 17: Leigh Ann Nage (Clayton), Gianna Spinelli (OLMA), Miya Watkins (Schalick), Abigail Bohn (Pennsville) 18: Madison Traister (Clayton), Kirra Ritz (Delsea), Makenna Minguez (Pennsville)
Top photo: TCC Showcase boys medalist Nick Fargnoli of Kingsway (C) is flanked by runner-up teammate Christopher Parrish (L) and third-place Christian Trabosh.
Woodstown rallies to take down Schalick in South Jersey Group I softball tourney opener; Pennsville win, Salem Tech falls; Woodstown lone survivor in SJ Group I tennis quarterfinals
SOFTBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Audubon 15, Paulsboro 0 Riverside 8, Maple Shade 1 Pennsville 10, Wildwood 0 Pitman 11, Haddon Twp. 2 Glassboro at Palmyra, 3:30 p.m. (Wed.) Gateway 12, Cape May Tech 8 Woodstown 7, Schalick 3 Buena 14, Burlington Twp. 1 South Jersey Group II Tournament Gloucester 10, Haddonfield 0 Middle Twp. 8, Oakcrest 7 West Deptford 11, Collingswood 0 Cedar Creek 15, Manchester Twp. 0 Haddon Heights 15, Lower Cape May 0 Cinnaminson 11, Salem Tech 0 Medford Tech 5, Sterling 1 Barnegat 14, Overbrook 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – He watched his team hit softball after softball on the button for four innings and get nothing for it, but Woodstown coach Rob Hildebrand remained confident all it would take is one ball falling in play to change the Wolverines’ fortunes.
There was a slow roller up the first base line that refused to go foul, a dropped fly in the outfield, another ball just out of the reach of an outfielder that cleared the bases and suddenly the Wolverines had a rally going.
The dropped fly, instead of being the last out of the fifth inning, opened the door for a five-run rally that gave Woodstown the lead and lifted them to a 7-3 win over Schalick in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs.
“All that it takes is putting one ball in play, I literally told them that the inning before,” Hildebrand said. “The first inning it’s rocket, rocket, rocket and a blooper falls in for our base-runner. That’s the game of softball/baseball. It will fall when it wants to fall; when it doesn’t (want to), it doesn’t.
“That’s why you have to put the ball in play and we’ve got to limit our strikeouts. That’s something we’ve really been working on, having better quality at bats. The girls have only gotten better and better at that as the year’s gone on.”
The seventh-seeded Wolverines looked in real danger of losing to their county and division rivals for the third time late in the game.
The Cougars took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth and Addi Shimp was pitching brilliantly in the circle. The left-hander held the Wolverines to just two hits and three baserunners to that point, and kept them off the scoreboard with the help of a diving catch by centerfielder Noelani Whitley in the first inning that Hildebrand called “the best play I’ve seen all year in the outfield” and robbed Kendall Young of an RBI double or more.
The offense, meanwhile, pushed across a run in the third on Liv VanAcker’s RBI single and two in the fourth on a walk and four consecutive singles. They also had two runners cut down on close plays at the plate.
Shimp was headed for another quiet inning in the fifth when she retired the first two batters on a fly to center and a strikeout. But Emma Hitchner, pressed into her second career start due to an injury to regular catcher Lila Bowling, kept the inning alive with a single to center.
Ellie Wygand followed with a roller up the first base line that stayed in for a single, bringing Talia Guardascione to the plate for the at-bat that changed the game. Wanting to “do something big” after a hard flyout in her previous at-bat, Guardascione lifted a fly to center that looked like it would end the inning. Instead, the ball hit the heel of Whitley’s up-turned glove and after making an attempt to save it the ball fell away to score Hitchner with the Wolverines’ first run.
“That girl made a great catch the first inning and I was really shocked that she dropped my ball.,” Guardascione said. “When I saw it hit in the air I knew I got under it. I thought for sure she had it and I was just hoping everyone was still running. I even slowed up a little bit at first because I was already there by the time they were. It was great to see her drop it. I think she tried to be a little nonchalant (and) it got to her, and then after that it sparked the rally a little bit.”
Leah Clark walked to load the bases. Young then dropped a single in front of a diving Whitley that cleared the bases and gave the Wolverines a 4-3 lead. Maddie LaPalomento then doubled past a diving Kassady Sickler in right to make it 5-3.
“I just really let it all happen,” Young said. “After it comes off my bat I just run all the way through the bases and see what happens.”
“I could tell off the bat it was a base hit but because she made that other great catch I was just running as fast as I could with two outs because I knew I was getting home,” Guardascione said.
For all the balls the Wolverines put in play in the fifth, several of them said the biggest hit of the inning belonged to Hitchner for setting it all in motion. The sophomore had played in only seven games this season prior to Tuesday’s start and had nine career at-bats prior to her hit.
“Emma’s hit gave us the confidence to come back,” Young said.
“I was pretty nervous going up there because my first at bat was not very good,” she said, “but then I just told myself it’s a 2-2 count you’ve gotta do something here. Definitely going into (the game) I was just like I’ve got to prove myself, I haven’t really gotten the opportunity all year, but I definitely proved myself today.”
The Wolverines extended their lead to 7-3 with two runs in the sixth. The Cougars threatened in the seventh, getting two on after two were out, but Clark struck out the next batter to end the game. Clark held the Cougars to just one hit and four base runners over the final three innings to pick up her 15th win of the season, believed to be the most by a Woodstown pitcher since Anna Marino’s 16 in 1979.
It was the third year in a row the Cougars (14-7) were eliminated by Woodstown.
“It wasn’t our best effort; we didn’t put out the defensive effort that we should have and it cost us,” Schalick coach Rick Higinbotham said. “We knew that would be the case, we would have to play defense; we didn’t do what we needed to do. We’ve got to play seven innings of solid softball, not five, not four, and that’s what we haven’t been able to do on some of our games this year. We get five, six innings, and then we have a cluncker of an inning. We’ll get better from it.”
Woodstown (17-8) now travels to second-seeded Buena (18-8) for Thursday’s quarterfinals game. The Wolverines have won eight in a row and 11 of their last 12
PENNSVILLE 10, WILDWOOD 0: Graillyn Weber went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and spun a four-hit shutout in the circle, Avery Watson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Lily Edwards went 3-for-3 to collect her 100th career hit. The Eagles walked it off on Taylor Bass’ RBI single following Reagan Wariwanchik’s leadoff triple in the fifth.
Weber walked three and struck out four while shutting out the Warriors for the second time this season. She threw a three-hit shutout at them with a career-high 11 strikeouts on April 13.
Edwards led off the home first with a single, stole second and third, and scored on Weber’s sacrifice fly. She singled in the second and scored on an RBI single by Watson and collected her milestone hit with a single to center in the third. She’s had three hits in three of her last four games.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 CINNAMINSON 11, SALEM TECH 0: The Pirates put together Hailee Hunter’s two-run homer and three consecutive doubles to produce five runs in the first inning to take the upper hand.
The 11th-seeded Chargers (13-6) were held to two hits in their first-ever playoff game in program history — singles by Izzy Roberts in the first and third innings. They did put two runners on with one out in the first, but the Pirates quelled the threat with a pair of strikeouts.
Hunter had three hits and four RBIs for the Pirates (13-11). Mia Zuccarelli had three hits and three RBIs.
Woodstown celebrates its come-from-behind playoff victory over Schalick in the circle with pitcher Leah Clark after getting the final out.
Tennis
South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals West Deptford 5, Penns Grove 0 Pt. Pleasant Beach 3, Pennsville 2 Woodstown 4, Pitman 1 Haddon Twp. 5, Schalick 0 Thursday’s Semifinals Pt. Pleasant Beach (14-4) at West Deptford (22-1) Woodstown (13-3) at Haddon Twp. (14-7)
WEST DEPTFORD 5, PENNS GROVE 0 Carter Watson (WD) def. Stuart Mondragon Aiden Bardon (WD) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-1, 6-1 Carter Weber (WD) def. Juan Ortiz, 6-1, 6-2 Chase Eagle-Jeffrey Hack (WD) def. Jesus Arredondo-Adan Gonzalez, 6-0, 6-1 Allen Eastlack-Connor Watson (WD) def. Jordan Hernandez-Fernando Palacios Lima, 6-1, 6-0 Records: West Deptford 22-1, Penns Grove 7-9
Here is the Salem County sports calendar for the week of May 25-May 30
TUESDAY, MAY 26 SOFTBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Paulsboro at Audubon Riverside at Maple Shade Wildwood at Pennsville Haddon Twp. at Pitman Glassboro at Palmyra Cape May Tech at Gateway Schalick at Woodstown, 3 p.m. Burlington Twp. at Buena GOLF TCC Showcase, Pitman GC GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Nottingham, 5 p.m. TENNIS South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals Penns Grove at West Deptford Pennsville at Pt. Pleasant Beach Pitman vs. Woodstown Schalick vs. Haddon Twp., 3 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 BASEBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Cape May Tech at Schalick Gateway at Audubon Paulsboro at Wildwood Riverside at Maple Shade LEAP at Haddon Twp. Pitman at Pennsville Buena at Glassboro Clayton at Woodstown, 3 p.m. South Jersey Group II Tournament Salem Tech at Barnegat
THURSDAY, MAY 28 SOFTBALL Penns Grove vs. LEAP, Rutgers-Camden, 6 p.m. South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals Paulsboro-Audubon vs. Riverside-Maple Shade Wildwood-Pennsville vs. Haddon Twp.-Pitman Glassboro-Palmyra vs. Cape May Tech-Gateway Schalick-Woodstown vs. Burlington Twp.-Buena South Jersey Group II Quarterfinals Haddon Heights-Lower Cape May vs. Salem Tech-Cinnaminson GIRLS LACROSSE South Jersey Group I Tournament West Deptford at Woodstown TENNIS South Jersey Group I Semifinals Penns Grove-West Deptford vs. Pennsville-Pt. Pleasant Beach Pitman-Woodstown vs. Schalick-Haddon Twp.
FRIDAY, MAY 29 BASEBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Cape May Tech-Schalick vs. Gateway-Audubon Paulsboro-Wildwood vs. Riverside-Maple Shade LEAP-Haddon Twp. vs. Pitman-Pennsville Buena-Glassboro vs. Clayton-Woodstown South Jersey Group II Tournament Salem Tech-Barnegat vs. Mastery Camden-Haddon Heights TRACK NJSIAA Championships, Franklin HS
SATURDAY, MAY 30 TRACK NJSIAA Championships, Franklin HS
Here are scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar; detailed stories will be posted on the website soon
BASEBALL Schalick 12, Pennsville 3: Mason Sanchez looked like another pitcher named Sanchez in Philly market with masterful complete game win. Woodstown 8, Pitman 0: Blake Rodriguez and Stone Hassler combined seven-inning no-hitter, facing the minimum 21 batters. The only base runner they allowed was a third-inning walk and he was erased on a double play. Clayton at Penns Grove Gloucester at Salem Tech Salem at Glassboro
SOFTBALL Clayton 26, Penns Grove 8: The Clippers erased an early 7-0 Penns Grove lead with 17 runs in the second inning. Woodstown 5, Pitman 3: Ellie Wygand collects her 100th career hit in her first at-bat. Schalick 6, Pennsville 5: Paige Sparks, down to her team’s last strike, hits go-ahead three-run homer in seventh, drives in five runs.
GOLF Schalick 180, Cumberland 186: One day after beating the Colts in a three-way card playoff for the Salem/Cumberland Challenge team title, the Cougars edge them in a match to claim a share of the TCC Diamond Division title (with Woodstown).
TENNIS Clayton at Penns Grove
BOYS LACROSSE Bishop Eustace 9, Woodstown 7: The Crusaders outscored three goals in the fourth quarter to win. Connor Haney and Bob Waddington each scored three goals for Woodstown. Bryce Downer made 15 saves, finishing his Woodstown career with 731.
Cumberland’s Tarquinio medalist of Salem/Cumberland Challenge after historic playoff with Schalick’s Nelson; Schalick wins team title in three-way scoreboard playoff with Woodstown, Cumberland
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CENTERTON — Nicole Tarquinio answered a lot of questions for herself Monday at Centerton Golf Club.
The Cumberland Regional senior won medalist honors after the longest playoff in the history of the Salem/Cumberland Challenge. It was a co-ed mash-up and anyone was open to win,
Tarquinio did it with a birdie on the fourth hole of a sudden death playoff, surviving a spirited battle with Schalick’s Mikey Nelson, who played what he called “definitely the best round of my life” to get there. Both players shot 7-over-par 78 in regulation.
Schalick won the team title, surviving a three-way match-of-cards with Woodstown and Cumberland. All three teams came in with 330 when the counting was done and the Cougars were declared the champions with the best aggregate on the most difficult hole.
For Tarquinio, winning the tournament showed she could hold up over 18 holes (and then some) when nine is the norm, she had the wherewithal to win a tournament and she could play with (and beat) the boys. She had been trying for four years to win this tournament and while she has been the low girl over the years and was in the hunt to the last few holes last year this was the first time she beat ’em all.
“It feels so good to beat the boys because a lot of boys try and show that they’re better than me, they don’t worry about girls being better than me, it’s like nice to finally show it,” the York College signee said. “I’m also happy for myself not just beating everybody else in the tournament, but shooting my personal best, because for a while, in the past couple tournaments, I’ve been struggling to shoot good and this feels like I finally was able to break that.
“This made me feel a lot better playing. Winning this tournament boosted my confidence a lot more, because the last couple tournaments I just wasn’t playing well and I feel like this showed me I can do it, especially against boys, too. It shows me I can do it and gives me confidence as we go on.”
Tarquinio won the playoff with a 20-foot putt on the par-3 third, very similar to a putt she made for birdie on 12 to take her round to 2-over before a tough closing stretch brought her back to the field. She had the same putt on 3 in regulation that didn’t go in, but the feel gave her confidence in the playoff she could get it close.
Nelson had chances to win on each of the first three playoff holes, with putts of par or better on each green inside five feet, but couldn’t get them to drop. He hit a 56-degree wedge from 80 yards to four feet left of the pin on the second playoff hole – with Tarquinio looking at a 10-foot uphill putt for birdie – and ran it past the hole. He got in contention with a one-putt eagle on the 485-yard par-5 14th.
“If I had taken more time, just concentrated on that putt, I would’ve had it,” Nelson said. “After the drive on the second playoff hole I just went back to my soccer roots playing in high intensity. Just keep it calm. I was chill about it. I kept getting calmer and calmer as it went on. Maybe I got too calm on Hole 3.”
Finally, on the fourth playoff hole, Tarquinio, playing from the red tees all round, hit a 6-iron on the green, while Nelson sliced his 7-iron off to the right. He had a firm bare lie and tried to coax his ball over the bunker onto the green, but he found the bunker instead. He got out with his third, but still wasn’t on the green.
Tarquinio had two putts for the win, but only needed one to become the tournament’s first female medalist.
“Credit to Nicole,” Schalick coach Sean Collins said. “She earned it today, but she really earned it over the last four years.”
The team playoff went to an aggregate match-of-cards on the 430-yard, par-4 16th, the No. 1 handicap hole of the course. Schalick played the hole in 3-over, Cumberland in 4-over and Woodstown in 5-over. Jaxon Weber and Anthony Sepers both parred the hole for the Cougars. Nelson bogeyed it and Seth Fisher made 6.
“We tied with Woodstown the last two years for the division, we still have to win a match this year to tie them again, we were at Carl Arena we tied, we beat them at states pretty good,” Collins said. “It’s a fun rivalry we’ve had with them the last couple and the kids all know each other, especially this group of kids, the four seniors who have been through a lot of battles with Woodstown in the county so I’m glad that they won. Albeit a match of cards in the end they’re the champs.”
BOYS GOLF WOODSTOWN 166, DEPTFORD 168: Just a few hours after competing in the Salem/Cumberland Challenge, where they finished third in a three-way card playoff, the Wolverines were back on their home course, Town & Country, and took a tight match from the Spartans.
The Wolverines trailed by four after each team’s top three scorers were posted, but they had a choice of the 45s from Austin Wood or Blake Bialecki to overtake Deptford’s fourth score (51). Deptford’s Austin Tennyson was medalist (2-over 37), one shot ahead of Woodstown’s Lucas Fulmer, who played a clean round with the exception of a triple-bogey on the par-3 fourth at Town & Country.
The Wolverines will now keep a keen eye on Tuesday’s Schalick-Cumberland match at Running Deer Golf Club. If Schalick wins, the Cougars are TCC Diamond Division co-champions. If Cumberland wins, Woodstown wears the crown.
Salem/Cumberland Challenge
TEAM SCORES: x-Schalick 330, Woodstown 330, Cumberland 330, Vineland 425, Salem Tech 447. x-Declared winner on aggregate scorecard playoff.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
x-Nicole Tarquinio, Cumberland
78
Mikey Nelson, Schalick
78
Jaxon Weber, Schalick
79
Nate Valente, Woodstown
79
Joseph Nolan, Cumberland
81
Logan Jones, Woodstown
81
Maahishee Patel, Cumberland
84
Alejandro Vazquez, Woodstown
85
Jack Bucksar, Woodstown
85
Seth Fisher, Schalick
86
Manntram Patel, Cumberland
87
Anthony Sepers, Schalick
87
Anthony Kaskabas, Vineland
88
Trevor Hann, Pennsville
97
Sophia Conto, Salem Tech
104
Artur Kovch, Vineland
105
Makenna Minguez, Pennsville
106
Hailey Hillegass, Vineland
107
Abigail Bohn, Pennsville
109
Hannah Kormann, Salem Tech
110
Thomas Conto, Salem Tech
115
Daniel Atanasio, Salem Tech
118
Ava Caruso, Vineland
125
x-wins on fourth hole of sudden-death playoff
Schalick survived a three-way scorecard playoff to win the Salem/Cumberland Challenge team title. Top photo: Playoff medalist Nicole Tarquinio is flanked by runners-up Mikey Nelson (L) and Jason Weber.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 18-23
MONDAY, MAY 18 BASEBALL Haddon Heights at Schalick Penns Grove at Pennsville Salem at Camden Academy Charter SOFTBALL Pennsville at Salem Haddonfield at Salem Tech, 4:15 p.m. BOYS GOLF Salem/Cumberland Championship, Centerton CC, 8 a.m. Woodstown vs. Deptford, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Salem/Cumberland Championship, Centerton CC, 8 a.m. TENNIS Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. BOYS VOLLEYBALL Highland at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Haddon Heights
TUESDAY, MAY 19 BASEBALL Clayton at Penns Grove Gloucester at Salem Tech Pennsville at Schalick Pitman at Woodstown Salem at Glassboro SOFTBALL Penns Grove at Clayton Woodstown at Pitman Schalick at Pennsville at Pennsville LL, 6 p.m. GOLF Schalick vs. Cumberland, Running Deer, 3:30 p.m. TENNIS Clayton at Penns Grove BOYS LACROSSE Bishop Eustace at Woodstown VOLLEYBALL Clearview at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m. TRACK Nike Elite Meet, Delsea
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 BASEBALL LEAP at Penns Grove Salem Tech at Wildwood Catholic Schalick at Collingswood SOFTBALL Glassboro at Salem Schalick at Middle Twp. Atlantic Tech at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Timber Creek at Woodstown
THURSDAY, MAY 21 BASEBALL Mainland at Pennsville Salem Tech at Gloucester County Christian SOFTBALL Pennsville at Kingsway Salem Tech at Camden Co. Tech
Here are scores and highlights from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Pennsville 7, GCIT 2: Grady Sanders’ two-run double capped a four-run fifth inning that gave the Eagles a 6-2 lead and control of the game. Logan Cowperthwait and Jeff Wagner broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single and Logan Cowperthwait singled home a run a few batters later before Sanders’ game-breaking hit. Mason O’Brien threw a complete game, holding the Cheetahs to three hits and striking out eight.
“We’re playing confident baseball right now, that’s all we can ask for,” said Pennsville coach Matt Karr, whose team is 6-2 in the month of May. “Just keep playing really good competition and get ready for playoffs.”
Clayton 16, Salem Tech 11: The Clippers took control with 11 runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Kevin Mosley hit a game-tying homer in the fifth and Jameson Emerle hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Mosley and Jaiden Keller drove in four runs apiece. Daulton Sites had three hits and two RBIs for the Chargers. Cole Sacks and Logan Hearn had two hits apiece.
SOFTBALL Woodstown 6, Glassboro 4: Leah Clark turns back Glassboro in seventh, Ellie Wygand homers, but denied her 100th career hit; separate story posting soon. Delran 7, Schalick 1: Chloe Carucci’s two-run homer capped a four-run third inning and Mary Masterson held the Cougars to four hits and struck out 10. Kassady Sickler gave Schalick a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second. Bridgeton at Salem Tech
GOLF Woodstown 159, Overbrook 184: Woodstown’s Nate Valente shot 1-over 37 to win low medalist at Kresson GC. Teammate Alejandro Vazquez was a shot back.
GIRLS GOLF Schalick 165, Delsea 182: Schalick’s Lena Virga and Delsea’s Claudia Bui shared medalist honors (40) at Washington Twp. Municipal.
BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown 12, Timber Creek 2: Bryce Downer records his 700th career save, Wolverines win fourth straight; separate story posting soon.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL Riverside at Salem Tech
TENNIS Pennsville 4, Burlington Twp. 1: The Eagles’ No. 1 doubles team of Coen Rinnier and Jacob Cheeseman won their 13th match in a row. No 2 singles Lucas Cooksey has won 14 straight.
PENNSVILLE 4, BURLINGTON TWP. 1 Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Adam Mortaja, 6-1, 6-3 Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Jay Patel, 6-0, 6-1 Caleb Shin (BT) def. Carter Willis, 7-5, 6-2 Coen Rinnier-Jacob Cheeseman (P) def. Prabhnoor Ghotra-Taylor Lahr-Tirado, 6-3, 6-2 Lucas Thomas-Ian Peacock (P) def. Vincent Contrati-Ashan Wickamanyake, 6-0, 6-2. Records: Pennsville 16-6, Burlington Twp. 10-9.
Woodstown senior Bryce Downer (20) and lacrosse coach Bryan Sperry celebrate the goalie surpassing 700 career saves in Thursday’s win over Timber Creek.
Pennsville uses grit, luck to get past Glassboro; includes scores, details from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Pennsville 4, Glassboro 1: Eagles take lead with four in fortuitous fifth inning; full story below.. Wildwood 12, Penns Grove 2: Trevor Troiano goes 4-for-4; Wildwood holds Penns Grove to one hit through five innings while opening 7-0 lead. Bristol Scott, Tim Zamorano drove in Penns Grove’s runs in sixth. Piscataway Magnet 15, Salem Tech 7: NJTAC Group 1/2 Tournament semifinals. Chargers led early, but Piscataway (21-2) pulled away from a 9-7 game with six in home sixth.. SOFTBALL Woodstown 11, Deptford 1: Karly Spears and Macie Moore combine for four hits, four runs and three RBIs from bottom of Wolverines’ lineup. Leah Clark allows two hits, none after the first inning, and struck out eight to surpass 200 in her career (201). Millville 16, Pennsville 2: Thunderbolts put Eagles back on their heels with seven in top of the first inning. Pennsville’s Graillyn Weber ties Kylie Harris’ single-season school doubles record (15), Harris hits her 49th career double. Buena 12, Salem Tech 11: Chiefs score three runs on passed balls in home seventh to walk it off. Izzy Roberts had three hits and Carmen Mott three RBIs for the Chargers GOLF Schalick 161, Cumberland 196: Schalick’s Anthony Sepers posts 2-over 38 at Centerton CC for medalist honors. Teammate Jaxson Weber shot 39. GIRLS GOLF OLMA 214, Schalick 225: OLMA’s Eva Acerba and Schalick’s Lena Virga shared medalist honors (48) at Centerton CC TENNIS Middle Twp. 5, Schalick 0: See below Pennsville 4, Washington Twp. 1: See below GIRLS LACROSSE Holy Cross 13, Woodstown 12: The Lancers scored twice in the final 1:31 to win. Caroline Tobin and Brielle Mosteller scored six goals each for Holy Cross. Delaney Walker scored four (217) for Woodstown, Emma Morgan scored three for her 200th career point. BOYS LACROSSE Woodstown at Middle Twp. BOYS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at West Tech
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – At least one time every year Pennsville’s home field becomes a true advantage to play at home.
It certainly was Tuesday when the skin infield of Ed Rieger Field that the Eagles have come to love played a key role in the inning that propelled them to a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Glassboro.
The game carried some serious implications for the South Jersey Group i playoff bracket and it very much played like a playoff game. The Eagles trailed 1-0 going to the home fifth of a tight pitching duel between aces Jude Dempster and Gavin Spears, but they came out of the inning with a 4-1 lead thanks in part of the subtleties of the infield.
The inning started when Spears reached on a one-out dropped third strike and escalated into a bases-loaded situation on Mason O’Brien’s single and Jeff Wagner getting hit by a pitch. Logan Streitz followed with a fly ball to the gap in left center that centerfielder Jimmy McMahon had in his glove and couldn’t hold allowing the tying run to score.
With the bases still loaded, Stevie Fatcher lofted a high pop behind first that was circled under by first baseman Aidan Evangelisti but eventually fell between three fielders. The Bulldogs thought it should have been an infield fly rule out, but the umpires didn’t see it that way and the Eagles had a 2-1 lead.
Then came the play that makes the skin infield both feared and famous. Grady Sanders hit a routine grounder to the right side. It looked like it would be the third out of the inning, but at the last instant it took a wicked hop into second baseman Kody Harrell’s upper body. The sophomore infielder recovered the ball, but in his haste to get the out his throw to first was wide and two insurance runs raced home.
“We’ve been talking a lot lately about just finding a way,” Eagles coach Matt Karr said. “Ugly, pretty, whatever, just find a way. And that starts with just putting the ball in play and doing your job. Heads up play there by Gavin. Instead of standing there feeling sorry for himself he finds his way on base. Everything we’ve been preaching this season and always here, just give the guy behind you a shot. Whatever your job is at the moment go to the plate and do it and trust that the guy behind you is gonna pick you up and finish it off.
“Another thing I talk about all the time is luck. I really believe that part of the baseball game is creating some of your own luck. Some of those things that happened that inning, we had to put ourselves in situations for it to be capitalized on. Could’ve been nobody on and that pop up happens and falls and doesn’t mean anything. but we had guys on and we were fighting, so we created our luck in that situation. When you’re facing a pitcher like (Dempster) you have to almost ugly it up a little bit, fight, claw and find a way.”
Spears calls it “scrappy baseball … that’s what we symbolize around here.”
A similar scenario took place here 51 weeks ago when the Eagles scored a one-run extra-inning victory over Pitman. They fell behind that day 1-0 in the first, tied it in the seventh on a ball that got away from the catcher and won in it the eighth with the help of two fielding errors by two normally sure-handed infielders.
“We’re becoming one of the far and few between fields where it’s a skin infield; I don’t know how many of them are left in South Jersey, I would guess not many,” Karr said. “Here, as dry as the weather’s been, this field hardens up and our guys get the luxury of practicing and playing on it every single day. We were watching them take I/O and I told the guys, half-heartedly joking, Ed Rieger’s hardening up, you know what that means. Put ‘er in play and see what happens. It always finds a way. We love the home-field advantage.”
“This field is probably the worst I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sanders said. “On this infield, there’s been many black eyes that I’ve seen; I got hit over the forehead last year. Especially over there (waving to the right side), that’s one of the hardest spots in the infield. It’s great to play here. This is the most challenging place to play. Everywhere else feels like a joy ride. I love playing here. It makes me a better defender. It makes everybody here a better defender.”
“Basically anything that’s hit hard on the ground (is) guaranteed a base hit here,” Spears said. “It’s not the best place to play but for us I’d say it is. Any team coming in here is going to have a hard time fielding the ball. We get to work out here every single day, so we’re kind of used to it. This is just our home.”
Once the Eagles grabbed the lead, Spears had to go out and defend it. He went out and gave them a shutdown sixth, working the corners to retire the Bulldogs on a soft liner to second and two strikeouts. He allowed five hits and struck out eight in going the distance for his longest outing of the season. The Bulldogs scored their run in the first inning – on back-to-back walks to open the game, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly – then were blanked the rest of the game.
“We went up to Cherry Hill West for the Diamond Classic and threw him out there against one of the top teams in the state and he went out and battled his butt off,” Karr said. “We told the boys after the game I don’t know if you guys knew that we needed an ace or had an ace, but you’ve got a guy. We know when 10 toes the rubber we’re going to have a shot to win. Every start he’s been on the mound we’ve been right there or we’ve won. Our guys feel that. When they’ve got their guy on the mound they come out feeling different that day. He gives us that shot in the arm.”
“I never really considered myself an ace; I always feel like there’s things to work on, even in this game,” Spears said. “It’s good to know they have trust in me. I know my fielders have my back. I know they’re going to make every play that’s out there.”
Dempster was equally impressive for the Bulldogs. He held the Eagles to four hits over five innings and struck out 11.
The win allowed the Eagles to switch places with Glassboro in the SJ Group I power points standings. Glassboro was sixth and Pennsville seventh to start the day, but they flipped after the game. Schalick is No. 1, Woodstown No. 3. The power point window closes after Saturday’s games.
Here are the scores and details from games on Monday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL Woodstown 3, Clayton 1: Chase Harding scored on a passed ball with Ty Coblentz batting to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead and Coblentz completed the at-bat with a sacrifice fly. Three Woodstown pitchers scattered five hits and struck out 11. Schalick 19, Salem 0: Mason Sanchez went 2-for-2 and pitched the first two shutout innings with five strikeouts. Cole Hartley had three RBIs.
SOFTBALL Deptford 8, Salem Tech 6: Molly Bulger and Soph McGuire (3 RBIs) both went 4-for-4 for the Spartans Woodstown 5, Clayton 1: Talia Guardascione singled home the first run in a four-run first inning that got Woodstown going. Pennsville 7, Glassboro 4: Kylie Harris’s leadoff homer broke a 4-4 tie and kicked off a three-run eighth inning for Pennsville. Savannah Guglielmo threw two innings of no-hit relief for the win. Lily Edwards scored her 99th career run. Schalick 6, Salem 0: The Cougars won for the second time this year at the Elmer LL complex.
GIRLS GOLF Williamstown 195, Schalick 206: Williamstown’s Kaci Adams was medalist (45). Cali Fisler posted the low round for Schalick (48)
VOLLEYBALL Washington Twp. 2, Salem Tech 0: 25-7, 25-8
GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown 16, Triton 3: Delaney Walker (5 goals) now at 213
BOYS LACROSSE Millville at Woodstown
TENNIS PENNSVILLE 5, SCHALICK 0 Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Gabe McFeeley, 6-0, 6-0 Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Reece Loatman, 6-1, 6-0 Carter Willis (P) def. Tyr Brattlie, 6-1, 6-0 Coen Rinnier-Jacob Cheeseman (P) def. Cooper Halperin-Jack Genievich, 6-0, 6-0 Ian Peacock-Lucas Thomas (P) def. Angelo Boston-Gavin McGrath, 7-5, 6-0 Records: Schalick 6-8, Pennsville 12-6
WOODSTOWN 5, TIMBER CREEK 0 Drew Stengel (WO) def. Kyle Clark Blanding, 6-4, 6-1 Luke Shaw (WO) def. Derek Sarpong, 6-1, 6-1 Nick DiTeodoro (WO) def. Adam He, 6-1, 6-3 Vincent Merendino-Josef Hummel (WO) def. Gabriel Castro-Keenan King, 6-0, 6-0 Josh King-John Hood-McGinley (WO) def. Stephen Fehon-Shawn Allen, 6-1, 6-1 Records: Woodstown 12-6, Timber Creek 3-11
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