Category: PENNSVILLE

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

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.

The three Pennsville runners who scored ahead of Avery Watson’s triple applaud their benefactor at home plate. Top photo, Savannah Brewer-Palverento pushes her tie-breaking hit into right field. (Screen shots from Gamechanger video)

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.

Woodstown’s Kyle Reitz passes the baton to Karson Chew in the final exchange of their boys 4×400 New Jersey Small Schools race at the Penn Relays. The Wolverines placed third in their flight behind Camden and Deptford (Submitted photo)

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.

So close, yet far

Pennsville softball rallies twice from two-run deficits, but comes up just short in a third attempt; Woodstown baseball holds off Collingswood; includes tennis, golf, lacrosse results

SALEM COUNTY SOFTBALL
Haddon Heights 8, Pennsville 7
Kingsway 10, Woodstown 2
Cumberland 19, Salem 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – With the type of lineup Pennsville softball has built to get to this season no deficit is out of reach. But sometimes the well just comes up dry.

The Eagles came back from two-run deficits twice Wednesday and were on the verge of doing it a third time in the seventh inning, but their bid to either walk it off or keep it going came up just short and they lost to Haddon Heights 8-7 to end a nine-game winning streak.

The Eagles erased deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to tie the game at 2-2 and then take a 6-4 lead after five innings. The Garnets went back up 8-6 in the seventh and for one of the rare times this season, Pennsville couldn’t catch up.

“That’s something we talked about,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “It’s a dangerous life to live. You get all these hits and score all these runs and then you’re making mistakes in the field, you can kind of get away with it, but sometimes, at some point, that might end.

“You’re not going to always have all those hits. You might run into a really good pitcher. You might only squeeze out one or two runs. You’ve gotta be up to defense. You’ve got to play well and not give the other team outs and not give them extra outs in the field.”

Sophomore Ruby Caviston gave the Garnets a 2-0 lead in the first with the first of her two home runs, but the Eagles tied it on Mackenzie Widener’s two-run single in the second.

Caviston’s second homer gave the Garnets a 3-0 lead in the fifth and they added another later in the inning on a ball that got under third baseman Savannah Brewer-Palverento’s glove. This time, the Eagles answered with four in the bottom of the inning to take the lead.

The two tying runs scored when Kylie Harris, the state’s hits leader, hit a ball that stayed down and through on Heights second baseman Kayla Kellogg. Brewer-Palverento tripled home Harris with the go-ahead run and Brewer-Palverento scored on a passed ball.

The Garnets answered with four in the sixth for their third two-run lead of the game. 

Both Jackson and junior infielder Avery Watson had “absolute confidence” in the Eagles being able to come back again – even when they got down to their last out. They were behind four times during their winning streak and had no trouble overcoming those deficits.

“I have no doubts in us at all,” Watson said. “With the way our energy was and how we’ve been playing recently I had zero doubts that we could come back, even at the end (with) two outs I didn’t have any doubt in myself and nobody had any doubt in me.”

Watson kept the inning alive and got the rally started with a single to left. Mackenzie Widener kept the line moving with a single and Reagan Wariwanchik singled home Watson to make it a one-run game. Widener went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

“Facing a really good team like that, our energy was high all game and that kept me going,” Watson said. “Going into the seventh, I really wanted to win this game; we all really wanted it. 

“I wanted to get anything out there. I wanted to just poke a ball out there if I had to. I hardly remember what I did, my adrenaline was pumping so much.”

Now, the Eagles had the tying run at second and winning run at first, but the game ended on a comebacker to the circle.

The loss stung, of course, but it was hard for Jackson to be angry. She called the game “a great measuring stick” for her team and how it compares to the other SJ Group I contenders Heights plays regularly in the Colonial Conference.

Despite the loss, Pennsville (11-3) remained the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. Haddon Heights (6-2) moved into the No. 1 spot in South Jersey Group 2 after the win.

“You go out there and you’re swinging and you put it all on the line and walk away,” Jackson said. “Even with what we had with the loss you can still be proud, if you go out and give it 110 percent and you play your good game. Sometimes you come out on the short end of the stick; unfortunately, that’s just a part of the game. From today’s loss I want them to take the positive into tomorrow.”

The Eagles play their fourth game in four days Thursday against Gloucester Catholic in a big TCC Classic Division game.

KINGSWAY 10, WOODSTOWN 2: Lila Bowling’s leadoff homer in the second inning gave Woodstown an early lead, but the Dragons (7-0) answered with three in the third and put a competitive game out of reach with five in the seventh. Ava Snyder gave up three hits and struck out 12 over six innings for the top-ranked team in the South Jersey Group 4 power points standings.

CUMBERLAND 19, SALEM 2: The first 16 batters off the bus for the Colts reached safely and 12 scored to decide this one. Lizzy Pflieger had two run-scoring hits in that first inning and finished with three hits and three RBIs. Salem had three hits – a double by Isla Bohn and singles by Kyla Henderson and Rylee Doerr. 

SALEM COUNTY BASEBALL
Woodstown 3, Collingswood 2

Rocco String homered on the first pitch of the fifth inning for what was at the time was an insurance run that ultimately became the winning run 

It was his first homer or the season and eighth in 203 career at-bats.

Woodstown starter Aaron Foote was perfect through three innings before that Panthers broke up the gem with the first of three singles in the fourth inning that produced their 1-0 lead. 

The Wolverines rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the inning on Tommy Tucci’s sacrifice fly and a bad throw by the pitcher on Lucas Fulmer’s grounder. String extended the lead in the fourth.

Foote gave the Wolverines 5 2/3 solid innings and Michael Valente came behind him with 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief. They ended the game on a hard-charging play by shortstop Tucci, who snagged a chopper over Valente’s head and threw on to first in the same motion for the final out.

GOLF
Gateway 193, Salem Tech 207

Alton Rattle (44) and Daniel Romero (45) shot the two low rounds to lead Gateway to its first win of the season. Mason Griffith (47) had Salem Tech’s low round.

TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 5, PITMAN 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-1, 6-0
John Farrell (WO) def. Nolan Russell, 6-1, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis (WO) def. Jaron Scott, 7-5, 6-0
Luke Shaw-Mason Shimp (WO) def. Ben Williams-Jonah Raymer, 6-1, 6-3
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Spencer Bianchini-Liam Etter, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 9-2, Pitman 1-10.

GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield 16, Woodstown 2

Finding a way

D’Agostino, Pokrovsky help Schalick baseball stay unbeaten with big win over Pitman; Schalick sweeps county track titles, all 3 county tennis winners sweep, and more

BASEBALL
Schalick 4, Pitman 2
Pennsville 14, Penns Grove 1
Woodstown 11, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – Lucas D’Agostino didn’t have a lot of pitches to play with when they handed him the ball Tuesday for one of his team’s biggest regular-season games of the year, so he knew he had to be efficient. Not perfect, but efficient.

The Schalick senior had only 66 pitches left on his weekly limit and he didn’t waste many. The RCSJ-Cumberland signee threw four innings of shutout ball to give his team a chance and his defense and Luke Pokrovsky did the rest as the Cougars beat Pitman 4-2 to remain undefeated through its battle of top five South Jersey Group I schools.

“I probably would’ve given him another day’s rest but he was willing to step up,” Cougars coach Sean O’Brien said. “If he would’ve had more pitches he might’ve gone longer.”

As it was, the RCSJ-Cumberland signee gave the Cougars all he had — and a little more. Because the rules allow him to finish a batter once he hits his threshold, he threw 69 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four.

“They eliminated us last year in the playoffs and that was pretty much in the back of everyone’s mind,” D’Agostino said. “I knew I only had 66 pitches left and couldn’t get too ahead of myself going for strikeouts. I had to let my defense work and they did a pretty danged good job.

“I had the same idea the whole time: Pitch to contact to get weak ground balls, weak fly outs, really rely on my defense. That’s important to me. I trust all seven guys behind me.”

The defense played a big part in helping him keep the Panthers (9-4) off the board. Jamari Whitley made a nice play at third on Jake Sharrow’s swinging bunt with runners at second and third to end the second inning and the Cougars turned a bases-loaded double play in the third.

“That (Whitley) play determined a lot,” D’Agostino said. “If they score two runs there you have the meat of the lineup coming up and maybe a tied game. That helped me lock it down.”

With 12 pitches left in his pocket, D’Agostino got through the fourth inning with little excitement then left it to the bullpen with a 4-0 lead. The Cougars got him three unearned runs in the second inning to grab the lead and then Pokrovsky led off the third with his fourth homer of the season and third in four games, tying his two brothers for the Schalick career home run lead (16).

Evan Glaspey came behind D’Agostino and gave up two runs in the fifth but Pokrovsky closed the door with two innings of one-hit shutout relief.

“Especially with us limited pitching wise, they dug deep and found a way to win,” O’Brien said. 

The win solidified the Cougars’ hold on No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They are now 9-0 sending observers to scramble to find a better start. The loss dropped Pitman to fifth behind Pennsville, a team it had beaten earlier this season.

“The idea is hopefully to be the best team in Schalick history,” D’Agostino said. “I’m really excited to not have a loss under our belt going into May. You compare us to last year, the amount of improvement we’ve seen is awesome. I don’t know who the top Schalick team ever was, hopefully we’re inching pretty close if we’re not already there.”

PENNSVILLE 14, PENNS GROVE 1: Connor Starn and Mason O’Brien both had two hits and two RBIs and three pitchers struck out 15 while holding the Red Devils to one hit as the Eagles won their last varsity game of the month. Logan Cowperthwait pitched three no-hit innings behind starter Logan Streitz and struck out seven. Chase Burchfield hit a pair of rockets to left field that were misplayed into errors and will remain at 98 career RBIs at least until the Eagles return to varsity action May 5.

WOODSTOWN 11, SALEM 0: Walker Battavio had two hits and two RBIs and Ty Coblentz drove in a pair of runs as the Wolverines won for the second day in a row. Blake Rodriguez and Tommy Tucci combined on a five-inning two-hitter. Chase Davis had both of Salem’s hits. 

TRACK: Schalick sweeps county crowns

PENNSVILLE – Schalick sprinter Gia Martellacci was named the most outstanding athlete among the girls while David Stewart and Salem’s Anthony Parker shared the boys award as Schalick swept team titles in the Salem County Track and Field Championships at Pennsville.

Martellacci won three individual events and ran a leg on the winning 4×400 relay to help the Schalick girls score 133 points. She tied for first in the 100 (12.83) with Salem’s Raniyah Parsons-Smith and won the 200 (26.41) and 400 (1:00.26). The relay team won in 4:15.44.

Teammate Jordan Hadfield also won three events (800, 1600, 3200) and ran a leg on the relay. She broke her own meet record in the 1600.

Stewart and Parker both won three events in the boys meet. Stewart won the 100 (11.22), 400 (49.19) and triple jump (43-1.5) to help the Cougars score 102 points for the team win. Parker won the 110 hurdles (14.32), 400 hurdles (56.35) and long jump (20-8.5).

Woodstown edged Salem by a point for second place in the boys meet. Jacob Marino won both distance races and the Wolverines’ 4×400 relay team that’s heading to the Penn Relays (Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz) broke the 10-year-old meet record.

SALEM COUNTY TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 102, Woodstown 72, Salem 71, Penns Grove 55, Pennsville 35
MVP: Anthony Parker, Salem; David Stewart, Schalick.
100: David Stewart, Schalick 11.22
110 hurdles: Anthony Parker, Salem 14.32200: Zaeshawn Mills, Schalick 22.41
400: David Stewart, Schalick 49.19
400 hurdles: Anthony Parker, Salem 56.35
800: Joshua Crawford, Woodstown 1:58.20
1600: Jacob Marino, Woodstown 4:46.83
3200: Jacob Marino, Woodstown 10:37.60
4×400: Woodstown (Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz) 3:27.05 (meet record, old record 3:27.90, Schalick, 2015)
Discus: Ethan McLean, Schalick 138-3
High jump: Reggie Allen, Schalick 5-10
Javelin: Connor Ayars, Pennsville 171-1
Long jump: Anthony Parker, Salem 20-8.5
Pole vault: Gradin Buzby, Salem, 11-0
Shot put: Sheldon Goldsborogh, Schalick 45-2
Triple jump: David Stewart, Schalick 43-1.5

GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 133, Woodstown 70, Pennsville 58, Salem 54, Penns Grove 20
MVP: Gia Martellacci, Schalick
100: (tie) Gia Martellacci, Schalick; Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Salem 12.83
100 hurdles: Lia Covely, Woodstown 17.82
200: Gia Martellacci, Schalick 26.41
400: Gia Martellacci, Schalick 1:00.26
400 hurdles: Audrey Boggs, Salem 1:10.65
800: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2:21.84
1600: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 5:15.02 (meet record, old record 5:16.54, Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2023)
3200: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 11:55.47
4×400: Schalick (Brooke Valentine, Sophia Harris, Jordan Hadfield, Gia Martellacci) 4:15.44
Discus: Tatiyonna Crawford, Pennsville 96-2
High jump: Kallie Morrison, Pennsville 4-10
Javelin: Allyson Green, Schalick 100-6
Long jump: Phoebe Alward, Schalick 15-10.25
Pole vault: Megan Morris, Pennsville 10-6
Shot put: Ava Rodgers, Salem 32-11
Triple jump: Jaelynn Jarmon, Schalick 32-9

TENNIS: Three 5-0 winners

TUESDAY’S SCORES
Pennsville 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 5, Pitman 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0

PENNSVILLE 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Rene Ruiz, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Adan Gonzalez-Juan Ortiz, 6-1, 6-1
Matthew Forino-Carter Willis (P) def. Jesus Arredondo-Jayden Murga Santos, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 9-0, Penns Grove 1-4.

SCHALICK 5, PITMAN 0
George Gould (S) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-0, 6-1
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Nolan Russell, 6-1, 6-1
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Jaron Scull, 6-4, 6-0
Cayden Brzozowski-David Santana (S) def. Jonah Raymer-Ben Williams, 6-1, 2-6, 10-4
Kaden Barnes-Christian Negron (S) def. Spencer Bianchini-Liam Etter, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
Records: Schalick 7-4, Pitman 1-9.

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Connor Kustera, 6-2, 6-1
John Farrell (WO) def. Thomas Mason, 6-3, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis (WO) won by forfeit
Mason Shimp-Luke Shaw (WO) def. Alan Marcos-Gabe Martinez, 6-4, 7-5
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Mohammed Shihab-Gerardo Trinidad-Palillero, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 8-2, Overbrook 1-7.

SOFTBALL: Pennsville, Woodstown win

TUESDAY’S SCORES
Pennsville 19, Penns Grove 0
Pitman at Schalick
Woodstown 11, Salem 4

WOODSTOWN 11, SALEM 4: Talia Guardascione hit a two-run inside-the-park homer in the second inning to give the Wolverines a 5-0 lead. Guardascione, Shyann Higinbotham, Hannah Hitchner and Sadie Moore all scored twice.

LACROSSE

KINGSWAY 15, WOODSTOWN 2: Keegan Borkowski scored five goals and Owen Dougherty had three for the undefeated Dragons (8-0). 

GIRLS LACROSSE

WOODSTOWN 18, KINGSWAY 5: Delaney Walker and Jaime Deal each scored six goals and Emma Morgan had four for the Wolverines. Walker, a junior, now has 108 career goals. 

Hundred for Harris

Pennsville junior catcher collects her 100th career hit in Eagles’ eighth straight win, 10-8 over Williamstown

MONDAY SALEM COUNTY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 10, Williamstown 8
Delsea 8, Woodstown 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WILLIAMSTOWN – It wasn’t the longest or the hardest ball Kylie Harris has hit in her high school softball career, but it certainly was her most significant.

Harris, a junior catcher, flared a single into short right field in the third inning for the 100th career hit in Pennsville’s 10-8 Easter Monday win at Williamstown. 

The ball floated into right field like a simple pop up then fell safely between the second baseman rushing out, the right fielder rushing over and the right field line. But like they say in golf, there are no pictures on the scorecard or in the scorebook.

“It might be the ugliest one-hundreth hit, but it’s a one-hundreth hit,” Harris said. “So, a hit’s a hit.”

Harris needed only one for the milestone entering the game and got it in her second at bat. It looked like she had it in her first, but was called out on a slow roller to third. Video of the potential historic hit appeared to show her beating the throw to first by a step, but the field umpire called her out and after a brief conference with the plate ump upheld the call.

“I was hoping (it was) not (the milestone hit) because that was not a great hit,” she said. “I felt pretty speedy, I was busting my tail down that line, but it wasn’t pretty.”

But it was productive. The play produced the Eagles’ second run of the inning after back-to-back extra-base hits by Lily Edwards and Graillyn Weber to open the game, but she still was stuck on 99. She wound up going 2-for-5 in the game and now has 101 hits – in only three seasons.

After landing at first base with the hit that did count, she was first congratulated by coach Lisa Doran. Eagles head coach Beth Jackson walked over to the bag and presented her the ball and her parents and teammates recognized the feat with a big banner.

“I think it’s amazing,” Harris said. “Being with this group of girls and accomplishing that, it means the world to me. Having these girls with me to be there for it, it’s a feeling like no other. Having this support group around me it really makes it just 10 times better.”

The Eagles don’t have a banner recognizing their 100-hit softball players, but anecdotally Jackson knows of several – two of whom are her and her sister. The school record for hits is 180 by Hall of Famer Courtney Hankins – Harris’ hitting coach – and with the rest of this season and all of next year ahead of her, Harris has a chance at that.

She had 32 hits as a freshman, 40 last year and 29 at basically the halfway point of this season. She’s had a least two hits in every game this season. She’s batting .690 this season and .500 for her career.

“The next step is getting wins, hitting for my team,” she said. “It’s all about the girls for me.”

Pennsville (10-2)213 004 0-10134
Williamstown (6-3)100 020 5-893
Pennsville softball coach Beth Jackson (L) presents Kylie Harris with the ball that produced the junior’s 100th career hit Monday.

Nothing stronger than Wood

Pennsville senior left-hander collects his 200th career strikeout in Eagles’ 7-1 win at Williamstown

MONDAY SALEM COUNTY BASEBALL
Pennsville 7, Williamstown 1
Woodstown 9, Kings Christian 3
Paulsboro 10, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WILLIAMSTOWN – Luke Wood had already thrown a lot of pitches. He was already down to his last pitch of the day. But there was no way he was going to the hitter get away – whether he was for a milestone or not.

The crafty Pennsville left-hander got his man for his 11th strikeout of the game on his 111th pitch in the Eagles’ 7-1 Easter Monday win over Williamstown. More importantly, that last strikeout was the 200th of his career – not that he pays attention to such things.

“I had no clue I was even close; I kind of just came out and played,” Wood said. “I didn’t even realize it until they tossed me the ball in our (post-game) huddle.

“Strikeouts or whatnot never really mattered to me. I kind of just care about going out and getting outs. Obviously, it’s cool. All milestones are really cool and it’s really cool to have 200, but my only goal is just to win games. I could really care less, as long as I get outs.”

He gave the Eagles what coach Matt Karr called a “dominant performance, an outing we’ve come to expect from him over the last four years.” And it was a win they needed after losing to winless Cumberland and collapsing defensively against Haddon Heights in their last two games.

Wood had a no-hitter for 3 2/3 innings and gave up just two hits in his 6 2/3. The run the Braves scored in the first inning was unearned. Both of his walks came in that inning.

It was the sixth time in his career Wood has had double-digit strikeouts and the 23rd time he’s thrown at least three innings with six or more strikeouts.

“I think I did just about what I do every single time I step on the mound,” he said. “I don’t think I had anything special about me, maybe the fastball worked a little better. I just think overall today we played really well defensively. It really wasn’t stressful pitching at all.”

His teammates made it easier by giving him a 3-1 lead in the third and extending it to 5-1 in the fourth. Wood’s last six outs all came by strikeout. 

The Eagles threatened early in the game, but it wasn’t until the third inning they were able to break through. They got three hits in the first inning, but didn’t score and ran into two outs on the basepaths. They also loaded the bases with three two-out singles in the second and came up empty thanks to a web gem by Braves first baseman Caleb Lopez.

They finally broke through in the third with Mason O’Brien ripping a two-run double and Jeff Wagner delivering a sacrifice fly. Cohen Petrutz’ two-run double made it 5-1 in the fourth. Connor Starn, who got the last out behind Wood in the seventh, doubled home a run in the sixth and Gavin Spears singled home a run in the seventh.

“The pregame speech to the guys today was whatever happens you have to play innings one through seven,” Karr said. “To come out here, on the road, we got on the bus at 8 in the morning, and play a complete game like that … was awesome. This was a really good win for us.”

Pennsville senior outfielder Chase Burchfield went into the game needed two RBIs to reach the 100-mark to go with the 100th career hit he collected Monday. He went 2-for-3 and scored twice against the Braves but didn’t drive a run home. His next chance comes Tuesday at Penns Grove.

Wood also had a hit in the game, leaving with six shy of another milestone – 100 for his career.

WOODSTOWN 9, KING’S CHRISTIAN 3: Jack Holladay gave up two hits and struck out seven in five shutout innings and Dante Holmes had three RBIs as the Wolverines (6-4) snapped a two-game losing streak. Rocco String went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Walker Battavio had two hits and Chase Harding had two RBIs.

PAULSBORO 10, SALEM 0: Matt Hill held the Rams to two hits and Kayden Weber homered to help the Red Raiders get their first win of the season. Hill threw 85 pitches over six innings and struck out 10, while walking just one. Chase Davis and Terrell Robinson had Salem’s two hits.

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 21-27; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

APRIL 21
BASEBALL
Kings Christian at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
Salem at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
Delsea at Woodstown, 10:30 a.m.
GOLF
Woodstown vs. GCIT, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Triton at Schalick, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 22
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove
Schalick at Pitman
Woodstown at Salem
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove
Pitman at Schalick
Salem at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Cumberland, Running Deer CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Pinelands GC
Schalick girls vs. Delsea, White Oaks CC
TENNIS
Schalick vs. Pitman, Shertle Park 11 a.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Salem County Championships, Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 5:15 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at GCIT, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CC of Morris at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 23
BASEBALL
Collingswood at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Cumberland at Salem
Kingsway at Woodstown
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
GOLF
Pennsville vs. West Deptford, River Winds GC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Pitman, Pitman GC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Pitman at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddonfield
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 24
BASEBALL
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Kingsway, River Winds GC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Overbrook, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Clayton at Pennsville, 3 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Schalick
TRACK
Penn Relays
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Washington Twp.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Lackawanna, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 25
TENNIS
Schalick at Clayton
Williamstown at Penns Grove
TRACK
Penn Relays
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at West Deptford
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Union, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 26
BASEBALL
Gloucester County Christian at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Bishop Eustace, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Union at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Raritan Valley CC, noon

WWW: Woodstown wins Woodbury

Wolverines win three events, finish top 3 in two others to win boys title in Woodbury Relays; Schalick sets girls SMR meet record

By Riverview Sports News

WOODBURY – Woodstown’s boys won three relays and finished top three in two others to win the Woodbury Relays Saturday.

The Wolverines won the 4×800, 4×400 and sprint medley relays and scored 44 points to edge runner-up Camden by six points. They also finished second in the 4000 distance medley relay and third in the 4×200.

Schalick’s boys placed second in three events and finished third in the team standings, one point ahead of Glassboro.

“Winning at the historic Woodbury Relays was a huge accomplishment for our program,” Wolverines coach Reggie Teemer said. “Not only because it was the in school history but I know the amount of work these guys have put in over the years.

“A win like this was not due to overnight success. There are great teams in our division that we could not overlook so we stayed locked in the entire meet. These guys compete for each other. Epitome of team.”

Woodstown’s 4×800 team of Cole Lucas, Joshua Crawford, Jacob Marino and Karson Chew was denied a spot in the Penn Relays despite posting a qualifying time, but took it out on the Woodbury field with a winning 8:18.18.

The 4×400 team of Chew, Crawford, Lucas and Kyle Reitz that is headed to Penn won here in 3:25.89. And the spring medley team of Chew, Reitz, Crawford and Lucas won in 3:35.93.

In the individual field events, Pennsville’s Connor Ayars won the boys javelin with a winning throw of 173-feet, 2-inches.

Salem County teams won two events on the girls side.

Schalick’s sprint medley team of Gia Martellacci, Phoebe Alward, Jaelynn Jarmon and Jordan Hadfield set the meet record in 4:14.39, one second off of qualifying for the nationals. The old record was 4:16.78, set by Penns Grove in 2014.

Woodstown’s 4×800 team of Samantha Sterner, Sarah Seiden, Abby Marino and Lilian Norman won its 10:05.86.

For the county teams Saturday was a final tune-up for Tuesday’s Salem County Championship Meet at Pennsville and, for some, a Penn Relays appearance Thursday.

WOODBURY RELAYS
GIRLS ONE SCORES: Audubon 50, Woodbury 32, SCHALICK 28, Clayton 26, WOODSTOWN 22, Haddon Twp. 16, Maple Shade 14, SALEM 8, Glassboro 7, PENNSVILLE 6, Pitman 3, Camden 2, Paulsboro 2, Palmyra 1.

EVENTS (with Salem County scorers)
4×100 SHR: 1. Audubon 1:12.79; 4. Schalick (Athena Eberl, Rebekah Cuff, Gabriella Simonini, Allyson Green) 1:16.31.
4000 DMR: 1. Audubon 13:13.83; 2. Woodstown (Samantha Sterner, Lia Covely, Lilian Norman, Abby Marino) 13:21.98; 3. Schalick (Jordan Hadfield, Brooke Valentine, Sarah Torpey, Helen Lillia) 13:37.68.
4×200: 1. Woodbury 1:46.07; 4. Pennsville (Ariana Charles, Megan Morris, Taylor Bass, Molly Gratz) 1:50.70; 5. Schalick (Sophia Harris, Gia Martellacci, Caileigh Schalick, Phoebe Alward) 1:50.97.
4×800: 1. Woodstown (Samantha Sterner, Sarah Seiden, Abby Marino, Lilian Norman) 10:05.86; 4. Schalick (Jordan Hadfield, Sarah Torpey, Helen Lillia, Allyson Green) 10:49.44; 6. Salem (Audrey Boggs, Samantha Dale, Gabriella Bartlett, Lyric Hayes) 11:26.13.
4×100: 1. Woodbury 49.68; 3. Salem (Dayana Jones, Anyzha Williams, Amaia Massengill, Raniyah Parsons-Smith) 51.20; 6. Schalick (Jaelynn Jarmon, Phoebe Alward, Caileigh Schalick, Gia Martellacci) 51.79.
SMR: 1. Schalick (Phoebe Alward, Jaelynn Jarmon, Gia Martellacci, Jordan Hadfield) 4:14.39 (meet record, old record Penns Grove 4:16.78, 2014); 4. Woodstown (Kayla Ayars, Tyonna Husser, Emma Perry, Abby Marino) 4:39.92; 6. Salem (Gabriella Bartlett, Angelina Fothergill, Ramiyah Jones, Kashira Patterson) 4:49.77.
4×400: 1. Clayton 4:11.45; 5. Pennsville (Ariana Charles, Molly Gratz, Megan Morris, Taylor Bass) 4:19.15; 6. Schalick (Sophia Harris, Brooke Valentine, Gia Martellacci, Gabriella Simonini) 4:22.16.
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with Salem County Top 3)
3000 STEEPLECHASE: 1. Sophia Aldridge, Williamstown 11:25.58.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Egypt Bolan, Lindenwold 5-8.
POLE VAULT: 1. Hannah Byrd-Leitner, Moorestown 12-0; 2. Megan Morris, Pennsville 10-0.
LONG JUMP: 1. Brianna Growalt, Atlantic Tech 17-11.5.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. MaSyiah Brawner, Winslow 39-1.5.
DISCUS: 1. Hannah Nuhfer, Delsea 153-2.
JAVELIN: 1. Rainelle Blocker, Clayton 120-5.
SHOT PUT: 1. Ella Karp, Washington Twp., 42-1.5.

BOYS ONE SCORES: WOODSTOWN 44, Camden 38, SCHALICK 29, Glassboro 28, Clayton 13, Haddon Twp. 12, Audubon 11, Gateway 10, Woodbury 10, SALEM 7, Burlington City 6, PENNS GROVE 5, Camden Catholic 2, Maple Shade 1, Paulsboro 1.

EVENTS (with Salem County scorers)
4×110 SHR: 1. Camden 1:02.77; 2. Schalick (Reggie Allen Jr., Sherrod Jones, David Stewart, Kilby Sickler) 1:05.31; 4. Salem (Anthony Parker, Gradin Buzby, Jerry Seals, Timothy Gregory) 1:06.91; 6. Penns Grove (Juelz Cooke, Bryan Garlic, Knowledge Young, Glenn Robinson) 1:14.50.
4000 DMR: 1. Glassboro 10:58.59; 2. Woodstown (Pacey Hutton, Anthony Costello, Jacob Marino, Cole Lucas), 11:14.54.
4×200: 1. Camden 1:29.02; 3. Woodstown (Kyle Reitz, Anthony Costello, Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew) 1:32.42; 5. Schalick (Roneem Thomas, Nylan Sutton, Reggie Allen Jr., Zaeshawn Mills) 1:32.82; 6. Salem (Jelani Beverly, Terrance Smith, Quimere Bergen, Anthony Parker) 1:33.05.
4×800: 1. Woodstown (Cole Lucas, Joshua Crawford, Jacob Marino, Karson Chew) 8:18.18; 4. Penns Grove (Robert Sanchez-Gomez, Connor Duggan, Bryan Carlic, Messiah Aliah) 8:42.23; 6. Schalick (Hunter Dragotta, Steve Chomo, Chase Riley, Connor Jackson) 8:57.74.
4×100: 1. Camden 42.68; 2. Schalick (Levi Feeney-Childers, Zaeshawn Mills, Reggie Allen Jr., David Stewart) 43.21; 5. Salem (Terrance Smith, Jelani Beverly, Anthony Parker, Omarion Pierce) 43.94.
SMR: 1. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Kyle Reitz, Joshua Crawford, Cole Lucas) 3:35.93; 2. Schalick (Steve Chomo, Zaeshawn Mills, Roneem Thomas, David Stewart) 3:39.33.
4×400: 1. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Kyle Reitz, Joshua Crawford, Cole Lucas) 3:25.89; 5. Schalick (Reggie Allen Jr., Michael Eberl, Jase Volovar, Jacob Carter) 3:33.47.
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with Salem County Top 3)
3000 STEEPLECHASE: 1. Julian Rich, Camden Co. Tech 9:36.19.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Jayden DeLeon, Highland 6-6.
POLE VAULT: 1. Marcus Hood, Deptford 15-6.
LONG JUMP: 1. Josiah Williams, Mainland 22-10.5.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Josiah Williams, Mainland 47-2.25.
DISCUS: 1. Anthony Liakhnovich, Hammonton 176-5.
JAVELIN: 1. Connor Ayars, Pennsville 173-2; 3. Nyzier Wynder, Schalick 163-7.
SHOT PUT: 1. Anthony Liakhnovich, Hammonton 56-2.5.

Photo: Woodstown’s Group One winning 4×800 relay teams at the Woodbury Relays. (Submitted photo)

Muted celebration

Pennsville’s Burchfield reaches 100-hit milestone, but celebration muted by Eagles’ self-inflicted loss to Haddon Heights

FRIDAY SALEM COUNTY BASEBALL
Haddon Heights 9, Pennsville 7
Schalick 10, Rancocas Valley 3
Camden Tech 13, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Reaching the milestone he has been chasing his entire career was nice, but he was so close it was going to come along at some point anyway. All things considered, Chase Burchfield would have much rather had the win.

The Pennsville senior outfielder collected his 100th career hit and moved closer to 100 career RBIs Friday, but what should have been a joyous occasion was muted by the Eagles losing two leads in a self-inflicted 9-7 loss to Haddon Heights.

Burchfield needed two hits and three RBIs to hit both milestones on this day. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and drove in a run, leaving him with 100 hits and 98 RBIs for his four-year Pennsville career. Even the out he made was loud, a shot that was caught steps from the left centerfield fence.

His 99th hit was a solo homer in the first inning that gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead. It was his third homer of the season and sixth of his career.

No. 100 came on an opposite-field single through the left side of the infield in the third inning. Eagles coach Matt Karr requested the ball to mark the occasion and the Garnets called time to settle their pitcher, which gave Burchfield the chance to celebrate the milestone with his teammates.

But about an hour later the milestone became a footnote to the day as the Garnets (6-1) took advantage of two errors in the infield to produce two runs in the seventh inning to win the game. 

“I would definitely much rather have the win,” Burchfield said. “I think we played well in the beginning, but we need to cut down on all the unearned runs; it’s just horrible. All the errors. That’s what’s been killing us the last three games now. I didn’t think we hit terrible today, but we need to do something to get better.

“It kind of ruins the feeling of getting 100 hits when you come out and you’re up … and you give up a six-run inning like that. It kind of ruins the feeling of having a good game.”

He’ll likely have the same reaction when he reaches the RBI milestone. His first chance for that comes Monday morning at Williamstown.

“I’ll still be excited because I know I’m helping the team out,” he said, “but winning will be much better.”

Pennsville senior Chase Burchfield connects on his 100th career hit in the third inning Friday against Haddon Heights.

The Eagles took a 3-0 lead into the third inning, then gave up six unearned runs to fall behind. They got the first two outs rather easily, but an error in the infield opened the door and the visitors pounced. The Garnets hit back-to-back RBI doubles, drew a walk, reached on another error and then Jack Motta blasted a three-run homer to give them a 6-3 lead.

To their credit, the Eagles came back to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the inning. The Garnets tied it 7-7 in the fourth on Nolan Lachall’s solo homer, then broke the tie with senior Trent Begley’s two-run single in the seventh. It was Begley’s first varsity hit.

Pennsville threatened in the seventh, getting the tying run on base with two outs, but ended the game with a ground out to the pitcher.

It was the second game in as many days the Eagles have lost in their opponents last bats. They lost to winless Cumberland in the top of the eighth inning on Thursday.

“Obviously, the glaring one today was the six-run inning where we had nobody on and two out,” Karr said. “I was telling the guys it’s a snowball effect. You make those two errors now put yourself in the pitcher’s shoes. Now he feels like he has to be perfect because he can’t trust the defense, and then that’s what happened. And we start grooving fastball after fastball and to their credit they just started barreling ball off us sitting on the fastball.

“We battled back and retook the lead, which is good, but it’s been our mantra all year. I told them, for better or worse, you are what your record says you are. We’re a .500 ballclub who beats the teams we should beat and when the going gets tough against a very competitive, good baseball club … we can’t do what we need to do to win a game. That’s just where we are right now.”

The Eagles (5-4) were playing their fifth game in as many days, and it would be easy to use that as an excuse. But Karr wouldn’t take the easy route. They opened the week with wins over Wildwood, Overbrook and Salem to extend a five-game winning streak, then lost focus against Cumberland and the Garnets. They had leads in both of the losses with good pitching behind it.

“The difference between good team and a really great team is focus and we lack that focus, especially in pressure situations,” Karr said. “I told these guys I’m not pointing the finger at one guy, I’m pointing one giant finger at all of you, because it’s a ripple effect. What you do early in the game carries to the next play, the next pitch; it rolls over.

“We talk all the time about stacking – stack good days on top of good days, good ABs on top of ABs, things add up. The bad is the same way. You stack bad on top of bad it adds up and it’s a hole you can’t dig out of.”

The result certainly put a damper on what should have been a banner day for the LaSalle signee.

Burchfield set the milestone as a goal to follow in the footsteps of his cousin, Peyton Sorrels, who had 104 hits and 80 RBIs for the Eagles before graduating in 2015. Burchfield has had seasons of 18, 28, 39 and 15 hits. He is 100-for-225 for his career.

He had a pretty good week, too. In the Eagles’ five games this week he went 8-for-13 with five walks, two homers and 10 RBIs, raising his season average to .536. He has at least one hit in every game this season and 18 of his last 20 going back to last season.

“One hundred hits in baseball, to me, especially in high school baseball here in South Jersey is a really big accomplishment,” Karr said. “That’s 25 hits a year for four years. That’s quite a bit of hits. Then to be there with the RBIs, it’s just a testament to four years of consistency from him. When he was younger he obviously didn’t hit the meat of the lineup, but got thrown to the fire as a freshman, as most of these guys did, and went in and produced and did his job.

“I can’t say enough good things about Chase. What makes Chase special is, I know it sucks that it happened (on a day like this), he would much rather have a win today. I know that’s burning him up right now, so I don’t know how much he’ll enjoy the 100 today. It might be the end of the season before he finally lets it sink in about how impressive that actually is. I know he’s indifferent with it right now.”

SCHALICK 10, RANCOCAS VALLEY 3: Luke Pokrovsky hit his second homer of the year and Evan Sepers went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as the Cougars stayed undefeated (6-0). Evan Glaspey, Ricky Watt and J.T. Fleming all had two hits and Enrico Hatz had two RBIs. Winning pitcher Lucas D’Agostino worked the first five innings, giving up three hits, an unearned run and striking out six.

CAMDEN TECH 13, SALEM 0: The Warriors held Salem to three hits and took control with a six-run third inning. Terrell Robinson, Troy Carey and Austin Davis had the Rams’ hits.

Banner worthy

Here is a list of Pennsville players with 100 or more career hits, according to research conducted by Eagles coach Matt Karr

PLAYERHITSGRAD
Max Dineen1612018
Ed Rieger1451986
Josh Shimp1052014
Peyton Sorrels1042015
x-Chase Burchfield1002025
Nick Toms2020
Drew Burdsall2014
Dom Wyshinski2011
Kevin O’Brien2006
Dave Lenig2006
John Humphreys2005
Mike Karr2003
Teddy Puitz1998
Eddie Eckenroad1998
Mark Freed1996
CLOSING IN
x-Luke Wood932025
x-Active

Top photo: Pennsville’s Chase Burchfield is congratulated by his teammates after collecting his 100th career hit in the third inning against Haddon Heights Friday.

Thursday roundup

Salem CC softball sweeps twinbill in big way; Pennsville, Woodstown baseball lose tough ones; Pennsville softball keeps rolling

THURSDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem CC 18-20, Sussex 2-4
Brookdale at Ocean
Lackawanna 27-29, Raritan Valley 2-1
Monroe at Mercer
Middlesex 11-5, Morris 8-4

By Riverview Sports News

NEWTON – The Salem CC softball team loaded up the bus and loaded up the box score in sweeping Sussex CC in a big way for the second time this season, 18-2 and 20-4.

The Mighty Oaks erupted for 11 hits in the opener and a season-high 20 hits in the nightcap. They swamped the Skylanders 13-5 and 22-0 in a doubleheader at Watson Field in March.

Ella Hayes led the way in the opener. She hit for the cycle, highlighted by a first-inning grand slam, and drove in six runs. The slam capped an eight-run opening.

Callie Rozak had two hits and Tessa Wise and Jolee Robinson had two RBIs each.

The Mighty Oaks (16-14) got big games from a lot of players in the nightcap. The top six spots in the lineup went a combined 17-for-21 with 19 RBIs and 16 runs scored.

Bella Rappa went 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Wise went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in the third inning and four total RBIs. Rozak drove in five runs with a pair of hits.  Val Hatterer had a career-high four hits and three RBIs. Hayes went 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs and four runs scored. Jocelyn Melendez went 3-for-3. 

The Mighty Oaks raised their team batting average 14 points in the doubleheader.

SALEM COUNTY HS RESULTS
BASEBALL
CUMBERLAND 2, PENNSVILLE 1: The Colts scored their first win of the season in dramatic fashion. They created a run in the top of the eighth inning to take the lead, then turned back a Pennsville threat in the bottom of the inning.

The winning rally started with Kameron Fiorani’s leadoff walk. He was sacrificed to second and scored on Jack Bodine’s single to center.
.
The Eagles (5-3) got the tying run to third base with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but the Colts got a fly out to center to end the game and their five-game winning streak.

Cumberland (1-8) grabbed a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first, but Pennsville tied it Chase Burchfield’s two-out RBI single to right.

CINNAMINSON 3, WOODSTOWN 2: The Pirates scored all their runs on three homers to power past the Wolverines.

Noah Harvey’s solo homer in the top of the sixth broke a 2-2 tie and Logan Hammell’s three-run blast in the seventh broke it open. Anthony Alessandroni  opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first.

The Wolverines got a run back in the fourth on Rocco String’s steal of home and tied it on Caiden Spinelli’s RBI fielder’s choice in the fifth. They kept the threat alive, loading the bases with one out couldn’t bring the runners home.

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 10, CUMBERLAND 7: Makenzie Widener went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, three other players collected two hits apiece and the Eagles came from behind to win their seventh in a row. 

Graillyn Weber, Kylie Harris and Sawyer Simmons also had two hits and Avery Watson had two RBIs. 

The Eagles (9-2) trailed 4-1 after one inning. They made it a one-run game in the second and took the lead for good in the third on RBI doubles by Harris, Simmons and Watson. They had six doubles in the game and won for the fifth straight game scoring 10 runs or more.

CLEARVIEW 18, WOODSTOWN 1: The Pioneers took a 4-1 lead after two innings then broke it open with eight runs in the third. Talia Guardascione had two of the Wolverines’ four hits and Lila Bowling drove home Hannah Hitchner with their only run in the first inning.

GOLF
Schalick girls at OLMA

TENNIS
Penns Grove at Schalick

PENNSVILLE 5, PITMAN 0
Gave Schneider (Pe) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (Pe) def. Jaron Scull, 6-0, 6-2
Brody Wiggins (Pe) def. Liam Etter, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (Pe) def. Jonah Raymer0Ben Williams, 6-1, 6-0
Matthew Forino-Lochlann Hooks (Pe) def. Spencer Bianchini-Christian Camiscioli, 1-6, 6-3, 12-10
Records: Pennsville 8-0, Pitman 1-8.