Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 5-11; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted
MAY 5 BASEBALL Clayton at Pennsville Overbrook at Schalick Penns Grove at Glassboro Salem at Pitman SOFTBALL Clayton at Pennsville Glassboro at Penns Grove Pitman at Salem Schalick at Overbrook GOLF Salem Tech vs. Triton, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m. TENNIS Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Burlington Twp., Green Acres Park LACROSSE Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown VOLLEYBALL Highland at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Atlantic Cape CC, 3:30 p.m.
MAY 6 BASEBALL Pilgrim Academy at Salem Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m. SOFTBALL LEAP at Salem Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m. GOLF Pennsville vs. Gloucester Catholic, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. Delsea, Centerton CC Schalick girls in State Championship, Rutgers TENNIS Highland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Kingsway at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Wildwood at Schalick TRACK Woodstown at Penns Grove
MAY 7 BASEBALL Pitman at Pennsville Woodstown at Pennsauken Tech, 3:45 p.m. SOFTBALL Pennsville at Pitman TENNIS Vineland at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Deptford, 3:45 p.m. Pitman at Penns Grove TRACK Tri-County Conference Meet, Delsea, 3 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Clearview at Woodstown VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Riverside, 3:45 p.m. MAY 8 BASEBALL Pennsville at Wildwood, 3:45 p.m. Salem at Clayton Schalick at Penns Grove Woodstown at Overbrook SOFTBALL Overbrook at Woodstown Pennsville at Wildwood Penns Grove at Schalick GOLF Salem Tech vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. Gloucester Catholic, Centerton CC Schalick girls vs. Washington Twp. Centerton CC Woodstown vs. Highland, Valley Brook CC, 3:45 p.m. TENNIS GCIT at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Schalick at Washington Twp. Williamstown at Penns Grove MAY 9 BASEBALL Millville at Pennsville South Hunterdon at Penns Grove, 4:15 p.m. Salem vs. Schalick at Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m. SOFTBALL Clayton at Salem Pennsville at Paulsboro Schalick at Haddonfield GOLF Pennsville vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m. TENNIS Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Clearview LACROSSE Vineland at Woodstown GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Washington Twp.
MAY 10 BASEBALL Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown Washington Twp. at Woodstown, 10 a.m. Camden Catholic at Cherry Hill East, 10 a.m. Consolation game, noon Championship game, noon SOFTBALL Pennsville in Pitman Tournament Woodstown in Williamstown Tournament GIRLS LACROSSE Haddon Heights at Woodstown, 10 a.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC in Region 19 Tournament, TBA
Salem CC baseball swept by Ocean Saturday, still holds No. 4 spot by winning percentage but tournament committee determines seeding
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — It set up to be a day of celebration, but at the end of it the Salem CC baseball team left with more questions than answers about their playoff future.
The Mighty Oaks needed to win just one game in Saturday’s home doubleheader with Ocean to solidify its hold on the fourth-best record in the Region 19 Division III standings and a presumptive home series in the opening round of the region playoffs.
Instead, they were swept out to sea by the Vikings 6-5 in eight innings and 17-9 to put a damper on their Sophomore Day festivities and uncertainty into their postseason plans.
“We struggled,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “We struggled beginning to end today. We couldn’t really put it together.
“It’s disappointing. I think we’re a better baseball team than what we’ve shown the last couple games, but the new season starts next week. Season No. 2. Anything can happen at that point.”
They still locked up the fourth-best region record (18-13), only thanks to Bergen’s 23-16 win over Middlesex in Game 1 of their wild doubleheader, but whether that translates into the No. 4 seed and a first-round hosting opportunity is a matter left for the seeding committee, and they’re not expected to act until the final two games that most assuredly will impact the standings are played Monday.
And there’s a big question that hangs over the proceedings. Because of a quirk in the schedule, created by two teams that opted into the master schedule and then pulled out after it was completed, Salem and RCSJ-Cumberland played 31 region games or one more than the other six tournament teams.
Does the committee leave the standings as is, based on winning percentage, giving Salem a half-game edge over Middlesex, Camden and possibly Northampton (which has two winnable games at Union Monday) or does it make a ruling on the odd game and seed the field off a 30-game result? And if they take the odd game out, which game do they choose — the 31st, which in Salem’s case would give it an even better record and a full game edge over the potential three teams behind it? Do they base the seedings on the losses?
In a four-way tie among the 13-loss teams, under traditional tiebreaker procedures, Camden would be 4 and Salem would be 5 (based on best record among the remaining three)
“I think the region’s going to have to rule on that,” Holt said. “I’m sure it’s going to come down to the best team losses as opposed to the wins. I’m real curious to see what’s going to happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s kind of up in the air.
“We didn’t exactly make it easy. We had the route, all we had to do was win a game. They knew that and we didn’t get it done.”
And they had the early lead in both games.
They took a 4-1 lead in the third inning of the opener, but couldn’t hold it. Sebi Susinno’s RBI single in the seventh put the Vikings ahead and the Mighty Oaks needed Matt Murphy’s two-out RBI single in the home half to force extra innings. Anthony Eckerson’s single up the middle put Ocean ahead 6-5 in the eighth.
The Mighty Oaks scored four in the first inning of the nightcap, highlighted by RBI doubles from Yen Rodriguez, Murphy and Angel Velez, but the Vikings answered with six in the second and scored in every inning through the sixth. Tom Laspina led the Vikings’ 15-hit attack against four Salem pitchers with four hits and five RBIs.
After the doubleheader the Salem program recognized its 16 sophomores.
“This group is a special group,” Holt said. “Arguably the most successful sophomores that the school has had in a very, very long time.
“I attribute them to helping build our culture. I’ve been a believer my entire career that good teams come and go but culture stays. This group took huge steps in building the culture that we’re trying to build at Salem. They’re a special bunch.”
Photo: The heart of Salem CC’s lineup — (from left) Matt Murphy, Angel Velez, Demetrius DeRamus and Yen Rodriguez — were among the sophomores celebrated by the program Saturday. Look for Rodriguez to join the other three with 100 hits in a Salem uniform before the season ends. (Photo by Haylee Pickrell).
Region 19 Division III Playoff Field
TEAMS
REG
ALL
RCSJ-Gloucester
30-0
45-4
Brookdale
24-6
35-8
RCSJ-Cumberland
21-10
29-15
Salem
18-13
24-24
xy-Middlesex
17-13
30-18
z-Camden
17-13
26-15
Northampton
15-13
21-18
Montgomery
13-17
14-17
Note: Tournament seedings will be determined by committee; xy-holds tiebreaker on Camden; yz-holds tiebreaker on Camden and Northampton; z-holds tiebreaker on Northampton
SATURDAY’S GAMES Ocean 6-18, Salem 5-9 RCSJ-Gloucester 17-13, RCSJ-Cumberland 3-2 Bergen 23-18, Middlesex 16-20 Montgomery 10-6, Delaware County 5-10 MONDAY’S GAMES Salem at Atlantic Cape Northampton at Union (2)
Salem CC softball eliminated from Region 19 Tournament in two games
REGION 19 TOURNAMENT Friday’s games Delaware Tech 10, Salem CC 4 Mercer 5, Lackawanna 1 Lackawanna 9, Salem CC 0 Mercer 9, Delaware Tech 3 Saturday’s games Delaware Tech vs. Lackawanna, 10 a.m. Del Tech-Lackawanna winner vs. Mercer, noon If necessary, 2 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WEST WINDSOR – A tough season ended in a tough way for the Salem Community College softball team Friday.
The Mighty Oaks had hoped to carry the energy they had in a spirited opening-round loss to Delaware Tech in their elimination game with Lackawanna, but it just didn’t materialize.
They were held to two hits and five base runners and lost to the Falcons 9-0 in five innings to exit the Region 19 Tournament in two games.
“It was a tough Game 2, it looks like we just left a lot of our energy in that Game 1,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said.
The two pitchers the Mighty Oaks faced in the tournament hurt them at the plate as well as in the circle. They were a combined 4-for-7 with two homers, two doubles and 10 RBIs.
Del Tech’s Kylee Hill snapped a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the first-round game and Lackawanna’s Jillian Heimberger put the Falcons out front with a two-run homer in the first inning of the elimination game.
The Falcons doubled their lead with two runs in the third and broke it open with five in the fourth highlighted by Heimberger’s two-run fielder’s choice. The Mighty Oaks threatened in the third, loading the bases with two outs, but couldn’t get the runs home.
The Mighty Oaks finished the season 19-25. Fourteen of their losses came to the other three teams in the tournament.
“We just wanted to get here and compete,” Rodriguez said. “We started out that way, it just didn’t end that way. We just have to make sure we’re getting better for next year.”
The only two hits the Mighty Oaks managed off Heimberger were Callie Rozak’s leadoff single in the second inning and Ella Hayes’ two-out double in the fifth.
The loss brought to a close to Hayes’ decorated JUCO career.
The sophomore shortstop, who was the Region 19 Player of the Year as a freshman, finished with a .586 career average with 154 hits, 117 runs, 16 homers and 115 RBIs. She was aggressive all the way to the end. Her final Salem at bat was a two-out double in the fifth inning to keep the inning alive.
“I’ve been in that position before,” Hayes said. “I remember one game, it was a big game and it was pretty close. We had two outs on us, no runners on, and my dad’s behind me (saying) put the pressure on the next batter. That kind of stuck with me, so that scenario was very similar – two outs, put the pressure on the next batter and keep it going. That was going through my mind the whole time.”
Del Tech 10, Salem CC 4
The Mighty Oaks will go into the afternoon session of the first day of the Region 19 tournament with a different vibe than they did a year ago.
Last year they went into Round 2 with a sense of confidence after knocking off the top seed that handled them in the regular season in the opening round. This year they go to the afternoon session with a sense of urgency after falling to top-seed Delaware Tech 10-4.
It’ll now take four wins to take the title.
“It’s a different year, we weren’t really comparing both, but we knew going into the playoffs everyone is 0-0,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “There was pressure being the 4 seed, we knew we had to go out there and compete and get some momentum.”
For a while early on it looked like the Mighty Oaks might find that first-round magic for the second year in a row.
Facing a pitcher who had one-hit them in their last meeting, the Mighty Oaks took a 2-0 lead in the third on Chantelle Haskie’s two-run single and some aggressive baserunning by Ella Hayes and scored two more runs in the fourth. Hayes scored a run in each inning from first base on hits by Haskie.
But Del Tech answered each outburst with five-run innings of their own to take control. Pitcher Kylee Hill snapped a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the third and had a two-run double in the fifth.
Hill had allowed the Might Oaks one run and five total hits in the two games she faced them this year. Salem got seven hits off her Friday morning and that gives Rodriguez reason for optimism going into the afternoon.
“We played our best game against a team we only got four hits off the whole season,” he said. “I think our momentum is there and confidence is there, now we’ve just got to go out there and play like we just did and hopefully things will go our way this time.”
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.
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
WP: Brad Rissmiller. LP: Alex Newman. 2B: Kyle Stone 3 (N), Cody Miller (N), Jack Smale (N), Pete Hrousis (N), Angel Velez (S), Joe Fekete (S) HRs: Cody Miller (N), Chris Kelley (S)
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
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
WP: Garrett Gordy. LP: Pat Seitzinger. HRs: Ian Monteith (CA),
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
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
x-clinched spot; standings updated Sunday
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.
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
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
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.
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.
Riverview Sports News 