Salem CC adds Crowley, Troy to its football coaching staff, Accorsi designates coordinators
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi has added two assistants to his coaching staff and designated coordinator assignments just in time for the start of the program’s first spring practice Monday.
Accorsi on Wednesday confirmed the appointments of Chris Crowley and Damon Troy to join previously hired Joe Dougherty as his assistants. Their contracts are expected to be ratified by the school’s board of trustees April 9.
“I think it’s the start of a really great staff, which I knew would be kind of the easier pieces to put together,” Accorsi said. “I’m super ecited for both. They’re great, great people moreso than just coaches and I know they’re going to be able to mentor our young men here in this process of being in the community college and starting up, so I’m really, really excited that both of them are joining us.”
Crowley, a former head coach at Woodrow Wilson and Deptford high schools, will serve as the Mighty Oaks’ offensive coordinator with his position specialty still to be determined. Dougherty, who has been with the program since Accorsi was approved as head coach, will be the defensive coordinator and coach linebackers. Troy, a former Penn State and Rowan player, will coach defensive backs and likely be the assistant special teams coordinator.
Accorsi will be the special teams coordinator.
“I think it’s important as the head coach that I be involved in all the players,” he said. “Even though I was enticed to be one of either the offensive or defensive coordinator, I think it’s important I get to know all the players, which, really, special teams you’re involved with all the players.”
Crowley was head coach at Woodrow Wilson (now Camden Eastside) from 2008-11 and Deptford’s coach from 2014-2016 with a year as a Paul VI assistant in between. His Woodrow Wilson teams went 21-20, winning a WJFL Independence Division title in 2011. His Deptford teams were 9-21, but each won more games than the year before.
“Chris I’ve known for a long time,” Accorsi said. “He impressed me when he was the head coach at Woodrow Wilson High School (and) personally drove a player over (to Rowan) one day later on in the recruiting process and that player ended up being a really good player for us and a great young man … so that really impressed me when I met him early on.
“I’ve known him for a long time in all his different stints and a lot of different positions he was at, but that one struck me at Woodrow Wilson. He just really impressed me in that environment that he was in that I think will be able to give him some great experience to be in the environment and young men we’re with here. He’s somebody I had on the radar early in the process and certainly it worked out.”
Troy was one of Middle Township’s all-time best quarterbacks and an all-conference defensive back for then-assistant coach Accorsi at Rowan in 1997 and 1998 after transferring from Penn State. He helped the Profs to back-to-back appearances in the Division III national title game.
“He was a great player for us,” Accorsi said. “What really impressed me about Damon when he was a player was he took a lot of younger players under his wing and really helped them in a lot of other areas besides football. He reached out to me in the process early on and had an interest getting into college coaching and I think it’s just a natural fit. He was somebody I always knew would be a great coach and had an interest in jumping in doing it. He’s going to be phenomenal.”
Accorsi said the next critical piece to building the staff is the offensive line coach and that search is continuing.
Salem CC approved bringing football to campus in November with designs on starting play this coming fall. The school recently purchased a piece of property in Carneys Point to serve as its practice field. The coaches expect about a dozen players already enrolled at school to participate in spring drills.
This story will be updated.
Category: SALEM CC
Tuesday sports report
Scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar; Woodstown, Salem Tech score softball wins; tough day for Salem CC baseball, softball
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech 24, Pilgrim Academy 13
Woodstown 8, Sterling 3
BOYS TRACK
Penns Grove at Glassboro
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Glassboro 0
Woodstown 5, Clearview 0
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Montgomery County 26, Salem CC 4
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Lackawanna 10-2, Salem CC 2-0
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — The thing Woodstown softball coach Rob Hildebrand really likes about his lineup is its capability to deliver from any spot at any time regardless of the situation, but they’re especially tough late in the game.
That ability was on full display in the fourth inning Tuesday when the Wolverines scored six runs with two outs to break open a one-run game and power an 8-3 win over Sterling.
“I’ve never had an opportunity to coach a team on any level, and I tell them all the time, where we get better every single time we get another at bat against a pitcher,” Hildebrand said. “We only get stronger as the middle of the game goes on and like our third at-bat every game that’s when everybody starts hitting. I’m proud for them to be able to hit the ball.”
Kendall Young’s three-run double and Talia Guardascione’s inside-the-park homer highlighted the big inning. The Wolverines (2-0) led 2-1 going into the fourth and then sent 10 batters to the plate to break it open.
Brianna Hitchner scored on Ellie Wygand’s ground out that was the second out of the inning and cleared the bases. Guardascione followed by slashing her homer past a drawn-in left fielder to the fence. Madison LaPalomento scored on Grace Hitchner’s single and after Lila Bowling and Macie Moore drew walks to load the bases Young brought them all home with her double.
Hildebrand called Young’s hit a “sign of relief.” The Wolverines loaded the bases in the third with nobody out and only scratched out a couple runs.
Guardascione’s homer was the second of her career. Her first also was an inside-the-parker, against Salem last season.
“She’s the two-hole hitter and they play her in a lot in the outfield,” Hilderbrand said. “When they play her in like that she burns them. She’s so fast, I knew she was going to score when she came around second.”
The Wolverines took a 2-0 lead in the third on RBI singles by Grace Hitchner and Moore.
Leah Clark went the distance in the circle, allowing five hits, one earned run and striking out four. She retired the first seven batters she faced and faced the minimum through three innings.
The Wolverines host rival Schalick Wednesday.
| Sterling (1-1) | 000 | 100 | 2- | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Woodstown (2-0) | 002 | 600 | x- | 8 | 8 | 4 |
SALEM TECH 24, PILGRIM ACADEMY 13: The first-year Chargers took advantage of 11 walks and 11 errors to score a school-record 24 runs and win for the fourth time in five starts.
Shelby Drummond went 3-for-3, Claire Kier had three RBIs, Kate Liber and Morgan Fogg both had two hits and two RBIs. Drummond has hit in all five games and is hitting .769 (10-for-13) for the season. Kier also has hit in all five games.
The Chargers broke a 2-2 tie with five runs in the third inning and then broke it open with nine in the fourth.
| Salem Tech (4-1) | 025 | 908- | 24 | 9 | 2 |
| Pilgrim Academy (1-1) | 112 | 540- | 13 | 6 | 11 |
Tennis
PENNSVILLE 5, GLASSBORO 0
Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Andrew Miller, 4-6, 6-0, 10-5
Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. James Pence, 6-0, 6-0
Jacob Cheeseman (P) def. Seth Taylor, 6-1, 6-1
Coen Rinnier-Matthew Forino (P) def. Joy Patel-Vincent Pasquarello, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Pennsville 2-1, Glassboro 0-2.
WOODSTOWN 5, CLEARVIEW 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Dan Meader, 7-5, 6-0
Mason Shimp (WO) def. David Carter, 6-1, 6-1
Luke Shaw (WO) def. Cole Harper, 6-4, 6-2
Vincent Merendino-Nick DiTeodoro (WO) def. Chase Roberts-Jared Wax, 6-3, 6-4
Connor Miller-Josh King (WO) def. Matt Kalpas-Raj Rana, 7-5, 6-2
Records: Woodstown 1-1, Clearview 1-2.
College baseball
MONTGOMERY 26, SALEM CC 4: The Mustangs continued to mash the baseball, setting a season high in runs while scoring in double figures for the fourth game in a row. They have scored 75 runs over the last four games.
The 26 runs were the most the Mighty Oaks have given up in a game since reviving the program. The previous high came in a 25-7 loss to RCSJ-Cumberland in April 2024.
College softball
LACKAWANNA 10-2, SALEM CC 2-0: Mackenzie Adolfson hit a two-run homer in each game for Lackawanna, but the swing in the second game was the dagger for the Mighty Oaks.
Salem’s Jordyn Busch and Lackawanna’s Ayahna Fleisher were locked in a scoreless pitching duel for five innings in the nightcap, but one pitch broke the ice. Adolfson launched a two-run homer to center to get the Falcons on the board.
The Mighty Oaks threatened in the seventh, getting two runners in scoring position with one out, but couldn’t get them home. Savannah Palverento and Bella Rappa opened the inning with singles and moved up on Sawyer Simmons’ sacrifice, but Fleisher got out of it with a pop out to the catcher and game-ending grounder to the pitcher.
Salem also had a runner in scoring position in the first inning with two outs but stranded her.
Adolfson’s two-run shot in the opener highlighted a four-run first inning. The Mighty Oaks cut their deficit in half in the third on an RBI single by Megan Koski and Bella Rappa’s bases-loaded hit batsman, but the Falcons answered with two in the bottom of the inning and walked it off with four in the fifth.
The doubleheader starts a busy week for the Mighty Oaks. They travel to Monroe-Bronx Thursday, host Howard CC Friday and visit Mercer Saturday.
Rodriguez back home
Recovery ‘going well’ for the Mighty Oaks softball coach as he works to return from heart surgery
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Salem CC softball coach Angel Rodriguez is back home in Brooklawn following successful heart surgery and plans to have a “very involved week” as he slowly returns to the team.
The fourth-year head coach, 29, underwent triple bypass last Tuesday after falling ill in his office the previous Thursday and has been making steady progress on his return to the dugout.
“Good news; I’m back HOME,” he wrote in a text message Monday. “Everything is going well per (the) medical team with healing. Walks have been much improved. (The) countdown until I can get back continues, but it’s very, very close.”
The Mighty Oaks have four doubleheaders this week, including two big road dates with Region 19 leaders Lackawanna (19-6) and Mercer (17-1). They went 5-3 in Rodriguez’ absence, including a first-ever modern era win over Delaware Tech and a record-setting sweep of Morris on Saturday.
Rodriguez hopes, but wouldn’t immediately commit, to attending Friday’s home doubleheader with Howard CC.
“I’m back on softball talks more with the staff more now,” he said. “There’s a good chance (he’ll be at Friday’s games), but I don’t want to commit to that just yet.”
This week’s schedule
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of March 30-April 4
MONDAY, MARCH 30
BASEBALL
Salem Tech at Lindenwold
Schalick at Glassboro
Wildwood at Salem
Woodstown at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Lindenwold at Salem Tech
Penns Grove at Woodstown
Salem at Wildwood
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Wildwood at Union League GC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Pennsville at Wildwood
Schalick at Clayton
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Highland at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at St. Joseph
GIRLS LACROSSE
Cedar Creek at Woodstown
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech at Pilgrim Academy
Sterling at Woodstown
BOYS TRACK
Penns Grove at Glassboro
BOYS TENNIS
Woodstown at Clearview, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Montgomery County, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Lackawanna, 3 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Gateway
Pitman at Pennsville
Schalick at Woodstown
Wildwood Catholic at Salem Tech
SOFTBALL
Highland at Salem Tech
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
Pennsville at Pitman
Salem vs. Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Woodstown
GOLF
Schalick vs. Washington Twp., Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Clearview, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Clayton at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Triton at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro
BOYS TRACK
Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown
GIRLS TRACK
Pennsville at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Glassboro
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
LEAP at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Lower Cape May
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Montgomery County at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Pleasantville, 1:30 p.m.
Wildwood Catholic at Salem Tech, 2 p.m.
Schalick at Ocean City
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
SOFTBALL
Clearview at Schalick
Highland at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
BOYS GOLF
Woodstown vs. Pitman, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Monroe-Bronx, 2 p.m.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Howard CC at Salem CC, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
SOFTBALL
Pennsville in Thunderbolt Tournament, Millville
TRACK
Salem, Schalick at Deptford Relays, 9 a.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Washington Twp. at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Mercer, noon
Lucas locks down
Former Schalick pitcher beats Salem CC in nightcap to give Dukes DH split, series win; Mighty Oaks’ Seitzinger goes distance in opener for first win
REGION XIX BASEBALL
Salem CC 7-3, RCSJ-Cumberland 1-8
RCSJ-Gloucester 10-19, Atlantic Cape 1-5
Northampton 12-12, Delaware County 9-1
Mercer 12-14, Delaware Tech 5-0
Sussex 6-10, Lackawanna 5-9
Morris at Raritan Valley
Montgomery 17-13, Bergen 7-1
Middlesex 15-6, Brookdale 13-3
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
VINELAND – When Lucas D’Agostino pitched at Schalick he used to relish the opportunities to go against the other teams in the county. Now that he’s in college, he was just as stoked to go against the junior college team from his county – and in a pretty big situation.
D’Agostino drew the start for RCSJ-Cumberland in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader with Salem CC and tasked with closing out weekend series. He answered the call, going six innings and the Dukes beat the Mighty Oaks 8-3 to split the twinbill after Salem won the opener 7-1 and win the three-game Region 19 series.
The freshman right-hander threw 113 pitches in his second-longest outing of the year, giving up four hits, two unearned runs and striking out a career-tying eight for his second win of the season. He gave up a run in the first and one in the sixth. After the first run, he allowed only two runners to reach scoring position over the next three innings and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with an inning-ending strikeout.
“It was cold, it was a little rough to start, but I ended up putting pitches where I wanted them and got lucky a couple times,” he said. “I laid a couple pitches in there that probably should’ve been hit pretty well, but other than that I feel like I hit my spots pretty well and kept them a little off-balanced, too.”
The Mighty Oaks reached him for a run in the first when he hit Jason LeBold, LeBold stole second and scored on Tyler Hacker’s single. But he wasn’t too concerned. His teammates rolled out the bats like he hoped in the bottom of the inning and gave him the lead to protect the rest of the game.
The Dukes put five up in the bottom of the inning off Salem starter Seth Bogan. Cole Shover scored on a wild pitch, Tyler Schoppe drilled a three-run homer and Nolan Murawski later delivered an RBI single.
Schoppe have five RBIs in the nightcap, Stover scored three runs and Kory Jenkins went 3-for-4 to complete a 7-for-11 series.
“Our offense battled back and put up a five spot in the bottom of the first to kind of set the tone,” D’Agostino said. “I thought that was a very big part of the game.
“The cold was tough today, but I think we battled and we locked in mentally for Game 2. Game 1 got out of our hands a little bit, but it was very impressive with my offense to get beat a little bit and then come back and set the tone for the next game.”
They gave D’Agostino two more runs to work with in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Schoppe and Chase Montgomery’s RBI single, and another in the third on another bases-loaded walk to Schoppe.
Salem won the opener to square the series behind a 114-pitch complete game from sophomore Pat Seitzinger and sophomore Jay Barber’s first college homer.
Seitzinger gave up five hits, walked seven and struck out two to earn his first win of the season and lower his ERA to 6.23. The only run he allowed was Chase Montgomery’s one-out homer in the second.
The Mighty Oaks answered the blast with two runs in the third to take the lead. Cliff Wysinger tied the game with an RBI double and J.J. Pankowski scored the go-ahead run from third when he beat the throw home on Tyler Hacker’s grounder to short.
They extended the lead with three in the sixth on Colin McLaughlin’s RBI single, a run-scoring error and Pankowski’s sacrifice fly. Barber’s homer in the seventh brought the final margin.
Barber, Wysinger and Roman Hernandez all had two hits in the game.
| Salem CC | 002 | 003 | 2- | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 010 | 000 | 0- | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Salem CC | 100 | 001 | 1- | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 521 | 000 | x- | 8 | 8 | 6 |
Region XIX Baseball Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 13-1 | 16-4 | 13-1 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 10-2 | 18-4-1 | 7-2 |
| Middlesex | 8-2 | 15-6 | 4-1 |
| Northampton | 7-2 | 13-7 | |
| Brookdale | 7-6 | 12-7 | 6-4 |
| SALEM CC | 7-6 | 12-15 | 4-4 |
| Camden | 5-5 | 8-8 | 3-5 |
| Montgomery | 4-4 | 4-4 | |
| Bergen | 4-7 | 5-13 | 4-7 |
| Ocean | 3-6 | 6-9 | 3-6 |
| Atlantic Cape | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
| Union | 1-12 | 2-12 | 0-9 |
| Delaware County | 0-10 | 0-10 |
Tons of runs
Salem CC softball sets modern era scoring records for the second time this season in sweep of Morris
REGION XIX SOFTBALL
Salem CC 29-17, Morris 0-3
Delaware Tech 9-3, Mercer 0-9
RCSJ-Gloucester at Bergen
Northampton 18-15, Camden 9-5
Lackawanna 8-20, Sussex 0-4
Brookdale 18-15, Middlesex 0-4
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The Salem CC softball team batted around – twice – to start their doubleheader, batted around again at the end of it and scored a lot of runs in between. A lot of runs.
The Mighty Oaks set modern era school records for runs in a game and runs in a doubleheader Saturday when they rolled over Morris 29-0 and 17-3 at Watson Field.
It was their most prolific day since reviving the program four years ago. The 29 runs in the opener and 46 runs in the twinbill broke the records they set in a 16-6, 27-4 road sweep of Anne Arundel two weeks ago.
“It was very exciting knowing that we beat a record and set a new one that we can beat during this season, too, I’m sure,” outfielder Sawyer Simmons said.
“That’s always fun to do,” shortstop Lilly Peverelle agreed. “I think it did shock us a little bit how much we were able to score but … we’re an aggressive team, we know how to run the bases, we know how to be strong in the box and do our jobs.”
Just like the 27-run game against Anne Arundel, the Mighty Oaks scored 13 runs in the first inning of the opener against the Titans, who had been beaten similarly by Lackawanna in their first two games earlier this week. Unlike that Anne Arundel outburst, they were much more patient at the plate, with 18 batters sitting through 82 pitches and 11 walks in the first inning alone.
They had gotten so far in front, all 16 players available Saturday had gotten into the game when Tiana Wilson batted in the bottom of the second inning, another inning they batted around. The only player who didn’t get a plate appearance was starting pitcher Raegan Wilson – and interim coach Mackenzie Freas would’ve made it happen for the PO from Salem had she been made aware.
All 15 players who went to the plate scored at least one run in the opener and 13 had at least one hit and one RBI in the doubleheader.
“We were able to get everyone in off the bench, so I know for them that’s a really good feel-good game for everyone,” Freas said. “To see everyone come in and be able to produce runs at that high number it feels great … They need to know that whoever is behind them is going to be able to produce – and they did. I’m sure it makes them feel good like I have someone who will have my back.”
The Mighty Oaks batted around in the fourth inning, too, sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring more 10 runs. The first 10 batters all reached safely – seven with hits — and scored. Ava Ortiz drove in the single-game record-breaking runs with a two-run single, her second hit of the inning.
The second game was more of the same. They scored eight runs in the first inning – all with two outs – to answer the run Morris scored in the top of the inning. Savannah Palverento tied the game with an RBI grounds-rule double and Kasen Ervin gave them the lead for good with a two-run opposite-field single to right.
They added four in the third on Lilly Peverelle’s two-run homer and Jordyn Busch’s two-run double, and batted around in the fourth to score five runs. The homer was Peverelle’s second of the year. Her first came in the Anne Arundel doubleheader.
“I didn’t think it was going to go over because the wind was blowing in,” she said. “Then I saw that it was starting to trail and I was like ‘yes’ because it was an inside pitch and I kind of struggle with those but I’ve been getting them lately.”
Peverelle was on base five of her six times at bat and made several sharp defensive plays in the field, including a diving catch to her glove side on the first play of the the nightcap and turning a double play to end it. Simmons went 4-for-5 in the doubleheader, reached six times in her seven plate appearances and scored six runs.J.J. Aguirre had five RBIs in the doubleheader and Palverento had three hits with six RBIs and was on base six times in nine plate appearances.
“I knew I wanted to hit the ball every single time I went up, so when I was walking it was still good because you’re still getting on base and you’re doing a job that needs to be done,” Simmons said. “Then I would get back in the dugout and be like, oh, I’m almost up again, oh wow. It was definitely exciting.”
RODRIGUEZ UPDATE: Mighty Oaks head coach Angel Rodriguez is scheduled to come home from Cooper University Hospital in Camden Sunday after undergoing triple bypass heart surgery earlier this week. Rodriguez has been getting around and recently completed a walk of 300 steps. “I talked to him yesterday,” Freas said. “He sounded real good.” The players are looking forward to seeing him. “We can’t wait to get him back, most definitely,” Simmons said. “It’s great hearing all the good news we’re getting back.”
| Morris | 000 | 00- | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Salem CC | (13)42 | (10)x- | 29 | 12 | 0 |
| Morris | 102 | 00- | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Salem CC | 804 | 5x- | 17 | 11 | 0 |
Region XIX Softball Standings
| DIVISION II | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Lackawanna | 6-0 | 19-6 | |
| Mercer | 5-1 | 17-1 | 4-0 |
| Delaware Tech | 4-2 | 9-7 | |
| SALEM CC | 5-3 | 13-7 | 4-0 |
| Sussex | 2-6 | 2-10 | 2-4 |
| Morris | 0-4 | 0-4 | 0-2 |
| Raritan Valley | 0-6 | 0-6 | 0-4 |
Not-so golden hour
Mighty Oaks get caught in toughest 30-minute window of the sundown sky at The Treehouse
REGION XIX BASEBALL
RCSJ-Cumberland 19, Salem CC 2
Ocean 11, Union 1
RCSJ-Gloucester at Atlantic Cape, ppd.
Raritan Valley 14, Morris 10
Northampton at Delaware County, ppd.
Brookdale at Middlesex
Bergen at Montgomery, ppd.
Sussex 13, Lackawanna 7
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – There’s a reason it’s called a home-field advantage. Playing in your own ballpark provides a confidence you just don’t get playing on the road. The home team knows the way ground balls react in the infield, the best way to run down a fly ball in the outfield, even the way the shadows fall across the grass.
But sometimes even that’s not enough.
The Salem CC outfield lost three balls in the eerie multi-colored backdrop that’s particular to the early evening sky at the Carneys Point Rec Complex in a seventh-inning come-apart that turned Friday night’s 19-2 loss to RCSJ-Cumberland into a rout.
Fly balls hit by the Dukes’ Zack Braig, Kory Jenkins and Christian Willis all got past the Mighty Oaks’ outfielders to keep an eventual nine-run inning going. It would have been easy to think they had lost the balls in the lights, but it wasn’t that at all.
“The way the sky started to look, as soon as the ball got above the trees we lost it right away,” leftfielder Jason LeBold said. “Cliff (Wysinger) said he couldn’t see. Roman (Hernandez) said he couldn’t see. We were trying our hardest to direct each other, but as soon as the ball got in that sky, we couldn’t see a thing.
“There’s like a 30-minute point where you can see well, (then) the sky gets weird, then it gets real dark and you can see well again. We were the unlucky ones in the field during that moment in time.”
It wasn’t the first time the gloaming has given them trouble. It happened in the nightcap of last year’s doubleheader against the Dukes.
“Not as bad (as Friday),” LeBold said, “but we had two balls dropped. They even had some.”
“It was really weird today,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “It was pink, yellow. I looked at it myself.”
The Dukes carried a 10-2 lead into the seventh after pulling away from a one-run game with four in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. Jenkins hit a two-run homer in the fifth and Malachi Woods had a two-run double in the sixth.
The Mighty Oaks scored their two runs in the third inning on Tyler Hacker’s two-run triple to get within 3-2, but for the most part Dukes right-hander Otley Makosky kept them off-balance. They did collect nine hits, but 15 of their outs were in the infield.
“They shut our offense down,” Holt said. “Their guy (Makosky) did a real good job holding runners over there and we didn’t get enough guys on to get it rolling.
“We just didn’t execute. They executed, we didn’t execute; that’s baseball sometimes. I think we’re better than that score and hopefully tomorrow we can come out and show them that we are.”
The teams play a doubleheader Saturday at Cumberland. Pat Seitzinger (0-3, 8.50) and Sean Bogan (1-1, 7.20) will draw the starts for the Mighty Oaks. Former Schalick pitcher Lucas D’Agostino (1-1, 4.00) is expected to start Game 2 for the Dukes.
ACORNS: LeBold and Hernandez both had a pair of hits for the Mighty Oaks … Hernandez, the right fielder, helped cut down a runner at the plate in the fourth inning (with a relay from second baseman J.J. Pankowski) to keep it a 3-2 game … The loss snapped a season-long five-game winning streak.
| RCSJ-Cumberland (17-3-1) | 030 | 043 | 9- | 19 | 18 | 0 |
| Salem CC (11-14) | 002 | 000 | 0- | 2 | 9 | 4 |
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 11-1 | 14-4 | 11-1 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 9-1 | 17-3-1 | 6-1 |
| Middlesex | 6-1 | 13-5 | 2-0 |
| Northampton | 5-2 | 11-7 | |
| Brookdale | 6-4 | 11-5 | 5-2 |
| SALEM CC | 6-5 | 11-14 | 3-3 |
| Camden | 5-5 | 8-8 | 3-5 |
| Montgomery | 3-4 | 3-4 | |
| Bergen | 4-6 | 5-12 | 4-6 |
| Ocean | 3-6 | 6-9 | 3-6 |
| Atlantic Cape | 2-6 | 2-6 | 2-6 |
| Union | 1-12 | 2-12 | 0-9 |
| Delaware County | 0-8 | 0-8 |
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at RCSJ-Cumberland (2)
Atlantic Cape at RCSJ-Gloucester (2)
Delaware County at Northampton (2)
Delaware Tech at Mercer (2)
Lackawanna at Sussex (2)
Morris at Raritan Valley (2)
Montgomery at Bergen (2)
Middlesex at Brookdale (2)
SUNDAY’S GAMES
Raritan Valley at Orange County (2)
Delaware Tech at CCBC Catonsville (2)
Lackawanna at Rockland (2)
Ocean at Union (2)
RCSJ-Gloucester at Atlantic Cape
Chargers get started
Salem Tech shut out in its first baseball game in school history, but not discouraged; Schalick routs Paulsboro in its season opener, and more
BASEBALL
Cumberland 13, Salem Tech 0
Schalick 21, Paulsboro 0
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech at Clayton
GOLF
Kingsway girls 204, Schalick 253
Cumberland 181, Pennsville 220
West Deptford 164, Salem Tech 240
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CCBC-Catonsville 11-6, Salem CC 0-3
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
BRIDGETON – To paraphrase Salem Tech right-hander Cole Sacks, playing in the first varsity baseball game in school history was cool … until it wasn’t.
The Chargers played their first official game Thursday, and after a promising beginning they lost at Cumberland 13-0 in a five-inning game that was pretty competitive after the first inning.
And it was a promising start. The Chargers got their first two batters on in the top of the first and loaded the bases with one out, but Cumberland squashed the threat with an inning-ending double play. Then it got away in the bottom of the inning when the Colts put 10 runs in the board.
School administrators had talked about adding baseball since bringing athletics to its campus eight years ago and while strategically expanding their offerings over the years pulled the trigger on it this academic year along with field hockey in the fall and softball in the spring. The softball team played its first official game Tuesday, a 7-6 win over Cape May Tech in the NJTAC Tournament.
“It was definitely pretty cool to play,” shortstop Chase Pompper said. “Ever since my freshman year they’ve been saying they were going to get a team. It feels good to play at my school that I go to. It was a little bit disappointing (to lose the inaugural game), but it definitely can go up from here, though.”
“I see great things for us in the future,” coach John Helsel said. “Once we get that (first win), we’ll be all right. I’m not worried about them.”
Sacks, a junior, drew the Chargers’ Inaugural Game start. He was excited about the opportunity and felt good going to the mound, but “just wasn’t on it,” hitting three batters and walking four before getting an out (a sacrifice fly) and being lifted when it was 5-0. The Colts added five more runs in the inning on five hits off Bryce Harris.
“It was cool until it wasn’t cool,” Sacks said. “Being the first game ever was very cool, but not the way it went down. That was my first time pitching since seventh grade in a real game. It’s been a while. I really wasn’t nervous, just wasn’t on it.”
“He’ll bounce back,” Helsel said.
Pompper got the Chargers’ first hit in school history, a sharp single to right on the second pitch of the game. Sacks had their other hit, a single down the third base line leading off the fourth inning.
After Pompper’s single, Cooper Coles walked. The runners advanced on Lucas Clement’s ground out – a close play at first – and Sacks was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Colts put the fire out when they turned Jaxon Raymond’s slow roller into a double play. The way the inning started got the Chargers excited and made Colts coach Kyle Daddario “a little more nervous than I anticipated coming into this game.”
“We definitely started off good, that’s for sure,” Pompper said.
Take out the first inning and it was a game. Harris put the Colts down in order in the second. And Daulton Sites put them down in order in the fourth (on 13 pitches, the last one popping the mitt with authority).
Daddario was impressed with the way the Chargers, a team with only two seniors and three freshmen starters, made the fundamental plays in the field and predicted they would be competitive with a lot of the teams they play going forward.
“I felt they threw strikes, I think that’s the biggest thing, but they were very good at making the routine plays, especially after that first inning,” he said. “A lot of small things they did well. Sometimes with a first-year program or even just a young team you see a lot of mistakes in that aspect and to be honest the first inning got away from them because they walked a lot of guys.
“They hit the ball. They put the ball in play. There weren’t a lot of strikeouts. If they capitalize in that first inning I don’t know what I would’ve done. That would’ve changed my entire game plan. If that first inning didn’t get away from them, we’re in a completely different ball game and we’re still playing right now.”
The Chargers won both of their preseason scrimmages by wide margins, but hadn’t seen anyone the likes of the Colts, who were coming off a 34-3 rout of Salem in their season opener that included a 22-run second inning.
Everybody in the lineup had at least a hit or an RBI in the first inning; Colin Sheppard had RBIs in each of his two plate appearances. Kam Fiorani had an RBI double in the first and a two-run homer in the third. As impressive as the first two games have been for his squad, Daddario said after going 5-19 a year ago he’s not taking the offensive output for granted.
“Last year was a year of struggle for us,” Daddario said. “Nothing was given to us last year. I think we’ve got to take these first two games with a grain of salt. It’s early. We don’t know anything yet. We only won five games last year, so we have nothing to be super excited about right now. It’s a long season. We want to maintain the momentum, but we don’t want to have this fill our heads in any way.”
The Chargers, meanwhile, have two more games on the road before playing their inaugural home opener Thursday against Wildwood Catholic. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
| Salem Tech | 000 | 00- | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Cumberland | (10)03 | 0x- | 13 | 8 | 0 |
SCHALICK 21, PAULSBORO 1: The defending South Jersey Group I champions opened their season in a rousing way.
Ricky Watt hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in three runs, Jacob Schalick went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and the Cougars erupted for 12 runs in the second inning to turn an already comfortable lead into a rout.
Watt’s homer followed a season-opening triple by Evan Sepers and an RBI single by Evan Glaspey. The 12-run inning was highlighted by two-run doubles by Schalick, Wyatt Cushane and Cooper Willoughby.
Three Schalick pitchers held the Red Raiders to six hits and struck out 11. Starter Cole Hartley was credited with the win.
| Paulsboro | 001 | 00- | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Schalick | 6(12)2 | 1x- | 21 | 19 | 0 |
GOLF
WEST DEPTFORD 164, SALEM TECH 240: The Eagles posted the top four rounds of the match. Ben Perticari was low medalist with a 3-over-par 39 on the front nine at RiverWinds. Freshman Daniel Atanasio posted the Chargers’ low round (56).
WEST DEPTFORD: Ben Petricari 39, Ryan Delaney 41, Grayson Ryer 40, Chase Dunda 44.
SALEM TECH: Daniel Atanasio 56, Thomas Conto 63, Sophia Conto 59, Hannah Kormann 62; Jonah Baynes 69, Aaron Zeeman 72.
CUMBERLAND 181, PENNSVILLE 220: Manntram Patel and Thomas Marguglio shared medalist honors after posting 7-over 43s at Running Deer GC. Trevor Hann and Caden Thomas both shot 49 for Pennsville’s low rounds.
CUMBERLAND: Manntram Patel 43, Thomas Marguglio 43, Cody Walker 47, Giuseppe Impellizzeri 48; Cristian Godinz 50, Chase Selby 71.
PENNSVILLE: Trevor Hann 49, Caden Thomas 49, Abigail Bohn 61, Makenna Minguez 61; Keagan Kaminski 63.
KINGSWAY GIRLS 204, SCHALICK 253: Sophomore Kendall Stewart (48) and freshman Lanie Whitehead (49) posted the two low rounds of the match to lead the Dragons. Cali Fisler posted Schalick’s low round (59).
KINGSWAY: Lanie Whitehea 49, Kendall Stewart 48, Olivia O’Neill 51, Gracie Christopher 56; Hadley Burkę 56, Karlie Tomforde 57.
SCHALICK: Cali Fisler 59, Ava Marynowicz 63, Brooke Brown 65, Natlie May 66; Jazmin Perez 69, Alexis Ohara 70.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CCBC CATONSVILLE 11-6, SALEM CC 0-3: The Mighty Oaks were shut out on six hits in the five-inning opener and held to four hits in the nightcap.
In the nightcap, the Mighty Oaks cut an early 2-0 deficit in half on Jocelyn Melendez’ squeeze bunt in the fifth, then gave up a two-run homer to Aliceanna Weibley in the bottom of the inning. Megan Koski’s RBI double drew them within 4-2 in the sixth, then Ava Blum delivered a two-run single for the hosts in the bottom of the inning.
On a roll
Salem CC baseball continues march to getting better, run-rule Delaware County CC for fifth straight win; scored double digit runs for the fifth straight game, collected 17 stolen bases
REGION XIX BASEBALL
Salem CC 15, Delaware County 4, 7 inns.
Morris at Rockland
RCSJ-Gloucester 19, Lackawanna 10
RCSJ-Cumberland 16, Raritan Valley 12
Sussex at Orange County
Middlesex 9, Bergen 2
Camden at Brookdale
Queensborough at Union
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC baseball team is on a roll. The Mighty Oaks have scored double digit runs in every game of their current five-game winning streak – 66 total – banged out 67 hits and stolen 60 bases.
Yet as good as the numbers have been over the last week, coach John Holt knows there’s more in the tank. Their 15-4 win over Delaware County CC Wednesday was just another step in getting to it.
“Honestly, we’re just trying to continue to get better because we haven’t played our best baseball yet,” Holt said after watching his team run-rule the winless Phantoms. “We’re not where we need to be yet, so we’ve got to take these opportunities just to continue to work on things and get better every game.”
Where was the “better” Wednesday? In the box score, every spot in their lineup scored at least one run and eight of the nine spots had at least one stolen base. They put a crooked number on the board in every inning they scored.
But that’s not where you’d find it. The better on this day came in their mindset, one day after a rather pedestrian win over the Phantoms on the road.
They had what Holt called a “very heart-to-heart conversation” before taking the field and the message hit home.
“(Holt) just talked about, like you said, we haven’t been playing our best baseball recently and we haven’t really played with emotion,” right fielder Roman Hernandez said. “We were just going out there going through the fundamentals. Just because we’re playing a team that we’re supposed to beat doesn’t mean anything, like we should treat them like the best team in the country and we haven’t been doing that.
“We’ve got to do that soon because (this weekend’s opponent) Cumberland is a very good team. We’ve got to start playing with some heart because they’re gonna want it as bad as we want it, if not more. I think today we definitely figured it out a little bit. Brought us closer together. I definitely enjoyed the talk. I think most of our team did also.”
Starter Andre Stewart gave the Mighty Oaks three no-hit innings to open the game. Their first four batters of the game reached base against Delco starter Aaron Wright, a Salem player last fall, and three scored. They batted around in the third to extend the lead to 7-1 and sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth to score six more. At that point, every spot in the lineup had scored a run and they had 14 stolen bases.
Jason LeBold, Sal Mesete and Jacob Sharrow had two hits apiece. LeBold was on base all four times he batted and stole three bases. Mesete and Jay Barber reached base all three times they batted. Barber also stole three bases. Aiden Nestor hit the first pitch offered by Delco’s first reliever for a two-run double in the third that made it 6-1. Sharrow had a two-run triple in the fourth that made it 9-1.
The Mighty Oaks stole 18 bases in the series opener with Atlantic Cape last Friday. They are now second in JUCO Division III and eighth in all of the NJCAA in stolen bases.
| Delaware County (0-8) | 001 | 030 | 0- | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Salem CC (11-13) | 304 | 620 | x- | 15 | 10 | 0 |
| THE LAST FIVE | R | H | SB |
| Delaware County | 15 | 10 | 17 |
| Delaware County | 11 | 17 | 13 |
| Atlantic Cape | 15 | 15 | 6 |
| Atlantic Cape | 13 | 15 | 6 |
| Atlantic Cape | 12 | 10 | 18 |
Tuesday sports report
Salem CC baseball moves closer to .500 with a road win, softball coach Rodriguez recovering after undergoing successful bypass surgery, Salem Tech softball wins inaugural game in program history
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech 7, Cape May Tech 6
GOLF
Clearview 158, Woodstown 185
West Deptford 171, Pennsville 216
Washington Twp. girls 195, Schalick 227
TENNIS
Cedar Creek 3, Pennsville 2
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC 11, Delaware County 5
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Raritan Valley, ppd., wet grounds
By Riverview Sports News
MEDIA, Pa. — The Salem CC baseball team moved another step closer to getting back to .500 Tuesday with their fourth straight win, 11-5 at Delaware County CC.
The Mighty Oaks improved to 10-13 and play the Phantoms at home Wednesday.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CARNEYS POINT — Reports from the Salem CC softball team indicate head coach Angel Rodriguez underwent successful bypass surgery Tuesday.
“We’re just feeling thankful and blessed beyond words that Angel’s surgery was successful and he’s doing good,” interim coach Mackenzie Freas said. “We miss him tremendously.”
Rodriguez said over the weekend he hoped to be released as early as Friday, be back in front of the players in two weeks and “get back in time to hit a fun playoff run.”
“We’re all here for Angel and we just want to see him have a healthy recovery and get back on the field as soon as possible,” athletics director Bob Hughes said. “Right now our thoughts are with him and his health.”
The Mighty Oaks were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Raritan Valley Tuesday, but the games were postponed due to poor field conditions.
PREP SOFTBALL
WOODSTOWN — The Salem Tech softball team got its program off to a successful start Tuesday when it edged Cape May Tech 7-6 in the opening round of the NJTAC Tournament. Shortstop Shelby Drummond had two hits and two RBIs to lead the offense, while freshman Isabel Roberts struck out eight in a complete-game in the circle.
The Chargers scored the go-ahead run on an infield error in the bottom of the sixth after Cape May Tech tied the game with four in the top of the inning. The game ended in the seventh when they cut down a runner at the plate.
The Chargers’ baseball team plays its first official game Thursday at Cumberland.
GOLF
Boys
At Town & Country Golf Links
CLEARVIEW 158, WOODSTOWN 185
CLEARVIEW: Thomas Luu 37, Ryan Stankoski 39, Patrick Furfari 41, Joshua Baron 41; Daniel Marrow 45, Blaise Voit 42.
WOODSTOWN: Jack Bursar 44, Greyson Hyland 42, Lucas Fulmer 49, Austin Wood 50; Nate Valente 52, Blake Bialecki 51.
At RiverWinds
WEST DEPTFORD 171, PENNSVILLE 216
WEST DEPTFORD: Ben Perticari 40, Grayson Ryer 44, Ryan Delaney 43, Chase Dunda 44; Braeden Warren 68.
PENNSVILLE: Trevor Hann 49, Caden Thomas 51, Makenna Minguez 55, Abigail Bohn 61; Keagan Kaminski 64, Jack Haley 64.
Girls
At Centerton GC
WASHINGTON TWP. 195, SCHALICK 227
WASHINGTON TWP.: Paige Weber 42, Tessa Reilley 41, Viviene Aimone 57, Alessandra Caballero 55; Danica Bailey 57, Macy Sorrentino 62
SCHALICK: Lena Virga 56, Cali Fisler 56, Elena McGovern 58, Brooke Brown 57; Miya Watkins 65, Jazmin Perez 64.
TENNIS
CEDAR CREEK 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Miguel Manalang (CC) def. Lucas Cooksey, 6-0, 6-0
Sawyer Humphrey (P) won
Finnegan Watson (CC) def. Ian Peacock, 6-2, 0-6, 10-8
Carter Willis-Matthew Forino (P) def. Tristan DiGiacomo-Yahir Blanco, 6-4, 7-5
Lukek Senn-Shyler Aponte (CC) def. Coen Rinnier-Jacob Cheeseman, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 11-9.
Records: Cedar Creek 1-0, Pennsville 0-1.
Riverview Sports News 