Repeat feat

Salem CC shortstop Ella Hayes repeats as Region 19 Player of the Year; Mighty Oaks land 4 on all-region team

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Ella Hayes did not rest.

After bursting on the scene as the best player in the region last year as a freshman, the Salem Community College shortstop easily could have settled in for a comfortably productive second season as she progressed towards the next level. But she wanted more.

She elevated her approach to the game and in many ways had an even better year that paid off even bigger dividends.

For the second year in a row, Hayes was named the Region 19 Division II softball Player of the Year, a feat rare if not unprecedented.

“It’s definitely an honor and I’m super grateful,” Hayes said. “I worked hard. I may not have had the exact same stats as last year, but I improved on a lot of things. My goal was to be better than I was last year and I feel like I accomplished that for the most part.”

The sophomore from Kansas City may not have reached her ambitious goal of hitting .700, but she still led the region in batting for the second year in a row (.577) – she was fifth nationally – as well as hits (79) and stolen bases (23-of-24). She was second in the region in extra-base hits and fourth in RBIs.

While her batting average dipped a few points, she still had more runs (60), hits (79), doubles (22), triples (4) and stolen bases than the year before. And once again she was like Tony Gwynn to strike out, fanning only twice in 168 plate appearances.

“She had the kind of year that we were hoping to get out of her,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “One thing about her freshman year, no one knew who she was; the teams we were playing were getting to know her for the first time. Her talent showed a lot, getting Player of the Year last year, and this year they all knew who she was so they pitched to her differently, they approached her a lot differently, so you weren’t able to hide.

“This year she was a returning player who threw these great numbers up and that’s what she continued to do. It’s always hard to want to be your best and do better than you did the year before. I know for her it was like a battle she had with herself, a little self-competition, but she gave us everything she’s always given us. Her dedication to the game is unmatched. She was always a hard out and that’s what she continued to be.”

It all can be tied to her desire to be “quite a bit” more aggressive in every aspect of the game. That didn’t mean being a risk-taker, just being aggressive. Attacking pitches, stealing bases, reading the field to take the extra base when presented.

“I told Coach Angel I was going to be more aggressive this year,” she said. “I told them this year I was really going to hit hard and prove that I can play at the higher level of D-I or D-II and compete at that level, too. I don’t think there’s a better way to show it than laying out for everything.”

Hayes was one of four Mighty Oaks named to the all-region teams. Sophomore catcher Callie Rozak (.434, 7 HRs, 40 RBIs) joined Hayes on the first team, while freshmen Bella Rappa (.372, 39 runs, 32 RBIs) and Chantelle Haskie (.327, 26 RBIs) were second-team picks. They were the Mighty Oaks’ top four hitters.

“For us it was good,,” Rodriguez said. “Callie had a little more of a larger role this year, taking on a majority of our catching, and she handled that really good. We get two freshmen on the list for second team. It’s always good, especially building that confidence heading into next year and also for the returning players, too, to see that hard work is noticed and putting in the effort goes a long way. It was nice to see the recognition they deserve.”

SALEM CC All-REGION PLAYERS	BA	H	HR	RBI	SB
Ella Hayes, First Team	.577	79	7	54	23
Callie Rozak, First Team	.434	49	7	40	7
Bella Rappa, Second Team	.372	48	0	32	5
Chantelle Haskie, Second Team	.327	36	0	26	5

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 12-17; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MAY 12
BASEBALL
Salem vs. Bridgeton, Doubleday Field, Cooperstown, N.Y., 10 a.m.
Clayton at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
Wildwood at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Wildwood
Schalick at Salem
Woodstown at Clayton
GOLF
Salem Tech vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. OLMA, White Oaks GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Haddon Heights, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pitman
Pennsville at Schalick
Timber Creek at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Schalick at Penns Grove
Salem at Deptford, 5 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Maple Shade at Woodstown

MAY 13
BASEBALL
Woodstown at Delran
GOLF
Schalick vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Collingswood, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Pennsville at Woodstown
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Clearview, 5 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.

MAY 14
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Pennsville at Salem
Schalick at Cumberland
SOFTBALL
Cumberland at Schalick
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Salem at Pennsville
Woodstown at Glassboro
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Pitman, Pitman CC, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Delsea, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m.
LACROSSE
Rancocas Valley at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m.

MAY 15
BASEBALL
Buena at Schalick
Pennsville at Triton
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Buena
Triton at Pennsville
GOLF
Schalick vs. Hammonton, Pinelands GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Sterling, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Woodstown at Highland, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Eastern
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden
Salem CC vs. RCSJ-Gloucester or Brookdale, TBA

MAY 16
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Cedar Creek
SOFTBALL
Salem at Cape May Tech
Triton at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Millville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Woodstown at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Millville
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden, TBA

MAY 17
BASEBALL
Schalick at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region 19 Final Four, Rutgers-Camden, TBA

Milestone day

Mighty Oaks win first region playoff series in sweep, hand coach John Holt his 400th career victory

REGION 19 DIVISION III TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s Games
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester 17-9, No. 8 Montgomery 0-1 (Gloucester wins 2-0)
No. 4 Salem 6-10, No. 5 Middlesex 5-2 (Salem wins 2-0)
No. 3 RCSJ-Cumberland 15-3, No. 6 Camden 5-14 (Series tied, 1-1)
No. 2 Brookdale 15-3, No. 7 Northampton 5-1 (Brookdale wins 2-0)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – John Holt stood on the grass just outside the Salem CC dugout twirling an autographed baseball in his sports-drink-soaked hands courtesy of the water bucket bath he just received in the outfield. The ball, signed by all the players on the team, represented a lifetime of success and a gateway to the future.

The Mighty Oaks won their first region playoff series in more than 30 years and handed head coach John Holt his 400th career coaching victory in sweeping Middlesex College 6-5 and 10-2 to take their best-of-3 playoff series two games to none.

“I was crying out there,” Holt admitted. “It means a lot to do it with these guys. These guys are a special bunch. I’m glad all the hard work that they’ve put in is finally going to get them to the Final Four. That’s just the next step. We’re not done yet.”

The fourth-seeded Mighty Oaks (27-24) now advance to the double-elimination Region 19 Division III Final Four next week at Rutgers-Camden, to face either top-seeded No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester (47-4) or second-seeded No. 4 Brookdale (37-8) in the opening round.

Holt has won a playoff series before – in 2011, his last year at Burlington County CC – but the Mighty Oaks have never won one or even hosted one as far as Holt’s research goes back. They did win a playoff game last year at Northampton, but lost the series.

Holt began his collegiate coaching career at Burlington CC and was hired at Salem to restart the program in 2019. He has 107 wins with the Mighty Oaks, including career wins 300 and 400. His last two seasons have been the winningest in school history.

“There’s been a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches,” Holt said. “It’s been a hell of a ride. It’s been special.

“I’ve tried not to measure my successes in coaching based on wins and losses. For me it’s predominantly been about those relationships. Four-hundred wins, that’s awesome, but for all the good husbands, the good dads, the good men, if I’ve had anything to do with that, that’s more important than 400 (wins). I don’t take that for granted.”

The Mighty Oaks walked off their coach’s milestone win with three runs in the seventh inning capped by Yen Rodriguez’ game-ending single into the right centerfield gap. The sophomore outfielder said as soon as he made contact he knew it was over and Holt had his 400th win.

They led the game wire-to-wire, scoring a run in the first inning on Matt Murphy’s RBI triple and taking control with a four-run third that included home runs by Cole Dawson and Demetrius DeRamus.

DeRamus’ homer, a two-run shot that made it 5-1, ended a 4-for-28 skid that was part of a larger 9-for-59 over his previous 18 games. He admitted the slump was eating at him “just a little bit,” but when he went to the plate he just tried to “keep things simple, be less technical” and it seemed to have done the trick.

He followed his seventh homer of the year with a single in his next at-bat for his first multi-hit game since April 13.

Tyler Hacker went 3-for-3 with a walk in the game and came within a home run of hitting for the cycle.

Jared Vandersteur pitched a complete game, scattering six hits and striking out five. He threw 118 pitches and even without his best stuff reduced his region-leading ERA to 2.67. The Colts scored both their runs in the fourth inning.

“I just knew I had a job to do and thankfully I was able to do it,” the righthander said. “I didn’t know it was for his 400th win, I just knew I had to get it done today. It’s fun to go out there and have the pressure on and get it done.”

The Mighty Oaks came out swinging in the opener, scoring five runs in the first inning to erase a 1-0 deficit and then held on.

They sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning. Angel Velez, Hatcher and Hunter Cohen drove in the first three runs, then Tim Bowlby capped the outburst with a two-run single to right field.

Velez had three hits and two RBIs in the game. Since the nightcap of the Mighty Oaks’ April 5 doubleheader with Middlesex (20 games), Velez is batting .486 (35-of-72) with a 10-game hitting streak.

Jon Gambone pitched the first seven innings for the Mighty Oaks, leaving with a 6-3 lead after throwing 133 pitches (one more than Middlesex starter Ryan Rzepinski in six innings), and got the win. Hard-throwing J.D. Wilson pitched the final two innings and although the Colts scored two runs in the eighth inning and threatened in the ninth to make it interesting, he kept it from getting ugly and closed it out for the save.

There was a lot to Wilson’s outing. He’s basically pitching without a UCL in his pitching elbow and will need Tommy John surgery to repair it. He was so determined to keep his college career from meeting a premature end, he “made” the doctor clear him to pitch in the playoffs and “kind of told” Holt he was going to throw if the game was close.

“The doctor basically said you need surgery, you’re not going to do any more damage, it’s already done, you can throw as tolerated,” Holt said. “The thing about J.D., I think he gets a bum rap sometimes because he’s a hard-nosed kid, but I don’t know how many guys who can throw the ball 90-plus would call their coach and say I’m looking at Tommy John but I’ve got at least two innings this weekend for you. That just says a lot about who he is.”

“I just wanted to win,” Wilson said. “I just went out there and gave my team my best of what I had and came out of here with a win.”

It was his first appearance on the mound since April 13 and the first time his mother Jessie had seen him play since suffering a brain aneurysm the day before Easter, making for an even more poignant Mother’s Day for the family.

“It was just like the old days, before everything happened,” Wilson said. “It was nice.”

Photo: Salem CC baseball coach John Holt holds the ball from his 400th career victory surrounded by his players after the Mighty Oaks swept Middlesex in the Region 19 playoffs Saturday.

Historic seeding

Salem CC pulls down No. 4 baseball tournament seed, first home playoff series since revival of the program

REGION 19 DIVISION III TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s Games
No. 8 Montgomery County (14-17) at No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester (45-4)
No. 5 Middlesex (30-18) at No. 4 Salem (25-24)
No. 6 Camden (26-15) at No. 3 RCSJ-Cumberland (29-15)
No. 7 Northampton (21-18) at No. 2 Brookdale (35-8)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – In the end it was all about the numbers and the extra game made all the difference for the Salem CC baseball team.

The Mighty Oaks left last weekend’s series with the fourth-best record in region play, but because of a quirk in the schedule were uncertain where they’d fall in the Division III region tournament seedings.

The tournament committee made it easy, seeding straight down the line based on winning percentage regardless of the number of games played. It installed the Mighty Oaks as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, their first home playoff date since the revival of the program in 2019.

They will host fifth-seeded Middlesex (30-18) and open the tournament with a noon nine-inning doubleheader Saturday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex. A sweep sends them to the Final Four at Rutgers-Camden starting May 15, a split forces a decisive Game 3 Sunday at noon. The Mighty Oaks took two of three from the Colts in early April.

“It’s exciting,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “I wasn’t anticipating it. Now we just have to take advantage of it.”

“I’m just excited for John and his team that they earned the opportunity to host,” athletics director Bob Hughes said. “It’s a testament to the work John has done for the last several years and what the team did this year to be in a position to be in the top quadrant of the region. It’s a great thing for the institution. It’s another sign of the progress that’s been made in Salem athletics.”

The Mighty Oaks finished 25-24 overall and 18-13 in region play, the 31^st region game the result of unbalanced schedule created by two teams opting out of the master schedule after it had been established and agreed upon.

They were alone with 18 wins, but among four teams with 13 losses. If the committee seeded off the 13 losses, the Mighty Oaks would have opened the tournament on the road.

“You hope you can control what you can control in the variables but at the end of the day when we didn’t get the job done this weekend we left it up to the committee to make the decision,” Holt said. “We were obviously worried about that, not sure what was going to happen.

“We won 18 games, there’s got to be something to be said about that.”

“Winning percentage is the top priority and we had the best winning percentage (among the 13-loss teams),” Hughes said. “Ultimately our winning percentage won out.”

Because they are the host team, the Mighty Oaks will be the home team in all the games played this weekend. They were 11-10 at home this season, 22-18 over the last two years. Last season they opened the playoffs on the road and lost the series to Northampton two games to one.

“I think we play better at home,” Holt said. “Home field advantage is a real thing in baseball. Our guys call it ‘The Treehouse’ for a reason; they feel a certain kind of way about where they play. Hopefully they’ll be excited to host a playoff game and have that little bit of extra energy because of it.”

Middlesex has won 30 games for the fourth year in a row. They have one of the top power pitchers in the country in right-hander Ryan Rzepinski (5-1, 4.20 ERA, 79Ks/45 IP). He beat the Mighty Oaks on April 5, fanning 10 over six innings. The Colts earned by fifth seed by virtue of their series win over Camden, the sixth seed.

The Mighty Oaks will attack them with a lineup that includes the four Centurions – four batters with 100 career hits (Yen Rodriguez, Demetrius DeRamus, Matt Murphy and Angel Velez) – and the region’s second-leading RBI producer in Division III (Murphy) and the region leader in ERA (projected Game 2 starter Jared Vandersteur, 2.98)

“We’ve got to play better baseball than we’ve bene playing, bit I think these three days off is what we needed to kind of reset and get back at it,” Holt said.

Salem County Monday

Here are the results of Monday’s Salem County sports action

BASEBALL
Pennsville 14, Clayton 6: Luke Wood 5 RBIs; Jeff Wagner, Logan Streitz each 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Pennsville can claim a share of TCC Classic Division with win over Pitman Wednesday
Schalick 4, Overbrook 2: Lucas D’Agostino scattered six hits, fanned nine in six innings, Luke Pokrovsky fanned two in his closing inning, passed 300 career Ks; Ricky Watt, Pokrovsky 3 hits each; Schalick can claim TCC Diamond Division title with win over Woodstown Tuesday at Elmer LL
Glassboro 12, Penns Grove 1: The Bulldogs took a no-hitter into the fifth. Alex Paz drove in Penns Grove’s run.
Pitman 10, Salem 0: Two pitchers combined on one-hitter; Nick Watson HR, Hudson Rue 4 RBIs.

SOFTBALL
Pennsville 20, Clayton 4: Lily Edwards 4 hits, 4 RBIs; every starter had at least one hit in Eagles’ 21-hit attack.
Glassboro 24, Penns Grove 9: Scarlett Saicic 3 doubles, 6 RBIs. Penns Grove had a season-high runs
Pitman 14, Salem 1: Jess Bretz’ grand slam highlighted Panthers’ 14-run second inning; Isla Bohn 3 hits for Salem.
Schalick 12, Overbrook 8: Cougars erupt for nine runs in last two innings. Cloe Elliott 3×5, 5 RBIs; Maddie Brown 5×5, 3 RBIs.

GOLF
Schalick’s Jaxon Weber posted a 6-over-par 78 and finished tied for seventh in the South Jersey Group I sectional, but didn’t finish high enough to advance to the state group championship. The Cougars finished 12th as a team (365). Woodstown was 13th (375). Jack Bucksar and Erich Lipovsky had Woodstown’s low rounds (86).

Triton 194, Salem Tech 226

TENNIS
Deptford 3, Woodstown 2

LACROSSE
Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown

VOLLEYBALL
Highland 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-18, 25-18)

COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC 15, Atlantic Cape 4

This week’s schedule

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

Out of their hands

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)

Early exit

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.

“Their hitters,” Rodriguez said. “They’re two-way athletes.”

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.”

It didn’t.

Walkin’ on the Ocean

Salem CC takes advantage of 17 walks to walk over Ocean CC, move closer to clinching a home playoff series

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 17, Ocean 5
RCSJ-Gloucester 6, RCSJ-Cumberland 4
Middlesex 14, Bergen 8
Montgomery 22, Delaware County 6
Northampton 16, Union 8 (Thur.)
Brookdale 10, Morris 0
Camden vs. Cape Atlantic

By Riverview Sports News

TOMS RIVER – You could say the Salem CC baseball team walked on water Friday afternoon.

The Mighty Oaks took advantage of 17 walks – three in a row with bases loaded in the inning they took the lead – and walked over Ocean CC 17-5.

With one win in Saturday’s home doubleheader or a Middlesex loss in its twinbill with Bergen the Mighty Oaks (24-22) will clinch fourth place in Region 19 and play at home in the playoffs for the first time since they revived the program in 2019.

“It’s nice to pick up the win, but we’re trying to take it one game at a time and focus on winning one game at a time,” Salem coach John Holt said. “Getting ready for the playoffs.”

Nine of the Mighty Oaks batters drew at least one walk. Demetrius DeRamus had four. The four pitchers Ocean used threw 247 total pitches. Salem starter Jon Gambone threw 100 pitches in eight innings.

The 17 walks tied the most Salem has had in a game since the revival. Delco passed 17 Mighty Oaks in March of last season. Four of the walks forced runs home. Eight came around to score.

The Mighty Oaks fell behind 2-0 in the second inning, but took the lead in the fourth inning on consecutive bases-loaded walks to Cole Dawson (four pitches), Yen Rodriguez (six pitches) and Demetrius DeRamus (six pitches) and a wild pitch.

When the Mighty Oaks did make contact, Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, Jared Vandersteur went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Dawson went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Angel Velez also had two hits.

Rodriguez’ two hits left him four shy of becoming the fourth Salem player this season to collect his 100th career hit. DeRamus needs 11 RBIs for 100 in that career category. He did score his 100th run.

“We put together a lot of good at bats and executed on offense,” Holt said.

Race to the finish

Mighty Oaks show grit, but drop wild one with Northampton, still looking to clinch a home series in opening round of playoffs

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – A little more than a week ago Salem CC baseball coach John Holt was pretty confident about the Mighty Oaks hosting a Region 19 playoff series for the first time since they brought the program back. Now, heading into the final series of the season this weekend, he’s a little less sure.

The Mighty Oaks are in the playoffs, but whether they play at The Treehouse in the opening round or go on the road to open post-season play won’t be determined until the weekend after they lost a wild 16-12 runniest to Northampton Wednesday.

The loss eliminated the Mighty Oaks (23-22, 17-11) from being able to finish third, but with one or more wins over Ocean (8-26) this weekend and one Middlesex loss to Bergen (7-31) they will clinch fourth. If Middlesex (27-17, 15-12) sweeps, Salem will have to win two.

The loss also means the earliest Holt can claim his 400th career coaching win is Monday in the Mighty Oaks’ regular-season finale at Atlantic Cape.

“We can’t take anything for granted right now,” Holt said. “Middlesex is going into a Bergen series (and) Bergen is kind of down this year. I think it’s going to come down to us continuing to prove that we belong there. We’ve got to grind and go get it. We’ll see what happens. We’ve just got to find a way.”

Playing with a makeshift lineup and an even more makeshift pitching plan, the Mighty Oaks showed more fight against the Spartans (20-18, 14-13) than they have in recent games. They rallied from deficits to one (twice), two (twice), four and six to tie the game in the seventh inning. They just didn’t have one more rally in them in the ninth inning after the Spartans put four more on them in the top of the inning.

“Compared to the way the games have gone the last two weeks I feel like this is the first time we’ve actually clawed back and fought,” second baseman Tim Bowlby said. “I like that out of us. Obviously we’re not happy with the results, but I’m happy with how the guys came out and fought.”

The Mighty Oaks trailed 1-0, 2-1. 6-4, 8-4, 8-6 and 12-6, but tied the game with runs six in the seventh inning. They also were tied 1-1 and 4-4 and led 4-2 in the third.

“They showed heart today,” Holt said. “We showed some heart. We haven’t played like that in a little bit. I hate losing more than I like winning, but at the end of the day we have to look for the positives where we can find them and they competed most of the day. We had a talk after the Camden game and the big point of that was we wanted them to compete harder and grind harder and they did that today. And they needed to. It’s a step.”

Singles by Tyler Hacker and Chris Kelly and Hunter Cohen’s groundout drove home the first three runs of the seventh-inning rally, Joe Fekete scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-10 and the two tying runs scored when Tim Bowlby’s bouncer up the middle went through shortstop John Pushkar.

Pushkar’s vision and focus likely were disrupted by Jones racing past to avoid being hit by the batted ball.

“In those situations you can’t make the moment too big,” Bowlby said. “It’s kind of like what we’ve all been saying: We don’t need a hero. I was just trying to put the ball in play and it worked out for us.”

The Mighty Oaks were missing two of top four hitters in their lineup and only three starters were batting in their usual spot in the order. Even starting pitcher Jared Vandersteur was uncertain about 30 minutes before game time. Cleanup hitter Matt Murphy, their top RBI producer, was serving a one-game suspension for his home-plate collision Monday night and 2-hole hitter and leftfielder Yen Rodriguez was out with a wrist injury.

The Mighty Oaks used seven pitchers. The most effective was seldom-used Brady Sweeney who gave them a shutdown inning in the eighth after the offense tied the game with six runs in the seventh.

Sweeney was making only his fourth appearances of the season, first since April 14 and second since March 11. The lean freshman righthander from Springfield, Pa., faced four batters at the bottom of Northampton’s lineup, threw 15 pitches and walked one. He dropped his ERA from 11.57 to 8.18.

“I didn’t know who was even going in to start the inning; it was me and Nando (Fernando Rodney Jr.) warming up down there,” Sweeney said. “Once he called my name for a second I got all nervous, but once I got on the mound and looked around for a second, I was like, all right, it’s time to go. First pitch, the dude popped it up so after that I was good to go.

“I had something to prove this game. Proving that I could be here.”

Catcher Kyle Stoner led the Spartans’ 16-hit attack with five hits (three doubles) and six RBIs. He had a three-run double off an 0-2 pitch from Jon Gambone in seventh inning to make it 12-6 and an RBI single in the ninth that broke the 12-12 tie. Cody Miller hit a bizarre three-run homer in the sixth when he lifted a fly ball to left that hopped out of Will Jones’ glove and over the wall after the leftfielder hit the fence.

Stoner was 1-for-11 in his previous five games before breaking out against the Mighty Oaks.

“I came into this game knowing that this team needed a fire,” he said. “I know I’ve been struggling a little bit and I just thought going into today I’ve just got to realize it’s a game and I’ve got to have some fun.

“I feel like a lot of the guys on our team, kind of like me lately, aren’t taking it as a game and taking it a little too seriously and I wanted to set an example to make sure everyone knows it’s still a game and have fun. That’s when we’re best, when we’re out there and playing the game we love instead of thinking about it too much.”

Northampton	101 024 404-	16	17	2
Salem	103 002 600-	12	8	0

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