Category: SALEM CC

Salem CC Saturday

Mighty Oaks win another baseball series with doubleheader split, solidly hold onto third in region standings; softball swept by Mercer

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 5-8, Middlesex 8-6
Mercer 6-4, Delaware Tech 0-3
RCSJ-Gloucester 20-8, Montgomery 2-7
RCSJ-Cumberland 4-12, Northampton 3-3
Brookdale 12, Bergen 1
Camden 14-13, Delaware County 2-6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — A wise young philosopher named after a comfort food once proclaimed to the world that two out of three ain’t bad. For baseball teams that aspire to contend for a championship in one of the toughest leagues on their level in the country that’s really not a bad formula to follow.

Salem CC won Game 2 of Saturday’s Region 19 doubleheader with No. 11 Middlesex 8-6 to split the twinbill and take two of three in the weekend series. It’s the fourth straight region series the Mighty Oaks have won this season and second in a row they’ve followed Meat Loaf’s lead and taken two out of three by winning the Saturday nightcap.

Like the man said, ain’t bad. The Mighty Oaks (14-16, 10-5) are now third in the Region 19 Division III standings behind two top 10 rivals with a mid-week home-and-home against No. 4 Northampton on the horizon.

“One of the goals for the year was to get into the polls, that we felt we were a team that was good enough to get some national recognition,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “Winning two out of three against a team like (Middlesex) hopefully gets us that.

“The goal is to win it, try to win a conference (title) or win the region. Two out of three every weekend gets us closer to that.”

On top of sweeping the teams they should be beating, of course, and they’ve done that, too, this season.

The Mighty Oaks were a lot sharper in Game 2 than they were in the losing the opener 8-5 against 6-foot-7 Colts righthander Ryan Rzepinski.

They led the nightcap 6-3 before the Colts tied it on Josh Rodriguez’ three-run double in the fifth. Tyler Hacker broke the tie in the bottom of the inning when he scored from second on a wild pitch and the catcher’s throw to get him at third went down the line. Hacker started the inning with a seeing-eye single through the infield and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

“When you go up to warmup in the beginning of the inning you look to see what the pitcher’s doing, feel him out, and a lot of the balls he was spiking,” Hacker said. “In my AB he spiked a lot of balls so (on the bases) I was looking for the ball down and took advantage.

“When you’re playing for your team, doing the right thing, runs like that happen. Things like that happen.”

Sean McCormick kept the Colts at bay with another solid relief appearance. Last Saturday he struck out the side in order in the top of the eighth to give the Mighty Oaks a chance to beat Montgomery in the bottom of the inning. This week, he put the fire out in the sixth by striking out the first batter he faced after relieving starter Pat Seitzinger on three 85-86 mph pitches and closed it out with only a little drama in the seventh.

“It’s definitely stressful dealing with the fact one wrong move they win the game or they get the lead,” McCormick said. “But as coach Holt tells me every time I go out don’t be scared, trust your stuff, go how you throw and you’ll be okay. You have to trust your stuff.”
 
Demetrius DeRamus homered in each game for the Mighty Oaks. Both blasts led off innings. The one in the nightcap, with an angry swing in the sixth inning after going hitless in his previous three at-bats, gave them an 8-6 lead.

It went out in left and looked to be even deeper than the two-run shot he hit in the 11th inning to tie the RCSJ-Cumberland nightcap before they won it in the 12th.

“Just trying to hit something hard as I could,” he said. “I was literally working on the tee with Yen (Rodriguez) right before the game on that very pitch, the inside pitch. I’ve been getting hung up a lot, tight inside or I’m just missing it and coming a little above the ball, so we were working on trying to get down, trying to stay tight.”

ACORNS: McCormick also starts and is being considered for the Wednesday assignment against Northampton. As a starter he’s 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA, as a reliever 2-1 with a 6.94. “Seth is Seth,” Holt said. “He’s going to do a little bit of everything” … First baseman Lee Rodriguez suffered a painful hamstring injury stretching for a throw in the first game. Several of the players went out to check on him and assist him to the trainer’s tent and Holt was impressed with the way they attended to their teammate. McCormick went in for him … Matt Murphy followed his big game in the opener by going 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the doubleheader. He reached base in seven of his eight plate appearances and the one time he didn’t he still drove in a run.

REGION 19 DIVISION IIIREGALL
RCSJ-Gloucester16-027-2
Brookdale14-321-4
SALEM CC10-514-16
Camden10-517-7
Middlesex10-722-12
RCSJ-Cumberland9-715-12
Northampton9-815-13
Montgomery8-88-8
Union4-127-14
Ocean3-105-16
Bergen1-123-18
Delaware County0-161-20-1

Softball: Big innings, HRs
do in Mighty Oaks

REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Mercer 11-14, Salem CC 8-5
Delaware Tech 9-9, Lackawanna 1-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 7-6, Northampton 6-5

PENNSVILLE – Once-beaten Mercer CC used a seven-run inning in each game and the long ball in the nightcap to sweep the Mighty Oaks 11-8 and 14-5.

The Vikings (17-1) scored seven runs in the second inning of the opener and led 10-0 after batting in the third, then held off Salem’s comeback bid. They scored seven in the fifth inning of the nightcap and scored 10 runs in the final two innings to complete the sweep.

The Mighty Oaks cut their Game 1 deficit in half with five runs in the home third, highlighted by Jocelyn Melendez’ two-run single. They added two more in the sixth on Chantelle Haskie’s RBI single and Bella Rappa’s sacrifice fly.

They continued to apply pressure and had the tying run at the plate twice in the seventh inning, but ended up getting only one run out of it.

Ella Hayes had three hits in the game for Salem. Melendez and Val Hatterer each had two.

Mercer hit four home runs in the nightcap, two by Emily Wyzykowski.

The Vikings scored four runs in the first on Kelci O’Dell’s leadoff homer and Wyzykowski’s three-run shot.  Stella Logan’s three-run homer in the fourth gave them the lead for good and Wyzykowski hit a two-run homer in their seven-run fifth.

The Mighty Oaks bounced back after Mercer’s opening salvo and took a 5-4 lead after three innings. They got two in the first on RBI singles by Tiana Wilson and Callie Rozak, one in the second on Hayes’ sacrifice fly and two in the third on Hatterer’s squeeze bunt and Haskie’s go-ahead RBI single.

Murphy breaks out

Sophomore outfielder breaks out of a hitting slump with an 8-RBI day that included a grand slam to lead Salem CC past Middlesex

FRIDAY REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem 16, Middlesex 5
Lackawanna 4-6, Sussex 3-0
Mercer 10, Delaware Tech 0
Camden 13, Delaware County 3
RCSJ-Cumberland 21, Northampton 5

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

EDISON — There isn’t an everyday player in the game who likes having an unscheduled day off in the middle of the season, but in Matt Murphy’s case, it might have been the best thing that could have happened to him.

The sophomore outfielder broke out of a 5-for-32 hitting slump with three hits, a grand slam and a career-high eight RBIs Friday to lead Salem CC past Middlesex 16-5 in the opener of their Region 19 series.

Murphy had an RBI single in the first inning, a bases-loaded three-run double in the second and the grand slam in the third. All three hits came with two outs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a day like this in my life,” he said. “Not to this extent, that I can remember.”

Murphy broke out of an 0-for-12 with his first homer of the season at RCSJ-Cumberland and was 5-for-19 in the five games since entering Friday’s game.

He was pulled from the first game of last week’s doubleheader against Montgomery County after striking out more ways than one in the fifth inning and sat in the nightcap. It was the first time he was out of the lineup this season, but it gave him a new perspective on the game.

“The game off really centered myself,” Murphy said. “I really felt like I needed it because of just the spiraling down into negative thoughts and not being the player I know how to be.

“It really centered myself and it showed me the side of being on the bench. I never want to be on the bench, I always want to be playing, so it was kind of just a reality check that I feel like I needed. It felt good to come in today with a new mindset and just do well for the team.”

Murphy’s RBI single drove in the game’s first run and he scored on Angel Velez’ RBI double. His bases-clearing double gave the Mighty Oaks a 6-0 lead. And his grand slam highlighted a six-run third that pushed the game into run-rule territory.

The slam was his third home run of the season. The Mighty Oaks are 3-0 this year in games in which he homers, 5-1 during his career. 

His previous single-game high for RBI was five against Northland T&CC on the Mighty Oaks’ trip to Florida. He had four against Oakton two days later. But he had only five RBIs over the next 10 games.

“We gave him Game 2 off on the weekend and I think he had a chance to kind of take a step back from things and evaluate,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “Honestly, he had a great week of practice, really busted his butt with Coach D and working on his swing and approach, approach, approach, and it’s paid off.”

Chris Kelly homered for the Mighty Oaks in the fourth inning. Jon Gambone pitched a seven-inning complete game allowing four hits and striking out nine. He did not give up an earned run.

“The mindset was to shorten it up and just try to win every inning,” Holt said. “I think we did win every inning but one and the inning we didn’t win we tied. It was a good game. It really was a big momentum for us. I hope we can build on it.”

As soon as the team got back from the game they put up their gear then headed to the Carneys Point Rec Complex to get their field ready for Saturday’s scheduled noon doubleheader.

Salem CC (13-15)246 211 0-16105
Middlesex (21-11)001 130 0-544
WP: Jon Gambone (4-3). LP: J. Ryan. HR: Matt Murphy (S), Chris Kelly (S).

Photo: Salem CC outfielder Matt Murphy is greeted at the plate by his teammates after hitting a third-inning grand slam Friday. (Screenshot from Gamechanger video)




Salem softball sweep

Mighty Oaks come from behind in both games to sweep Camden CC

REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem 13-8, Camden 6-4
Monroe Bronx 18-14, Raritan Valley 8-5
Mercer 11-12, Northampton 3-4

By Riverview Sports News

BLACKWOOD – The Salem CC softball team scored four runs with two outs in the seventh inning to break away from a tied game and beat Camden CC 8-4 to complete a sweep of their doubleheader Thursday.

The Mighty Oaks struggled to deliver a big hit with runners on base Tuesday against Lackawanna, but they put the ball in play with runners on in both games Thursday.

The nightcap was tied 4-4 going into the seventh. Ella Hayes singled home the go-ahead run and the other three runs in the inning scored on two errors.

The Mighty Oaks (12-10) won the opener 13-6. They took a 7-4 lead in the fourth. The rally was jump-started by consecutive doubles by Tessa Wise, Jolee Robinson and Hayes. Another run scored when Camden misplayed Jocelyn Melendez’ bunt and the fourth run scored on Chantelle Haskie’s fielder’s choice.

Camden got within 7-6, then the Mighty Oaks broke it open with six runs in the seventh. Melendez and Haskie both had two-run singles in the inning and a pair of errors brought home the other two runs.

“They were decent wins and we played well overall, but there’s still room for improvement,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We need to stay sharper in the field, focus on our communication and keep refining our timing at the plate.

“We’re getting there. We’re just pushing to be even better next time.”

That next time is a Saturday home doubleheader against region leading Mercer (25-1).

Big turnaround

Salem CC’s Rodriguez wins weekly national award; production up, strikeouts down

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Salem CC Yen Rodriguez led the nation in strikeouts last season and under any other circumstance that would be cause for celebration. Problem is, he’s a hitter.

Even he recognized the need for better plate discipline and worked all offseason on his approach. This season the Mighty Oaks’ sophomore has cut down on his strikeouts, already hit more home runs and today he’s being celebrated as a national award winner.

Rodriguez added the NJCAA Division III Player of the Week award to the GSAC Position Player of the Week award he won earlier in the week. He’s the first national player winner in coach John Holt’s tenure with the Mighty Oaks.

The switch-hitter from Vineland who has played both in the infield and outfield this season, batted .692 (9-for-13) in four games last week with two homers, six RBIs, 11 runs scored and five stolen bases – and just one strikeout.

“It’s a huge honor,” Holt said. “The kid’s worked real hard. He’s starting to buy into some of the things our hitting coaches have been working with him on and with the buy-in he’s seeing those results. He’s got all the talent in the world. He just needed to make a few adjustments and he’s seeing the results.

“He was sometimes overly aggressive, swinging at a pitcher’s pitch, so we asked him to see some more pitches, work himself into counts where he could drive the baseball as oppose to defensive counts. He’s swinging at more hitters’ pitchers and doing well with it. It took him doing what happened last year to kind of open his eyes a little bit and make those adjustments and he’s done that and we’re better for it.”

Last year, Rodriguez led Division III with 61 strikeouts in 152 at bats – but still hit .303 with five homers, a .488 on base percentage and .559 slugging percentage.

Through 27 games this season he is batting .414 with six homers, 24 RBIs, a .552 on base percentage and .747 slugging percentage. He ranks in the top 10 nationally in homers, run scored and stolen bases. He still has fanned 23 times, but only twice in the seven games (21 at bats) since the Mighty Oaks returned from their Florida trip.

“All last season with leading the region in strikeouts it was mainly because I was a pull hitter; I was not dominant on the opposite side,” Rodriguez said after plating the winning run in a recent 12-inning win over RCSJ-Gloucester that didn’t figure in this award. “Going up there and hitting the ball opposite like I’ve been trying to do and honestly frustrated with the fact I couldn’t score the runs, (delivering that game-winner) made me happy because I’m working at the end of the day.”

Yen Rodriguez Week

ABRHRBIHRBB-KSB
Mercer444311-01
Montgomery433201-02
Montgomery221002-01
Montgomery321111-11
Totals13119625-15

Salem softball swept

Mighty Oaks handcuffed in high-level situations, swept by Lackawanna in Region 19 doubleheader

TUESDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Lackawanna 6-5, Salem CC 5-2
Sussex at Orange, ppd.
Mercer 21-15, Raritan Valley 0-0
Northampton at Middlesex, ppd.
Dutchess 11-9, Bergen 5-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 14-13, Camden 0-0
RCSJ-Cumberland at Brookdale, ccl

REGION 19 DIVISION IIALLREG
Mercer23-19-1
Delaware Tech15-37-1
Lackawanna17-154-2
Salem CC10-104-4
Raritan Valley2-141-9
Sussex1-111-9
Morris1-50-0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – A year ago at this time the Salem CC softball team was 14 games deep into a record-setting 19-game winning streak that defined its season. But that was an experienced group that developed discipline at the plate that allowed it to come through in high-leverage situations.

This year’s team is battling to stay above .500. It has a lot of more newcomers and is still learning those things, the way last year’s team had to in its first year together. Sometimes those lessons come with unpleasant outcomes.

The Mighty Oaks came to the plate numerous times with runners in scoring position during Tuesday’s Region 19 doubleheader with Lackawanna, but they saw limited returns in those situations and were swept by the Falcons 6-5 and 5-2.

“We didn’t do a good job making adjustments at the plate,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We had a hard time making sure we are attacking pitches that we need to.

“Once we start doing that a little bit better I think we’ll be all right. Balls just didn’t go our way sometimes, and sometimes that’s just softball.”

The Mighty Oaks (10-10) came to the plate with bases loaded eight times in the doubleheader – four times in each game – and got only two hits to produce three runs. They were 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the opener, 6-for-25 in the doubleheader. Their hitters were 3-for-15 after the Falcons pitchers had seen them for a third time in the game.

“Unfortunately that’s been the story of our season,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve struggled with runners in scoring position all the time. It’s just something we have to do a better job of and taking advantage of being able to hit a hard ground ball or line drive rather than trying to do too much with a pitch.

“We’re going to get more opportunities, that’s the good news, so the more we keep getting that the more we’ll have opportunities to make adjustments to see the other side of that success.”

The Mighty Oaks loaded the bases in each of the first two innings of Game One. They got nothing in the first inning, but scored three in the second to answer the Falcons’ three in the top of the inning. They tied the game on Callie Rozak’s bases-loaded HBP and Bella Rappa’s two-run single.

They also loaded them with none out in the sixth inning and the only run they scored out of that came on a wild pitch to give them a 4-3 lead. Lackawanna retook the lead in the seventh on three consecutive hits capped by Laniah Tasker’s two-run single.

The Mighty Oaks never led in the nightcap, but they threatened. They loaded the bases in the third with one out down 2-0, but scored only one run on Chantelle Haskie’s two-out single. They also loaded them with two out in the fourth but failed to bring the tying or go-ahead runs home.

“We have a lot more incoming players this year,” Rodriguez said. “They’re slowing making that adjustment (to this level), but it’s not quite there yet. The more they keep attacking, the better they’ll get. It’s just about recognizing this level of pitching and intensity and capitalizing. “

GAME ONE
LACKAWANNA 6, SALEM 5

Lackawanna030 000 2-6130
Salem031 001 0-562
WP: Mea Scalese. LP: Raegan Wilson. HR: Lindsey Tasker (L).

GAME TWO
LACKAWANNA 5, SALEM 2

Lackawanna (17-15)200 012 0-5102
Salem (10-10)011 001 0-180
WP: Brianna Dinese. LP: Jill Robinson.



Spark rekindled

Pennsville’s Ausland excited about playing basketball again, signs to play with Salem CC

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Before the start of her senior season Pennsville’s Nora Ausland wasn’t sure she wanted to play basketball after high school. It hadn’t been fun for a while. Her plan was to go to Salem Community College and just be a regular student. If the spirit moved her, she might walk-on.

AUSLAND

Then the season got going and the spark started to flicker. The Salem CC option was still there, but the idea of playing didn’t catch until Mighty Oaks coach Brian Marsh started showing interest. She liked what she was hearing and now she’s going to Salem as a full-fledged member of its women’s basketball team.

Ausland became the first signee of Marsh’s 2025 signing class Monday when the paperwork she signed over the weekend became official.

“He was just talking to me about basketball and the season and how he really wanted me to come; that influenced more,” Ausland said. “I’m definitely more excited to play this year. In previous seasons I haven’t really cared to play that much, but this year I am excited to play. I’m ready for a big change.”

The last time Ausland truly enjoyed playing, she said, was her freshman year at Salem. She played two years for the Rams, then transferred to Pennsville for her last two years in high school. She played this past season for her original coach, Steve Merritt, and averaged 12.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

She scored 1,147 career points, hit 147 3-pointers, grabbed 622 rebounds and had 133 blocked shots despite missing 14 games her sophomore year, but instead of playing half-heartedly and letting those conflicted feelings permeate the team she was content to retire from the game.

“I didn’t have, like, the right attitude and didn’t want to bring that on to his team,” she said. “I’ve definitely changed. I used to love the game and now I’m excited to play again.”

And Marsh is excited to have her on board as seeks to have “shooters all over the floor” while replacing four starters from last year’s 11-13 team. Ausland is the fourth player from Salem County to sign with the women’s program since its revival two years ago. Signing local players is an important element of Marsh’s recruiting plan.

“I think it’s extremely important; it’s exactly what I’m trying to do,” Marsh said. “I’m trying to convince these local players that they don’t have to go away to play big-time college basketball.

“I said to Nora and some of my recruits, I want these local players to help take us to the national rankings. I want them to be able to say I can go to Salem and can play. You saw the teams we play; they’re nationally ranked. You’re playing really good college basketball in front of your friends and family, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports calendar from the week of March 30-April 6; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MARCH 31
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Woodstown
Salem at Wildwood
SOFTBALL
Pennsville vs. Gloucester Catholic, Stauffer Fields
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Salem
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown, Scotland Run
Woodstown vs. Deptford, Town & Country GL, 3 p.m.
TENNIS
Clayton at Schalick
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Glassboro at Penns Grove
LACROSSE
St. Joseph at Woodstown
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Highland, 3:45 p.m.

APRIL 1
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Pitman, Pitman CC
Schalick vs. Wildwood, Union League GC
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield at Woodstown, 4:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Camden County Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Lackawanna at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 2
BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
Pennsville vs. Pitman, Alcyon Park
Salem at Holy Cross
Woodstown at Schalick
SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pitman at Pennsville
Woodstown at Schalick
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Clearview, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Middle Twp. at Woodstown
Pennsville at Overbrook
TRACK
Schalick at Pennsville
Woodstown at Overbrook

APRIL 3
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove vs. LEAP at Rutgers Camden
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Cumberland, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Union League National
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville vs. Clayton, Williamstown MS
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Triton
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Camden CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 4
BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Woodstown
Pennsville vs. Gloucester Catholic, Brooklawn MS
Schalick at Delran
SOFTBALL
Salem at Camden County Tech
Schalick at Delsea
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Cedar Creek, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC
TENNIS
Pennsville at Bridgeton, 3:45 p.m.
Vineland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
LACROSSE
Lower Cape May at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Middlesex, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 5
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Millville Tournament, 9 a.m.
TRACK
Pennsville, Salem at Deptford Relays, 9 a.m.
Schalick at Buena Relays, 9 a.m.
Woodstown in Invitational at Univ. of Delaware, 9 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Middlesex at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Mercer County CC at Salem CC, noon

Another nail biter

Salem CC baseball wins in bottom of ninth to split DH, but win series with Montgomery; softball splits at Morris

SATURDAY REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 5-4, Montgomery County 9-3
Morris 7-13, Delaware Tech 6-5
RCSJ-Cumberland 17-5, Ocean 4-0
Lackawanna 18-21, Raritan Valley 10-1
Union at Middlesex
Camden 28-10, Bergen 6-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 12-12, Northampton 8-0
Mercer 8-12, Sussex 5-2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Just another sensational Saturday at The Treehouse.

For the second straight Saturday on their Carneys Point Rec Complex field, Salem CC won the second game of a Region 19 doubleheader in their last bats in extra innings. This time, it was 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth to split the twinbill with Montgomery County CC.

Last week, the Mighty Oaks beat RCSJ-Gloucester 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th to sweep that doubleheader and the series. It wasn’t nearly as dark or as cold when the winning run crossed this time, but the score and circumstances were eerily the same.

“Baseball‘s a strange sport, that’s all I can say,” said sophomore first baseman Lee Rodriguez, whose two-out single deep into the right centerfield gap scored Yen Rodriguez from third with the winning run. “Are you not entertained?”

After dropping the opener 9-5, it took the Mighty Oaks (12-15) a while to come around in the nightcap. They rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game and then get the split. Yen Rodriguez got them on the board with a leadoff homer off the scoreboard in the fourth inning and they tied it in the fifth on Tim Bowlby’s RBI ground out and Cole Dawson’s sacrifice fly.

Yen Rodriguez got their eighth-inning rally started with a walk and stolen base. He moved to third on Demetrius DeRamus’ grounder to second and was held at third on Angel Velez’ grounder to the same place.

Lee Rodriguez, who entered as a pinch runner for Tyler Hacker in the fourth (hamstring), saw two pitches from Chris Tomlinson and then ripped a 71-mph fastball into the gap to score Yen. The shot was as hard as any ball Lee has hit with the Mighty Oaks and would have been a double in any other circumstance, but since it only took one base to score the winning run he was credited with just a single.

He figured it was his first walk-off hit since he was 14 years old.

“I’m usually the one who’s on base and somebody walks to bring me in or something,” he said. “I’m usually the one who scores it.

“With two outs my goal was really just to try and get Yen in. I was like, play small ball. First pitch I took was a ball. When I saw the first strike something in me was like, ‘you’re ready’. I got to looking at third and said I’m going to get you in no matter what. The next pitch, he threw it and I hit it. I thought it was going (out), too The umpire said it’s no home run, but it’s all right. At least we won the game.

“I’m going to be thinking about this all week now til the next game.”

The win went to Seth McCormick, a freshman righthander who earlier in the week entered a 6-6 game in the seventh but was lifted in mid-inning with right shoulder pain after giving up six runs. He showed no signs of the ailment Saturday, striking out the top of Montco’s lineup in order on 13 pitches, one of which was a career-best 87-mph fastball.

“I’ve struggled before with shoulder injuries,” McCormick said. “What I think it was was I pinched something and something happened. I did a little bit of rehab with our athletic trainer and I came in and it felt good today. I just tried to throw it as hard as I could where I needed to be and it worked.

“Going through my mind was getting out with as few pitches as possible. Don’t overstrain the arm and get out and give us a chance to win. It was definitely a stressful situation coming in after Pat (Seitzinger) threw a hell of a game and you’ve got to come in and throw as well if not better than he did. It’s a stressful situation, especially as the game rides on your shoulder.”

McCormick got the ball after starter Seitzinger threw seven strong innings and was brilliant over his last five. After giving up three consecutive doubles that produced the Mustangs’ 3-0 lead, the freshman lefthander retired 16 of the last 19 batters he faced and 14 of the last 15. He and McCormick retired the last 13 Mustangs in a row.

“My mechanics got better as the game went on,” Seitzinger said. “I was leaving pitches right down the middle, so I figured I’d change my mechanics a little bit, try to keep them more off balance. I felt good going into the game so I felt like I was going to have success, but after that second inning I knew we were struggling a little bit hitting so I had to pick up my teammates and throw strikes.”

“I’ve known Pat since he was 11; I coached him in 11U baseball,” Salem coach John Holt said. “I’ve been waiting for him to graduate when I got this job. I know he’s got the tenacity and the killer instinct as a lefty that when he gets the opportunity nothing fazes him. A true bulldog.”

ACORNS: Former major leaguer Fernando Rodney made it to The Treehouse in time to catch his son’s team play in the second game. The Mighty Oaks are undefeated this season when the former MLB All-Star is in the stands. They are off until Friday and aren’t back at home until next Saturday … Seitzinger dropped his ERA almost a run and a half to 7.14 with his outing … The Mustangs took the lead in the opener with a four-run fifth marred by a two-run fielding error in the outfield and extended it with Brett Minnick’s three-run homer in the sixth.

GAME ONE: MONTGOMERY 9, SALEM 5

Montgomery County020 043 0-991
Salem CC101 012 0-574
WP: Korbin Wale. LP: Jared Vanderstuer. HR: Brett Minnich (M).

GAME TWO: SALEM 4, MONTGOMERY 3 (8 INNS.)

Montgomery County030 000 00-361
Salem CC000 120 01-450
2 out when winning run scored
WP: Seth McCormick. LP: Chris Tomlinson. HR: Yen Rodriguez (S).
Montgomery County’s Ryan Bevins leaps over Salem catcher Angel Velez trying to score in the first inning of Saturday’s opener. Bevins missed the plate and Velez tagged him out to complete a double play. (Photo from Gamechanger video).

Softball

Hayes big game helps Mighty Oaks split

SATURDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL
Salem CC 4-18, Morris 5-6
Bergen 15-1, Ocean 2-9
Middlesex 9-1, RCSJ-Gloucester 6-10
Brookdale 4, Orange 1
Lackawanna 8-6, Sussex 0-2
Monroe Bronx 8-19, Raritan Valley 7-15
Mercer 9-4, Delaware Tech 1-5
Northampton 15-10, Camden 1-2

RANDOLPH – Ella Hayes hit a grand slam in the fifth inning and drove in six runs and Tiana Wilson went 3-for-3 with five RBIs as the Salem CC softball team crushed Morris 18-6 in the nightcap of their doubleheader after losing the opener to a two-run seventh-inning rally.

Hayes’ slam capped a six-run inning after the Mighty Oaks broke away from a 5-5 tie with seven runs in the fourth. Rozak broke the tie with a two-run homer and Wilson extended the lead with a two-run double.

Wilson had a big doubleheader, going 3-for-3 in both games. She is 9-for-9 with two sacrifice flies over her last four games since going hitless in Game 2 against Raritan Valley.

The Mighty Oaks took a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning of the opener. Morris got closer with a run in the sixth and then won it with two in the seventh. The Titans produced the tying and winning runs on back-to-back two-out singles.

GAME ONE: MORRIS 5, SALEM 4

Salem CC103 000 0-4112
Morris110 001 2-594
2 out when winning run scored.
WP: Demm. LP: Raegan Wilson.

GAME TWO: SALEM 18, MORRIS 6

Salem CC023 76-18144
Morris302 10-655
WP: Jill Robinson. LP: Prager. HR: Callie Rozak (S), Ella Hayes (S).



Kelly drives

Salem CC sophomore breaks out of slump with homer in Mighty Oaks’ rout of Montgomery County

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Salem CC 20, Montgomery 7
RCSJ-Cumberland 16, Ocean 0
Delaware Tech 6, Morris 2
Lackawanna 14, Raritan Valley 1
Camden 10, Bergen 0
Mercer 9, Sussex 2
RCSJ-Gloucester 5, Northampton 4
Middlesex at Union

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BLUE BELL, Pa. – Chris Kelly has been having an awful time at the plate since the Salem CC baseball team returned home from its trip to Florida. But one swing Friday may have gotten him back on the right path.

KELLY

The sophomore third baseman belted a three-run homer – his first college home run – in the fifth inning in the Mighty Oaks’ 20-7 rout of Montgomery County CC.

Before the blast – his first college homer – he had gone 2-for-18 with 10 strikeouts since coming back from Florida and, compounding the frustration, made an unfortunate error on a potential inning-ending bouncer in the ninth inning as a late-game defensive replacement Wednesday against Mercer.

But he came up with two on and two out against the Mustangs and sent left-hander Brayden Morton’s second pitch of the count deep to left field to put the game into run-rule territory.

“The batter before got four straight balls and my first pitch was a ball,” Kelly said. “I was expecting to get the take sign from Coach Holt, but he gave me the green light. Coach Ty (McGarvey) said find the mistake. I went up there and found the mistake and did what I was supposed to with the mistake.

“It brought a lot of confidence back after struggling against Cumberland. It felt good to produce for the team, to get a nice three-run RBI (that) helped out and got us the 10-run rule and kind of went from there. It felt good to get the swing feeling good again.”

You could almost feel the cloud lift as Kelly rounded the bases. He playfully engaged with first base coach Chip Chapman and when he rounded third to approach the plate you could hear his teammates calling out “Welcome back.”

“It was a big relief,” Kelly said. “Hearing that just kind of like boosted me up even more and then seeing everybody once I got there it definitely was relieving.”

The Delsea product had never been through an extended hitting slump like this before. While he didn’t lose any sleep over it, he was thinking about it “a lot.” Admittedly it had reached a point late in the Cumberland series where he dreaded going to the plate. But always in the back of his mind he felt he’d eventually find a way back.

“I wish I knew (the cause); I kind of just felt off at the plate,” he said. “I wasn’t as good, the approaches weren’t there. We talked after practice yesterday, went to no stride, did it for a little bit and it paid off today.”

His approaches were good throughout the day. He hit a deep fly to center in his first at bat and drove in a run in the fourth inning with a ground out. He walked in his two at-bats following the homer.

Throughout the slump, Mighty Oaks head coach John Holt expressed support for his third baseman. Kelly had been hitting .395 before the slump. He was back in the starting lineup Friday and delivered in a big way.

“I’m obviously happy for him,” Holt said. “He’s a good kid. He’s been with us two years now. He does everything we ask of him. It’s just nice to see that hard work paying off.

“Hard work pays off. He made adjustments. He’s worked with our hitting coach. Even with the home run he’s still not satisfied with where he is. I think he’s hungry to get better every day.”

Kelly’s bomb was one of three homers the Mighty Oaks (11-14) hit in the game. Demetrius DeRamus hit a three-run shot in the first inning – his second in three games – to get them started. Cole Dawson hit his first homer of the season leading off a five-run fourth.

Dawson had two hits and two RBIs. Yen Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Every player in the lineup scored at least one run, seven had at least one hit and seven had at least one RBI.

“The approach was good at the plate,” Holt said. “They worked themselves into good counts to hit in and when they do that we’re a real good baseball team.”

Jon Gambone pitched a complete game to get the win. He threw 109 pitches and struck out five. And even though he gave up a season-high 12 hits and six earned runs, none of it really hurt him the way the offense was delivering.

“He was a bulldog for us,” Holt said. “We extended him today as far as we’ve extended him pitch-count since the injury and he responded well.

“We’ve been talking lately with them about playing team baseball is lot more than patting somebody on the butt, about the offense picking up a pitcher when the pitcher needs to be picked up or the pitcher picking up the defense when it falters or vice verse, and that hasn’t been happening a whole lot very early in the season.

“I think once we got through Florida our guys started to figure that piece of the puzzle out and today the offense picked up the defense and Gambone when he needed it. Playing team baseball like that, they’re starting to understand that a little bit.”

The series concludes with a doubleheader at the Carneys Point Rec Complex Saturday starting at noon. The Mighty Oaks are scheduled to start Jared Vandersteur and Pat Seitzinger on the mound in the two games.

Salem CC430 562 0-20102
Montgomery County CC202 120 0-7129
WP: Jon Gambone. LP: Carver Perrone. HR: Demetrius DeRamus (S), Cole Dawson (S), Chris Kelly (S).

Photo: Salem CC third baseman Chris Kelly (L) is greeted at the plate by teammates Angel Velez (7) and Tyler Hacker (28) after hitting a three-run homer to give the Mighty Oaks a 16-5 lead. (Photo from Gamechanger video)





Tough way to learn

Salem CC baseball battles back from late six-run deficit to get within one, but loss to Mercer CC gets away in the ninth

REGION 19 BASEBALL SCORES
Mercer 18, Salem CC 11
Middlesex 11, Montgomery 1
Lackawanna 7, Delaware County 4
Union 7, Raritan Valley 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The last two games the Salem CC baseball team played at their Treehouse have been steeped in high drama that went down to the last inning. One of them the Mighty Oaks found a way to win. The other, the most recent one Wednesday, got away.

The Mighty Oaks came from six runs down in the seventh inning to get within one and then came within one strike of giving themselves a chance to win it in the ninth, but a two-out throwing error opened the door for a six-run Mercer ninth that sent them to an 18-11 loss.

“We’ve got to learn from this; it’s got to be a lesson,” Salem head coach John Holt said. “Any loss that you can learn from is not necessarily a loss. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned here today … We’ve got to learn to compete for every pitch.”

The Mighty Oaks (10-13) had leads of 5-2 and 6-3 in the first two innings, but Mercer (16-6) tied the game with three runs in the fifth, then scored six in the seventh off Seth McCormick to take the lead.

McCormick started the inning as the Mighty Oaks’ third pitcher, but had to leave after all the damage because of a shoulder/lat injury. Ironically, he entered Saturday’s doubleheader opener with RCSJ-Cumberland mid-at bat due to a pitcher’s injury and left Wednesday the same way. Jon Gambone got the final out of the inning and kept the Vikings off the board in the eighth to give Salem any kind of chance.

And the Mighty Oaks rallied. They cut two off the deficit in the bottom of the seventh and then scored three in the eighth on Yen Rodriguez’ two-run triple and Matt Murphy’s sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. They had the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position with two outs, but Hunter Cohen grounded sharply to second to end the threat.

Holt made wholesale defensive changes in the ninth to provide “what I thought was going to give us our best defense” after bringing hand-throwing Tyler Hacker to the mound from first base. The moves included sending Cohen across the diamond from third to first and inserting Chris Kelly at the hot corner.

The Vikings had runners at second and third with two outs. Hacker, who hadn’t given up an earned run in four previous appearances (six innings), got ahead of Geno Bianco 0-and-2, but Bianco bounced a ball in the infield that Kelly moved to his left to collect.

The pick up was clean and it looked like the inning was going to end safely, but Kelly’s throw to first was low and wide and got away from Cohen allowing the two insurance runs to score. The Vikings reloaded the bases against Hacker, then Donald Gallagher, hitting in the 9-hole, hit a grand slam to break it open.

“Hack hadn’t given up an earned run all year; we expected a little better there,” Holt said. “Chris was cold coming off the bench today. As I said, we’ve got to learn a lesson there. There are opportunities to go after even if you’re not in the starting lineup, you’ve got to understand your number may get called.”

Kelly had a rough weekend series at the plate against RCSJ-Cumberland and Cohen replaced him in Wednesday’s starting lineup. The Mighty Oaks completed the sweep of that series by winning Game 3 in the bottom of the 12th after tying the game on Demetrius DeRamus’ two-run homer in the 11th.

“Chris is a kid who has come a long way,” Holt said. “He’s really bought into a lot of the ideology we teach here. He works hard. There’s not a lot of consoling there. He’s a great teammate. He’s been a leader for us. I don’t think there’s anything to console there. I think he’s going to flush it and get after it.”

In addition to their rallies in the seventh and eighth innings, the Mighty Oaks answered Mercer’s two in the first with five in the bottom of the inning highlighted by Hacker’s go-ahead two-run single.

Holt said the rallies show the potential the Mighty Oaks have “if we play the game the way they’re taught that we can play with anybody and compete against anybody.”

ACORNS: Hacker still hasn’t given up an earned run as all six Mercer runs in the ninth were unearned. Only five of Mercer’s runs in the game were earned … Rodriguez hit his fifth homer of the season in the second inning and was 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs; he’s now hitting .397 for the season … Hacker had two hits and three RBIs. Murphy drove in two runs.

Mercer County CC210 030 606-18120
Salem CC510 000 230-11125
WP: Matt Juliano. LP: Seth McCormick. HR: Donald Gallagher (M), Yen Rodriguez (S).