Split puts Salem on cusp

Mighty Oaks split with No. 2 Northampton, remain confident playing for series win Sunday

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
(Best-of-3 series)
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester bye
No. 4 Middlesex 7-15, No. 5 RCSJ-Cumberland 6-7
No. 3 Brookdale 9-9, No. 6 Ocean 2-5No. 7 Salem CC 14-2, No. 2 Northampton 11-14
Sunday’s game
Salem CC at Northampton CC, 2 p.m.
REGION XIX/NORTH ATLANTIC DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
(Double-elimination format)
May 17-19
First-round games
Middlesex vs. RCSJ-Gloucester, 11 a.m.
Salem-Northampton winner vs. Brookdale, 11 a.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The mood around the Salem CC dugout changed from the first and second game, but the Mighty Oaks haven’t changed course on their drive for the prize.

The Oaks split their Region XIX playoff doubleheader with No. 2-ranked and second-seeded host Northampton Saturday. They took the opener 14-11 for their first Region XIX playoff win game in 13 years, but lost the second 14-2 in five innings.

The split sends the series to a winner-take-all rubber game here Sunday at 2 p.m. Hard-throwing J.D. Wilson is scheduled to draw the start for the Oaks (27-24).

If the seventh-seeded Oaks win, they’ll move into the Division III North Atlantic District/Region XIX Final Four at RCSJ-Gloucester next weekend playing for a trip to the JUCO World Series.

“The one thing this team has done all year is rebounded well,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “We talk about it , it’s been kind of one of our creeds all year :‘So what, next pitch.’

‘So what, we’ve got to come out and play tomorrow. I won’t say we expected it (a split), but we prepared for it.’

The win in Game 1 may have shocked the region but it didn’t the Oaks.

They beat a then-third-ranked Brookdale earlier in the season, so they knew they could play with the elite, and they’ve also played their best baseball in the second half of the season, putting together an impressive run just to make the tournament field.

They took the Spartans’ hardest punch several times in Game 1 and turned them away.

The Oaks had 16 hits in the opener, with Demetrius DeRamus, Matt Murphy and Angel Velez all hitting homers. Velez had four hits and DeRamus and Murphy each had three. Yen Rodriguez and Jared Vandersteur both had two.

“They played hard, they stayed in the game,” Holt said. “The whole roster was in the game the whole day. That’s how we’ve got to play to win.”

There were five lead changes in the first game. The Oaks jumped on top 6-0 after two innings, thanks in part to DeRamus’ three-run homer in the second, but found themselves trailing after the fourth (7-6) and seventh innings (10-9).

“It was getting annoying, man; I just wanted those guys to stay down,” Velez said of the back and forth.

They took the lead for good with two in the eighth. Murphy’s leadoff homer tied it 10-10 and Velez scored the go-ahead run when the Spartans threw away Wilson’s grounder into a three-base error.

They extended the lead with three in the ninth on Murphy’s sacrifice fly and Velez’ second homer of the year, a two-run shot.

The Oaks handed it to Ben Foote to close it out. The Woodstown grad got out of a jam in the eighth and then with a four-run lead worked his way through the top of the Northampton order in the ninth. He induced Robert Furino, who homered twice in the game, to pop out to first baseman Lee Rodriguez for the final out.

“I just knew I had to throw strikes and get guys out and just keep my guys in the game,” Foote said. “They played defense behind me, so I knew we had it. It was an intense game but I didn’t let it bother me. Once I got my number called to go warm up I knew I just had to go in and throw strikes.”

The second game was as bad as the first game was good for the Oaks.

Salem starter Aiden Ewe had been pitching well since losing the hitch in his delivery – 4-0, 1.60 ERA in his previous five appearances – but he ran into some issues that Holt said were “out of his control” and got roughed up.

He had given up only six runs in his previous five appearances, but was charged with 11 in 2 2/3 innings. The Spartans scored six runs in the first inning behind four walks, a hit batsman and only two hits to take control.

The Oaks got two runs back in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Nick Ciesielka followed by a fielder’s choice on Rodriguez’ grounder to short. Northampton then scored five in the third to move into run-rule territory.

“Getting a split isn’t a bad thing,” Holt said. “We continue to match up well going into a Game 3. Like I’ve said before there’s a reason they’re the second-ranked team in the country. We showed we can hang with them and I feel pretty good about tomorrow.”

“We still have a chance to come play tomorrow and win,” Velez said. “That’s the only thing on our mind right now.”

Oaks show mettle

Salem CC baseball falls in final home game, but effort against No. 1 team in country gives it confidence heading into playoffs

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — Sophomore Day for the Salem CC baseball team may have been the last home game for a group of second-year players who built the current culture of the program, but for the first time since the Mighty Oaks brought back the program it wasn’t their last game.

The Mighty Oaks gave top-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester all it wanted through six innings Monday, but the Roadrunners scored two in the seventh to hand the Oaks a 6-3 loss that marked the end of Salem’s regular season.

But unlike past years when the final game of the regular season was the final game, it’s not the end of the line for Mighty Oaks (26-23). They play their first Region XIX tournament game since 2011 Saturday as the No. 7 seed at second-seeded Northampton CC. Gloucester (41-7) clinched the No. 1 seed with the victory.

“This gives me a lot of confidence knowing that we can compete with the No. 1 team in country,” reliever Inaki Hutchinson said. “I feel really good going into the playoffs, especially against Northampton, who we didn’t play very well against when we played them in the beginning of the season, but we weren’t as big of a team and a brotherhood as we are now.”

“Today was like we really know we can compete and we didn’t put our best guys in there,” added centerfielder Demetrius DeRemus. The Oaks were missing several starters and regulars due to injury and exams.

The Oaks never led in the game, but were in it start to finish. They were locked in a scoreless tie through three innings and when they fell behind got within 3-2 and 4-3 before the seventh.

Gloucester struck first with three runs in fourth off an RBI single, three-base throwing error and sacrifice fly. Hutchinson came on to put out the fire and then pitched a scoreless fifth.

“Really all I was trying to do was attack the zone (and) let my guys make plays,” Hutchinson said. “All I was trying to do was pitch to contact basically until I got to two strikes and once it got to 2-2, 3-2, I was trying to K ‘em up.”

The plan was to give starter Ryan Silnik three innings with Hutchinson and John McAllister each getting two. Silnik had fewer than 40 pitches through the first three innings, so coach John Holt extended him into the fourth.

The Oaks got two of the runs back in the home fourth. Cole Dawson drew a bases-loaded walk and Jared Vandersteur was hit by a pitch for the 20th time this season, also with the bases loaded. It looked like they were going to get more, but Roadrunners centerfielder R.J. Mustaro flagged down DeRamus’ deep fly right center for the final out the Oaks’ outfielder was convinced was gone for a grand slam.

The Oaks left six runners in scoring position over the first five innings.

“That’s just baseball; that’s the nature of the beast,” Holt said. “Sometimes they fall for you, sometimes they don’t and they just didn’t for us today. We put together some solid at bats most of the day and that’s what we preach.”

Gloucester went up 4-3 in the sixth, but the Oaks answered in the bottom of the inning on Cole Dawson’s leadoff double and a throwing error on Vandersteur’s chopper to third. Vandersteur reached base all four times he came to the plate.

The Oaks recognized their eight sophomores after the game. Six of them played in the game, including all three pitchers. The others are Nick Cielsielka, Eli Real, Mike Ochmanski and pitchers Ben Foote and Aiden Ewe.

The group has been part of 40 wins — and counting — over the past two seasons and a school-record 15-game winning streak this season that guaranteed the Oaks a winning record and a spot in the playoffs.

“These guys were kind of the beginning of what we were trying to establish in regards to a culture,” Holt said. “These guys, they did a lot more than just (what happened) between the lines. They helped build that culture here and if this thing continues to grow the way we think it’s going to grow these guys are going to have a lot to say about where it came from.”

NOTES: The projected first-round tournament pairings are as follows: Salem-Northampton, Ocean-Brookdale, RCSJ Cumberland-Middlesex Gloucester has a first-round bye. Gloucester, Northampton and Brookdale are 1, 2 and 4, respectively, in this week’s JUCO Division III poll … If the Oaks win their first-round series, their second-round matchup is May 18-19. McAllister and Mighty Oaks softball outfielder Faith Penn have their wedding planned for May 18 … DeRamus was quite active in the outfield. He flagged down seven fly balls and almost threw out a runner at the plate in the seventh … With three more HBPs Monday, the Oaks now have 107, second nationally in JUCO Division III. Vandersteur is T-4 individually. Lee Rodriguez is T-9.

Cover photo: Salem CC recognized its eight baseball sophomores after Monday’s game with RCSJ-Gloucester.

This week’s schedule

Here is the sports schedule for Salem County high school and college teams for the week of May 6-11; all events 4 p.m. unless noted

Monday

COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem at Wildwood
Woodstown at Camden Academy Charter
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Schalick at Glassboro
Wildwood at Salem
GOLF
GCIT vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Triton, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton
Schalick at Bridgeton
TRACK
Penns Grove at Overbrook
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Triton at Salem Tech

Tuesday

BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
Schalick at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Triton
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
GOLF
Schalick, Woodstown in NJSIAA Sectionals, Cream Ridge GC
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
Cumberland at Woodstown
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddon Twp., 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday

BASEBALL
Overbrook at Woodstown
Salem at Clayton
Schalick at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Schalick
Wildwood at Pennsville
Woodstown at Overbrook
GOLF
Cumberland girls vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Northern Burlington boys vs. Schalick, Centerton CC, 4:15 p.m.
Middle Twp. vs. Pennsville, Sakima GC, 4:30 p.m.
TRACK
Salem County Championships, Salem, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Delsea at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 3:45 p.m.
Clayton at Schalick
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 6 p.m.

Thursday

BASEBALL
Woodstown vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Salem
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Clayton
Woodstown vs. Schalick, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
GOLF
Salem Tech, Pennsville, Clayton at The Birches, 3:45 p.m.
Timber Creek vs. Woodstown, Town & Country GC, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick vs. Deptford, Pitman GC
BOYS TENNIS
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
Williamstown at Penns Grove
GIRLS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown

Friday

BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Clayton
Woodstown at Salem
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Overbrook
Salem at Woodstown
Wildwood at Penns Grove
GOLF
Woodbury vs. Pennsville, Sakima GC, 3:30 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown
BOYS TENNIS
GCIT at Pennsville
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 3:45 p.m.

Saturday

COLLEGE BASEBALL
Region XIX Tournament
(All doubleheaders starting at noon)
Salem CC at Northampton
RCSJ-Cumberland at Middlesex
Ocean at Brookdale
(Game 3, if necessary, Sunday, noon)
BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament
Woodstown vs. Camden Catholic, 10 a.m.
Paulsboro vs. Cherry Hill East, 10 a.m.
Consolation game, noon
Championship game, noon
GIRLS LACROSSE
Lower Cape May at Woodstown, 10 a.m.

One more to go

UPDATED

It still has one game to play, but Salem CC will be on the road in the first round of Region XIX baseball playoffs, likely to play Northampton

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The rain wiped out the second game of Salem CC’s regular-season-ending doubleheader with RCSJ-Gloucester Saturday, turning Monday’s rescheduled game a potentially big one for the Mighty Oaks’ Region XIX Division III playoff seeding.

The Oaks dropped Game 1 of the scheduled doubleheader 21-1, but the second one never got started. The game will be made up 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex and must be completed by Tuesday. If the Oaks win, they could move up a spot in the seedings.

Salem currently holds the No. 7 seed in the seven-team field, but if Ocean gets swept in its final two games with Camden Sunday, a Mighty Oaks win over the top-ranked Roadrunners would vault them to No. 6 by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over Ocean.

A No. 7 seed would send them to No. 2 Northampton in the opening-round best-of-3 series, while a No. 6 seed would send them to No. 3 Brookdale. Gloucester is the No. 1 seed by virtue of its 26-3 (.897) region-eligible record and a no contest ruling on Bergen pulling out of its series with Northampton, which finishes at 23-4 (.851).

“I guess we can kind of determine who’re going to play,” Salem coach John Holt said.

Right now, it looks like this: 1. x-RCSJ-Gloucester 26-3, 2. Northampton 23-4, 3. Brookdale 23-7, 4. Middlesex 18-12, 5. RCSJ-Cumberland 17-13, 6. y-Ocean 14-14, 7. x-Salem 13-16. x-1 game remaining vs. each other, y-2 games remaining vs. Camden

If these standings hold, the playoff series would be Salem-Northampton, Ocean-Brookdale, RCSJ Cumberland-Middlesex. RCSJ Gloucester has a first-round bye.

When it comes to making projections and preferences, Holt takes the Charlie Manuel approach.

“I’m not gonna put the cart in front of the horse yet,” he said. “I’ll worry about it when we know who we’re going to play.”

In the only game the Mighty Oaks played Saturday, freshman left-hander Sean Kelby pitched the first five innings Holt explained “to get him his innings to prep him for next week.”

The second game was going to see Ryan Silnik for the first three innings, Inaki Hutchinson for two and John McAllister for two. The pitching plan for Monday, Holt said, “probably won’t stray too far from that.”

“It’s baseball,” Holt said. “We’ve got to finish out the season, we want to try to win the game, but we also, at the end of the day, want to make sure everybody’s healthy and ready to go for the weekend.

“The good thing is I think we’ve got our pitching lined up to where it’s supposed to be and with the situations and scores and opponents we’ve had we’ve been able to give everybody some playing time to kind of sharpen up. This last one, granted, we don’t take the field to lose, but it doesn’t have a lot of bearing on where we’re at right now.”

Fighting to the end

Salem CC’s record softball season ends in hard-fought Region XIX tournament loss to eventual runner-up Mercer

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s games
Mercer CC 10, Salem CC 8
Mercer CC 13, Delaware Tech 6
Championship game
Delaware Tech 11, Mercer CC 9
NOTE: Delaware Tech plays at Region X runnerup Bryant & Stratton (Va.); Mercer CC plays at Region X champion Louisburg (N.C.).

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST WINDSOR – Midnight came to Cinderella a little before noon Saturday.

The Salem CC softball team literally gave host Mercer CC all it could handle for the second day in a row but it took a sixth-inning rally for the top-seeded Vikings to put the relentless Mighty Oaks away.

Mercer fired the last salvo in a back-and-forth game, scoring two runs in the sixth inning to hand Salem a 10-8 loss in the Region XIX semifinals and bring to an end a record-setting season for the Mighty Oaks.

The Mighty Oaks shut out Mercer in the opening game of the tournament and held leads of 1-0, in the first inning, 4-3 in the third and 8-5 in the fifth Saturday; in fact, they held leads in all three of their tournament games. But the Vikings, the eventual tournament runner-ups, answered every time before taking the lead for good in the sixth.

“We definitely fought hard, we definitely pushed until the end; we just fell short at the end,” freshman catcher Callie Rozak said. “We scored just as much or more runs than they did, but in the end just came up a little short.”

“They underestimated us throughout the whole season I wanted to prove a point,” centerfielder Karyn Trice said. “I know everyone wanted to prove a point. I hoped we would come out on top, but we played hard and I think we really made a name for ourselves.”

The Oaks’ first three batters of the game all singled with Courtney Hoggard giving them a 1-0 lead. In the third inning Vaye Savage doubled home a run and two more scored on Rozak’s liner that hit hard off pitcher Shea Krebs’ upper body, was fielded in the infield and then thrown into foul territory.

The took their 8-5 lead in the fifth on a pair of two-run homers by Savage and Rozak. It was Rozak’s third homer in three tournament games (10 at-bats). The freshman catcher had hit only one during the regular season.

“The biggest thing is my swing,” Rozak said. “This past week we broke it down, we really changed it, we really harnessed all the power that I had and we put it into one nice full swing. I definitely think this year was me finding my power towards the end of the year. I’ve had base hits, I’ve had one other home run this year, but never like, OK, I’m consistently hitting it, we’re getting the ball out.”

The three-run lead left them nine outs away from a trip to the region championship round and a guaranteed berth in the Atlantic District playoffs next week at the Region X representatives.

But Mercer wanted a piece of that, too. The Vikings tied it with three in the bottom of the inning sixth on a two-run homer by Maya Patel and a throwing error trying to complete an inning-ending bases-loaded double play.

Hoggard made another nice stop at the third base bag on a hot shot, but instead of stepping on the base and firing home for a tag, she went home with the throw. Rozak took a short hop for the force, then fired on to first, but her throw sailed past Savage and into right field allowing the tying run to score.

“I definitely knew it was coming forward,” Rozak said. “We just had a time out about it and everybody was saying ‘4 then 1 (home then first base). That throw definitely was a throw I got nervous about because it was bouncy, the turf is hard and it bounced right before my glove and I was like I’ve just got to catch this ball, that’s all I have to do, I have to make this out.

“I probably shouldn’t have made the throw (to first). In my head I was like ‘hold it, hold it,’ and in the back of my head hearing everyone yelling ‘1, 1, 1,’ I thought maybe I still had a chance.”

The Vikings scored their two go-ahead runs on an RBI double by Cierra Acevedo that fell squarely on the right-field foul line and a sacrifice fly by Patel after both hitters fouled off a pair of 0-2 pitches from Morgan Mecham.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We played our best yesterday and they (Mercer) were going to be hungry coming out and wanting to make a difference. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“They did everything that we asked. They came into a week where they were the true underdogs and they battled. It didn’t come out our way – that’s softball – but they did everything we could ask.”

There were expectedly tears and hugs in the Mighty Oaks’ post-game huddle, but there also was a lot of pride in what the team showed this season in its second year back on the field and in the tournament.

The Mighty Oaks had a 30-win season, opened their new home at Pennsville’s Watson Field with a 14-game winning streak, went 18-2 at home, had a 19-game overall winning streak and won its first playoff game in school history.

“The biggest thing was how well we came together as a team,” Rozak said. “Coming from everywhere around the country, the world, and coming together as one and being there for each other, that’s a huge part of this game.”

“We had something to prove since Day One,” Trice said. “Since we’re a second-year program nobody thought we could do it and I’m just glad we put our name out there. We really showed what Salem’s all about. That’s what makes it so special to me, we’re a second-year program and doing all these things.”

**Salem CC catcher Callie Rozak gets the crown at home plate after her third homer of the tournament gave the Mighty Oaks an 8-5 lead over top-seeded Mercer in Saturday’s Region XIX semifinal game.**

Friday roundup

Top-ranked team in JUCO Division III ends Salem CC baseball’s 15-game winning streak; Salem High softball wins big, Rams’ baseball falls

By Riverview Sports News

SEWELL – The Salem CC baseball team’s 15-game winning streak came to an end Friday as No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester scored seven runs over the first three innings and handed the Mighty Oaks an 8-2 defeat.

The Oaks (26-21) scored a run in the top of the first that the Roadrunners answered in the bottom of the inning. The hosts then scored four in the second.

The Oaks still have won 18 of their last 20 and are still guaranteed a winning season. The series concludes with a doubleheader Saturday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex that will mark the end of the regular season.

HIGH SCHOOLS
BASEBALL
OVERBROOK 14, SALEM 4: Mike Rosano had two hits and three RBIs from the leadoff spot and Overbrook took control with six runs in the first inning.
Chase Pompper, Caleb Clair and Ethan Longo had Salem’s hits. Terrell Robinson had an RBI.

SOFTBALL
SALEM 23, LEAP 5: Kyla Henderson went 5-for-5 with three doubles and four RBIs and the Rams got hits from every player in the boxscore. Eleven of the Rams’ 27 hits were doubles.

The top five batters in the Rams’ lineup were a combined 19-for-22 with 16 RBIs. Julliana Love had four hits and four RBIs, Raegan Wilson was 4-for-4 with two RBIs, Morgan Johnson and Ava Ortiz both had three hits and three RBIs.

Cimiyyia Corbin had two hits and three RBIs and Destiny Carr had two hits and two RBIs.

The Rams already had a 4-0 lead, then broke it open with 11 in the second.

Mighty hungry

Salem CC stuns Mercer in Region XIX softball tournament, then falls to Delaware Tech in winners bracket, but still alive for title

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
At Mercer County CC
Friday’s games
Salem CC 6, Mercer CC 0
Delaware Tech 6, Lackawanna 5
Delaware Tech 9, Salem CC 3
Mercer CC 8, Lackawanna 0
Saturday’s games
Salem CC vs. Mercer CC, 10 a.m.
Salem-Mercer winner vs. Delaware Tech, noon
If necessary, 2 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST WINDSOR — For the past couple weeks the Salem CC softball team has been living by the motto ‘Schlay the day.’ The Mighty Oaks certainly ‘schlayed’ the first part of their day Friday and slayed a giant in the process.

In clearly their biggest win since the rebirth of the program and probably the biggest in its history, the fourth-seeded Oaks stunned top-seeded Mercer 6-0 in the opening round of the Region XIX Tournament.

They dropped their winners bracket game to Delaware Tech 9-3, but still have a chance to earn a spot in the district round against Region X. The Oaks (31-13) will have a rematch with Mercer (38-6) Saturday at 10 a.m. for a berth in the championship game where the winner and runnerup both advance to the next stage of the playoffs, but they’ll have to win three games to take the title.

“We’re in a good spot,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We won a playoff game. That’s our story.

“We’re a new team in a position that hasn’t been here in our history and in program history and these three teams have a history of being here and knowing what it takes, having a good idea. We have nothing to lose. We’re going to keep battling and we’re going to keep working. We’re excited. We’re to come out here and whoever we have to face we’re looking to get the job.”

The Oaks stunned the field in the tournament opener. This was the same Mercer team that swept them with two run-rule shutouts and allowed just one hit 10 days ago, but the Oaks didn’t look intimidated in the least. They turned the tables by being aggressive at the plate and Caitlin LaGreca (and later Morgan Mecham) confounding the Vikings with her changeup from in the circle.

‘We were very confident from the start,’ said catcher Callie Rozak, whose three-run homer in the sixth inning was the gamebreaker in the win. ‘We put in a lot of hard work these last three days — live pitching, at bats, approaches, really getting the basics down so going in we have seen this, done this, let’s just put it in action.

‘It’s a big upset. We came in here and you’re counting us out already – a lot teams were – and we shut them out.”

Emilie Hamm’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave the Oaks the lead. It remained a tight game until the sixth when the Oaks scored five runs. Rozak delivered the big blow in and Kiki Beukman hit a solo shot two batters later.

‘Coach Angel (Rodriguez) pulled me aside right before that and said we just need a hard hit, something to go through,’ Rozak said. ‘So I hit that one and I was like that felt good. Once we got that hit it really shut down their energy.’

LeGreca can’t remember pitching a better game. The Vikings are a team that likes to hit hard pitching and LaGreca kept them off-balance all day with her change, thanks in large part to lowering the pitch’s trajectory after studying film of the last time she faced them.

‘We really needed that win,’ LeGreca said. ‘We were voted the underdog and hungry dogs run faster.’

Where have we heard that before, Jason Kelce?

From her vantage point behind the plate, Rozak said LaGreca was ‘amazing’ and painted the outside corner ‘perfectly.’

‘It was definitely an exciting pitch, that’s for sure,’ Rozak said.

It was only the second time this season the Vikings had been shutout and the first time since they returned from their early-season trip to Myrtle Beach. The only hit they got was Abby Bell’s two-out single through the box in the second inning. They had six base runners and only two into scoring position. Third baseman Courtney Hoggard made two nice stabs at the bag to keep the gem alive.

“For us this meant a lot,” Rodriguez said. “This is something we’ve had our eyes on since we started the program: What are we doing to get to the playoffs and how can we win a playoff game.

“Last year we came up short, had the play-in, didn’t work out in our favor. Today just proves to us as coaches and players that we can get it done, that we are a good team, we deserve to be here and they earned that. Hashtag why not us.”

The Oaks were still riding the high of their opening-game win when they jumped out 2-0 in the first inning of their second game. But Del Tech took control with a six-run second inning that featured a three-run double, an RBI double and a two-run homer from consecutive batters.

“We did a better job than the first time around; we hit the ball hard, we just couldn’t find any open areas,” Rodriguez said.

The Oaks had five hits against Del Tech. Rozak hit her second homer of the day in the fourth inning and made the score 7-3.

Cover photo: The Salem CC softball players storm the field after upsetting top-seeded Mercer CC in the opening round of the Region XIX Tournament.

Pedal to the metal

Salem CC baseball keeps foot on the gas, blanks Lehigh Carbon to win 15th in a row, guarantee winning season

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – With their first playoff berth in 13 years safely tucked in their back pocket, the Salem CC baseball team played a game without pressure for the first time in about two months and looked like it.

The Mighty Oaks played loose and active Thursday. They pounded out 15 hits, three pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout and the defense played a clean game in the field as they crushed Lehigh Carbon CC 12-0.

The win was their 15th in a row and 18th in their last 19 games. It also guaranteed the Oaks (26-20) a winning season.

“It was fun, but we still owed these guys a little something (from) the first two games of the series,” catcher Angel Velez said. “We had them on the calendar for a while.

“It felt good, it felt really good. The last couple weeks we had a goal, we’ve been trying to hit it, and now that we’ve hit it, it’s like the weight’s off your shoulders.”

The Oaks clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 when they swept a doubleheader from Anne Arundel on the road Tuesday. It’s been a long road back – at one point this team was 8-19 – but even with a main goal secured they didn’t take their foot off the gas.

Eight of the nine spots in the lineup got at least one hit.

“I tried to enforce to them that regardless of where we are nothing needs to change yet,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “At the end of the day the goal is a lot more than just getting into the playoffs. These guys have really bought into the premise of what we’re trying to do here. Just because we made the playoffs, I don’t want that to be the end game for us. I want them to continue to feel that grind and continue to push through.

“That’s kind of hard sometimes when you go through the grind that they had to just to get into the playoffs. Some of them can see that as the finish line and that’s not where we’re at.”

Velez and Demetrius DeRamus led the offense. Velez went 4-for-4 with an RBI. DeRamus went 3-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. Nick Ciesielka and Cole Dawson both had a pair of hits.

Even guys who hadn’t been around for a while contributed. Chris Kelly played in his first game since March 10 (broken hand) and delivered a pinch single in the sixth inning.

Velez is 24-for-46 (.522) with nine multi-hit games during the winning streak. DeRamus is 30-for-69 (.435) with 29 RBIs during the turnaround.

“I got with Coach Z (Justin Zbikowski) and we both agreed to just start slapping the ball, not trying to do too much,” Velez said. “A feel like in the beginning I was trying to do too much in my swing. Down in Myrtle, it was rough down there, so I feel like I figured out when we came back just learn how to hit my pitch, hunt the fastball, keep catching barrels and I’ve been doing that.”

Hard-throwing starter Aiden Ewe allowed one hit and struck out seven over the first innings. Mike Ochmanski and Matt Decker each pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout. The Cougars only had three runners reach scoring position.

The Oaks jumped out front with two runs in the first inning. DeRamus sliced an RBI triple into right field and scored on J.D. Wilson’s double. They added two more in the fourth on Eli Real’s two-run single.

They broke it open with seven runs in the fifth. Eleven batters came to the plate. Two runs scored when the Cougars misplayed Velez’ single in the outfield and he later scored on a wild pitch. Dawson had a two-run single, Ciesielka singled home a run and DeRamus produced his sacrifice fly.

Lee Rodriguez plated the Oaks’ final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

“I’ve been playing a lot looser lately and I see it in everyone else,” DeRamus said. “We’re just hungrier because we really wanted to make it to the playoffs. There were a lot of technical things a lot of us cleaned up on and it’s been really showing. I know earlier in the season I was just so frustrated, but lately it’s just letting the ball come in deeper and trusting my hands.”

The Mighty Oaks return to action Friday to start a three-game series with RCSJ-Gloucester, a potential playoff opponent, that wraps the regular season. The series and Oaks’ regular season wraps with a home doubleheader Saturday.

“We’ll try to make a statement,” Velez said. “Try to take at least a game, let them know (they’re going to be a factor) and try to knock them down a seed. They want us bad, we want it more. They don’t want to lose to us.”

‘Nothing to lose’

After record-setting regular season, fourth-seeded Salem CC softball ‘locked in and ready’ for stacked Region XIX Tournament field

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
Friday’s Games
Salem CC (30-12) vs. Mercer CC (37-5), 10 a.m.
Delaware Tech (24-8) vs. Lackawanna CC (35-14), noon
Salem-Mercer winner vs. Del Tech-Lackawanna winner, 2 p.m.
Salem-Mercer loser vs. Del Tech-Lackawanna loser, 4 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The record-setting Salem CC softball team will be out to make more history this weekend as the Mighty Oaks challenge a stacked field in the Region XIX Tournament at Mercer County CC in West Windsor.

The Mighty Oaks posted a 30-12 record in their second season back on the field, a mark that included an 18-2 record at home and a school-record 19-game winning streak. They are the No. 4 tournament seed.

They open the double-elimination tournament Friday, 10 a.m., against top-seeded host Mercer (37-5). Three-time reigning region champion Delaware Tech (24-8) and Lackawanna CC (35-14) complete the four-team field.

A win in their opener will send the Oaks to play at 2 p.m. against the winner of the noon game. A loss will send them to stave off elimination against the noon loser at 4.

“We try to make that a goal since we started,” coach Angel Rodriguez said. “The first year was obviously tremendous just even getting into the play-in and this year just the fact we’re able to do it again. It’s just something we’re going to try and strive for every year. It’s just great to see this group do it again.”

Post-season play means everybody starts 0-0. It’s a good approach for the Oaks, since they were swept by all three potential playoff opponents in a five-day stretch during the regular season. Mercer, which received votes for this week’s NJCAA Division II softball poll, held the Oaks to one hit in a pair of shutouts April 23.

“We had that conversation after our last regular-season game,” Rodriguez said. “We did a reflection on all the good things that we did. We had a great regular season. We had a lot of players reach some good milestones and others pick up their roles, but we said we’re gearing up to a new mindset now.

“We saw the teams we’re going to face. We kind of know what’s going to be thrown at us. We know adjustments we have to make, so we’re working on that. We have nothing to lose. It’s going to be fun and they’re excited, but I think it’ll be a little more different that we get the preparation and hope we can turn it around again.

“Against all three of those teams there was something in each game that wasn’t us. One thing we’ve mentioned a lot with our squad is they haven’t gotten our best yet. There were a couple times we weren’t ourselves and they haven’t seen that, I think that motivated them even more.”

The Mighty Oaks roll into the tournament with a dynamic lineup, led by shortstop Ella Hayes. The freshman Player of the Year candidate from Kansas City, Mo., finished the regular season as the fourth-leading hitter in NJCAA Division II. She is batting .589 with 73 hits, 12 home runs and 75 RBIs. Amazingly, she has struck out only once in 171 plate appearances.

Their other top hitters include Karyn Trice (.491/.604 OBP); Courtney Hoggard (.439, 48 RBIs); Vaye Savage (.376, 7 HRs, 41 RBIs) and Haylee Pickrell (.343, 6 HRs, 27 RBIs).

Overall, they’re ranked seventh in Division II in batting (.403) and third in on-base percentage (.495). Opening-round opponent Mercer is fifth (.420) and second (.502), respectively. In fact, three of the teams in the field are ranked in the top 15 in batting.

“We pretty much have a solid (idea) of what we’re going to do and just let everyone know to be alert,” Rodriguez said. “We’re relying on all 17 to really have some type of role. We geared towards that near the end of the season to get them prepared for this moment knowing that we’re going to need all hands on deck and they’re locked in and ready to go.”

A hot pitcher in the playoffs can make all the difference. The Oaks have several pitchers in their arsenal, led by Morgan Mecham (13-4, 1.94 ERA, 124 strikeouts in 97.1 innings) and Caitlin LaGreca (13-7). Mecham threw nearly 250 combined pitches in consecutive starts against Del Tech and Lackawanna, but did not face Mercer.

Mercer, meanwhile, is ranked third in team ERA (1.60) and second in WHIP (1.04) while placing three of its pitchers in the top 16 in ERA.

“We have a good gameplan that we’re still working through,” Rodriguez said. “The good thing is we have two pitchers who throw two different styles, so I think that’s going to play a big role into what we’re going to do on Friday.

“One of the things we’ve noticed with some of these teams is hitting slower spin pitching throws them off. I don’t think we’re going to ride one or the other, but we’re definitely going to utilize them both in a way that’s going to be a little bit different than what we did this year.”

‘We’re in’

Salem CC clinches a spot in Region XIX baseball tournament with a doubleheader sweep at Anne Arundel

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

ARNOLD, Md. – It has been a long road back, but the Salem Community College baseball team never lost faith or sight of the prize.

The Mighty Oaks extended their winning streak to 14 games Tuesday when they swept Anne Arundel CC 10-0 and 3-1 to clinch a spot in the Region XIX Division III Tournament.

Teams with a .500 or better record either overall or within the region get in the field. With Tuesday’s sweep, the Mighty Oaks are 25-20 with four regular-season games remaining. Had they split against the Riverhawks (27-22), they could have secured the spot Thursday at home against Lehigh Carbon.

Now, they don’t have to worry about it.

“We’re in,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “Step One, right? You’ve got to get in, you’ve got to get into the dance, before you can do anything.”

One other team still has a chance to qualify and make it a seven-team tournament before Saturday’s final games. The Oaks’ last four games will be all about improving their tournament seed.

On April 9, they were sitting at 8-19. Over the last three weeks of the month they went 17-1 with the only loss a game that got away from them in the ninth inning.

“I am as proud of the team as any team I’ve coached in 30 years,” Holt said. “We were in a pretty deep hole with our record and they bought in and believed in the ideas that we try to teach here regards to our culture. That’s what kind of turned the corner for us.

“I always had faith that this was a good baseball team and knew if we played the way I knew we could play we’d be a high-caliber team. To see them buy in and see the hard work and their belief in each other pay off is huge. It’s amazing.”

The Mighty Oaks won the first game behind a two-hit complete-game shutout from Ryan Silnik and three RBIs each from Demetrius DeRamus and Matt Murphy.

Silnik gave up two singles, struck out seven and walked four. DeRamus went 3-for-4 with a bases-loaded triple in the second inning that gave the Oaks a 4-0 lead. He also had four stolen bases.

The second game was tight throughout. The Oaks had only four hits in the nightcap, but Eli Real, who lost his starting shortstop spot in the middle of the season, delivered the playoff-clinching hit when he ripped a two-run single past third with two outs in the sixth to put the Oaks up 3-1.

“Eli is one of our guys who I believe truly believes in the culture we’re trying to build here,” Holt said. “He stuck with it every day, worked hard every day and believed in being a part of this team. Even when he wasn’t in the lineup he was still doing things to help the team out.

“He’s a guy I feel like believes in the culture and never checked out. He was just waiting for his opportunity and came up big for us.”

Inaki Hutchinson, the third Salem pitcher behind starter J.D. Wilson and Preston Stracci, worked the final three innings and put the Riverhawks down in the sixth and seventh to preserve his victory. He gave up three hits, an unearned run and struck out four.

When Hutchinson fanned the last batter to end the game, the Salem players poured out of the dugout and then poured the water bucket over Holt.

“I tried to keep them calm and really push the fact that this was Step One and I ended up getting a little bit of a Gatorade bath,” Holt said. “I had to change my clothes. Those are the moments that you … that’s why we do this.”

GAME ONE
Salem CC (24-20) 130 023 1 – 10 7 0
Anne Arundel (27-21) 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
WP: Ryan Silnik (3-1). LP: Evan Pohlman (4-6).

GAME TWO
Salem CC (25-20) 100 002 0 – 3 4 2
Anne Arundel (27-22) 000 010 0 – 1 5 2
WP: Inaki Hutchinson (2-0). LP: Kyle Smoak (1-1).