Salem CC baseball in its hottest run of the season, wins third straight and sixth in last seven games

By Riverview Sports News

TOMS RIVER – A simple approach at the plate and the schedule at large has the Salem CC baseball team playing some of its best ball of the season as it makes a push for a playoff berth.

The Mighty Oaks extended their winning streak to three games and scored their sixth win in the last seven games Wednesday when they swept a doubleheader at Ocean County College 13-6 and 6-3.

Coupled with their doubleheader sweep of Bergen CC Saturday, it marked the first time the Oaks have swept consecutive doubleheaders since 2021 – Middlesex (May 1) and Delaware County (May 4).

“The boys played hard today,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “As a team our approach at the plate was solid and we were able to produce.

“We’re continuing to take a one-game-at-a-time mentality as a team and the boys are playing for each other. It’s great to see.”

The sweep left the Oaks 14-20 for the season with 15 games remaining. A record of .500 or better qualifies them for the playoffs..

For the second straight game every spot in the Oaks’ lineup had at least one hit in the opener. Catcher Angel Velez had the hot bat early with a two-run triple and two-run double in his first two at bats. He was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

The Oaks scored 12 runs over the first four innings. They have scored 10 runs of more in five of their last seven games. They are 9-2 this season in games they score 10 runs of more.

J.D. Wilson pitched a complete game in the opener. He struck out 10. He gave up six hits, but only one over his final 18 outs.

“J.D. did a great job for us and fought for the complete game,” Holt said. “Again, he wanted to put the team on his back.”

The Oaks took a 4-2 lead in the nightcap with three runs in the third inning and extended the lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth. Demetrius DeRamus and Joe Fekete each had two hits.

Three relievers behind starter Ryan Silnik threw three innings of no-hit relief to preserve the lead. Sean Kelby struck out four in his two innings of work.

Salem CC bounces back from a tough loss the day before in a big way, erupting for 20 runs, 17 hits

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The thing about baseball is it’s such an everyday game it gives you a chance to jump back on the horse after he bucks you off hard.

After losing in the most painful way possible the day before, the Salem CC baseball team enjoyed its most prolific outing of the season Tuesday, bouncing back in a big way to crush undermanned Luzerne County CC, 20-2.

The Mighty Oaks (12-20) scored 20 runs for the second time this season, but this time they did it with a season-high 17 hits. They had a 10-run inning. Twelve of their 14 batters had at least one hit and all 14 reached base at least once. When Lee Rodriguez ripped an RBI double in the sixth, it guaranteed every spot in the lineup having at least one hit, one run and one RBI.

Demetrius DeRamus had two extra-base hits and his leadoff home run touched off the 10-run third. Matt Murphy went 3-for-3 and had two hits in the big inning. Jared Vandersteur had two hits and three RBIs. Cole Dawson went 2-for-2 and Mike Ochmanski had two RBIs.

“It’s a feel good win,” leftfielder Murphy said. “Everyone did their jobs today. J-Mac (John McAllister) pitched a hell of a game. Will (Jones) came in and pitched his butt off. When you have guys coming in throwing strikes, getting outs, it’s kind of easy to just put bats to ball. When you get a lead like that everything’s smiling for everyone and everything’s good.”

Most of the time. The Mighty Oaks had a seemingly comfortable lead like that the day before, but couldn’t hold it. Bergen CC scored 11 runs over the final three innings and scored five in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Oaks 14-13. That’s what made bouncing back against the winless Trailblazers such a big deal.

“It hurt, without a doubt, it stung a little bit, but there are lessons to be learned from it,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “That’s what I try to enforce with these guys, that at the end of the day every loss is an opportunity to learn something from it. 

“We’ve made that mistake a few times, kind of sitting back on our heels once we got a big lead and we’ve gotta stop that. We’ve got to attack. We’ve got to stay in the game. We’ve got to have a bulldog mentality the rest of the way.”

Both pitchers the Mighty Oaks used in the seven-inning game had strong showings.

Sophomore McAllister retired nine of the first 10 Trailblazers he faced and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. He gave up just two hits, two runs and struck out eight in five innings. 

The two runs he allowed came to open the fourth inning after watching the 10-run third. He tried to stay warm down in the bullpen as the inning extended. When he went back out, he gave up a slicing leadoff single to Brandon Smith and a triple into the rightfield corner by Bruce Leatherman, but he retired the next three batters with only the one other run scoring.

“Everything was all good,” McAllister said. “The day really went planned how I wanted to. I showed up early and then came out for my guys. It’s kind of like a confidence boost for me because most of the time it’s a struggle for me to find the zone and I just wanted to fill the zone up, keep the strike percentage up and give my guys a good chance.”

Jones followed McAllister and pitched the final two innings. The freshman from Wilmington gave up back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth and got all six of his outs via strikeout. He has yet to give up an earned run in four career appearances (five innings).

“It felt good,” Jones said. “Actually, I was a little sick this morning, got sick a couple times, but Coach Holt told me yesterday I was going to throw and I don’t get very many opportunities to throw so I knew I had to come out here and just give it my all.”

The Oaks got it started early scoring three runs in the first highlighted by an RBI double by DeRamus and an RBI single by Murphy.

They sent 15 batters to the plate in the third inning. The first eight all reached safely and scored. Besides DeRamus’ leadoff homer, the Oaks got a two-run single by Ochmanski, an RBI single by Dawson, an RBI double by Yen Rodriguez, sacrifice flies by Nick Ciesielka and Ben Charbonneau and a two-run single by Vandersteur.

The Trailblazers (0-7), who had only nine players available, spoiled the shutout with two runs in the fourth. The Oaks got the runs back in the fifth on Vandersteur’s RBI double and run-scoring single by Joe Fekete, then rounded out with scoring with five in the sixth.

It was the Oaks’ fourth win in their last five games as they look to make a late-season run for the playoffs. It also the fourth time in the last five games they scored 10 runs or more.

“A lot of people were frustrated with yesterday,” Murphy said. “Coach told us before the game if you’re frustrated take your frustration out on the other team and just focus on one day at a time and that’s what we did. That’s what we’re trying to do for the rest of the season trying to make the playoffs, focus on just one game at a time, one pitch at a time.”

Bergen rallies for 5 in bottom of the ninth to prevent Salem CC from sweeping the series

By Riverview Sports News

PARAMUS – The Salem Community College baseball team looked in great shape to collect its first three-game series sweep in three years Monday, but Bergen CC had other ideas.

The homestanding Bulldogs scored 11 runs over the final three innings, including five in the bottom of the ninth, to break the Mighty Oaks’ hearts, 14-13. Nick Alverez’ one-out single was the game-winner.

The Mighty Oaks won the first two games of the series by sweeping Saturday’s home doubleheader with two strong outings from their starters. Their last three-game series sweep came against Camden CC April 6, 7 and 14, 2021.

The Mighty Oaks seemingly took control of the game with seven runs in the fourth inning and led 10-3 when they lifted starter Ben Foote after six.

They sent 13 batters to the plate in their big inning. Yen Rodriguez tripled home the tying run and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Demetrius DeRamus singled home a run, Cole Dawson hit a sacrifice fly and three runs scored on consecutive bases-loaded hit batsmen and a bases-loaded walk.

They led 11-5 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Bergen scored four to tighten it up.

Salem got some separation with two more in the top of the ninth on Angel Velez’ sacrifice fly and Jared Vandersteur’s RBI double and needed only to retire the Bulldogs (10-21) in the ninth to nail down the victory.

Bergen chipped away against J.D. Wilson and got it to 13-11. Matt Decker came in with two runners on. He issued a walk to load the bases and then gave up RBI singles to Ian Scalabrini and Enger Ortiz to tie the game. The Oaks cut down a runner on the bases on the play that tied the game, but then Alvarez followed with his game-winning hit.

Foote gave up seven hits, three earned runs, walked one and hit three in his six innings. The bullpen, however, gave up eight hits, six walks and 11 earned runs over the final three.

Vandersteur went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Matt Murphy went 3-for-6. Wilson and Dawson each had a pair of RBIs.

The Oaks (11-20) won’t have long to fret over the loss. They’re back at it Tuesday 3:30 p.m. against Luzerne County CC at the Carneys Point Rec Complex.

BERGEN CC 14, SALEM CC 13

Salem CC (11-20)	011 710 012 –	13 10 4
Bergen CC (10-21)	030 000 245 –	14 15 11

Salem CC baseball make strides on multiple fronts in scoring first doubleheader sweep since February 2022

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem Community College baseball team and two of its pitchers trying to find their way all took big steps forward Saturday afternoon.

Starting pitchers Sean Kelby and Aiden Ewe both pitched historically into the seventh inning of their games and behind them the Mighty Oaks scored their first doubleheader sweep since February 2022 in beating Bergen CC 12-3 and 4-2.

The Mighty Oaks had won two games in one day during their trip to Myrtle Beach in March, but their two wins over the Bulldogs was their first true twinbill takedown since sweeping Rockingham (N.C.) CC on Feb. 20, 2022. They have won three in a row.

“It’s a step forward,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “These guys are growing up as a team. We’ve got a lot of young guys here and they’re buying in. They’re buying into playing like a team. It’s a good time to start coming together.”

Kelby, a well-traveled freshman left-hander, pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in as near as he figures six years in the opener. His teammates rewarded him by batting around in the fifth and sixth innings to break open a close game.

Ewe, a hard-throwing sophomore right-hander and converted catcher, worked the longest outing of his career. He had a no-hitter with 10 of his 11 strikeouts over the first 4 2/3 innings. His longest outing previously was 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision at Lehigh Carbon CC on March 26.

“We needed those guys to step up and they did,” Holt said. “They both wanted the ball today. There’s something to be said when guys want to put the team on their back and they did. With what we’ve got this week, we needed to get length out of our guys and they gave us that length today.”

“I thought today was a big step for the team,” Kelby said.

Perhaps for no one in particular as much as him.

Kelby’s old enough to be finishing a college career much less start one. He went to Towson out of high school, then Delaware, fell out of baseball after tearing ligaments in his pitching elbow and foregoing Tommy John surgery, worked for a couple years, but missed the game and in 2022 had the operation before landing on Salem’s doorstep this winter. 

Holt gave him a shot because he throws hard. He’s a 23-year-old with freshman eligibility, which means he could be a 27-year-old senior somewhere down the road, but that’s not his path. His plan is to hook on with an independent league team after this season to get his timeline back on track. 

“I wanted to do a lot this year and as you’ve seen through the games there’s been a lot of stuff I have to acclimate to for the past 5-6 years of not playing,” he said. “Today was a big step. I was kind of learning how to pitch again while I was out there.

“That was a big thing when I was going earlier. I’d get so worked up for the game you go out too hard and by that second or third inning it’s wearing down on you.”

He hears the clock is ticking, but he’s determined to keep playing.

“I’m still young,” he said. “You see guys in the major leagues making their debuts at 29, 30, 31 years old. For me, if I’m making that progress as I’m seeing it, I know what I’m capable of.”

Kelby gave up a home run in the second inning, but that really was his only mistake as he and Bergen starter Luixander Polanco were locked in a pitcher’s duel for four innings.

Polanco’s first time through the Salem order was easy with a pickoff and double play allowing him to face the minimum through three innings. The second time wasn’t so kind. Demetrius DeRamus’ RBI single tied the game in the fourth, then the Mighty Oaks erupted for five in the fifth and six in the sixth.

Matt Murphy and Cole Dawson had two-run singles in the fifth inning. Yen Rodriguez highlighted the sixth when he hit a bases-loaded triple to right field and scored when the relay throw to get him at third got away. DeRemus and Murphy both had two hits in the game.

Kelby gave up just three more hits after the homer through the sixth and while he wasn’t overpowering every time the Bulldogs tried to put something together he grinded through to turn them away. He wanted to go the distance, but came out after loading the bases in the seventh.

“I felt better (as the game went on),” he said. “I don’t know if it’s jitters or just getting comfortable, but usually that third or fourth inning I start feeling loose with the arm. At that point today it was like let’s go all the way here.”

Ewe, meanwhile, came to the Oaks as a catcher. He grew up catching, loved the position and that’s all he wanted to do. Then one day last year he starting throwing off the mound and was hitting “some pretty high numbers” on the radar gun, so he figured he’d give pitching a shot. Once he did, he said, “it just started to take off.”

Holt put him in three games last year, but never for more than an inning.

He always threw it hard, but his command was lacking. He had 37 walks in 19 innings coming into Saturday’s game. He changed his approach against the Bulldogs – he didn’t rely on the fastball, he gave up the hitch in his windup and he stopped looking at the radar gun – and had only three walks in six innings. He struck out the side in order in the first.

“Today he pitched,” Holt said.

“I made a few adjustments,” Ewe said. “I realized I was kind of all over the place just throwing it rather than being a pitcher. I usually go up on my toe, but I got rid of it today. I figure why not try something new. I feel like I need to be more accurate and it turned out definitely a lot more accurate.

“I’m fired up. I’m locked in now. I feel like that’s all I needed to do was make a little adjustment and it’s go time now.”

Ewe needed to be sharp because the second game was close throughout, but the Mighty Oaks used the long ball to prevail.

Rodriguez hit a leadoff homer in the first and it stayed 1-0 until DeRamus’ two-run homer in the fifth. Bergen made it 3-1 in the sixth, but the Mighty Oaks got the run back in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back doubles by Lee Rodriguez and Dane Thomas.

Salem travels to Bergen Monday to complete the series. Woodstown’s Ben Foote is expected to draw the start.

Salem CC baseball rallies with four runs in each of the last two innings to snap a seven-game losing streak, Pennsville’s Vandersteur earns the save

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BLUE BELL, Pa. – Salem CC scored four runs in each of the last two innings and then turned back a threat in the bottom of the ninth to beat Montgomery County CC 14-11 and snap a seven-game losing streak.

The Oaks (9-19) rallied four times to either tie the game or take a lead.

“The boys just kept battling today,” Salem coach John Holt said. “They kept competing. Showed a lot of heart.”

The Oaks fell behind 5-0, then scored five runs in the fifth inning to tie the game, but Montco reclaimed the lead with a run in the bottom of the inning.

The Oaks tied it 6-6 on Yen Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly, but the Mustangs (8-11) scored two in the bottom of the inning and another in the seventh to go up 9-6.

Salem took its first lead in the eighth. Nick Ciesielka’s two-run bases-loaded double drew the Oaks within 9-8 and they went ahead when the Mustangs misplayed Demetrius DeRamus’ fly to left and two runs scored.

Montco retied it with a run in the bottom of the inning, then the Oaks finally took the lead for good in the ninth.

Pennsville’s Jared Vandersteur got the rally started by reaching on an error. He was sacrificed to second and stole third. He scored the go-ahead run by beating the throw to the plate on Hunter Cohen’s grounder to third.

Rodriguez followed with an RBI single (12-10), DeRamus drew a bases-loaded walk (13-10) and Matt Murphy’s grounder to first brought the inning’s fourth run home.

Sophomore right-hander Inaki Hutchinson gave the Oaks 3 2/3 innings of relief on the back end (65 pitches), but needed help to close it out. Vandersteur came on in the ninth with the tying and later winning run at the plate and recorded a seven-pitch save – his first college save.

“(Starter John) McAllister pitched well; didn’t give up an earned run (in four innings),” Holt said. “Hutch wanted the ball. There’s a lot to be said about wanting to be the guy to pick your team up. We kept Vandy ready and hoped we didn’t have to use him, but he got the job done.”

Murphy stayed hot with two hits and three RBIs. Rodriguez, who left the field after Tuesday’s loss on crutches, also had two hits and three RBIs.

Catcher Angel Velez took a page out of Phillies’ catcher J.T. Realmuto’s book – or maybe it was vice versa. 

Velez came out of Tuesday’s loss to Middlesex in the first inning after taking a pitch in the neck that bounced in the dirt. His status going forward wasn’t immediately known, but he returned to the lineup Wednesday and got hits in each of his first three at bats. Realmuto left the Phillies’ game in St. Louis Tuesday night after taking a pitch in the throat that bounced in the dirt, but he was back in the lineup Wednesday and played a big role in their win.

The Oaks return to action Friday when they open a three-game weekend series against Bergen CC at the Carneys Point Recreation Complex. The final two games of the series are at Bergen Saturday.