Salem CC softball among national leaders in hitting, as a team and individually, but remain outside JUCO’s Division II Top 20

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC softball team is off to its best start in program history. The Mighty Oaks have one of the longest current winning streaks in its division and several players among the national leaders, but it’s still not enough to break them into the national rankings.

The Mighty Oaks (20-4) have an 18-game winning streak and lead JUCO Division II in batting (.436) and on-base percentage (.534) among teams that have played at least 20 games this season, but they weren’t listed in this week’s Top 20 or teams receiving votes.

Oaks leadoff hitter Karyn Trice is second nationally in batting (.594) and first in OBP (.689) among players on teams with a minimum of 20 games. Ella Hayes is fourth in batting (.585), fourth in OBP (.641) and 11th in slugging (1.015). Other statistics are listed on a total basis and Hayes is tied for 14th in total RBIs.

Morgan Mecham is eighth in ERA among pitchers with 10 or more appearances (1.35). The Oaks are sixth in team ERA (2.40) and tenth in strikeouts per seven innings (7.37).

Despite their early-season success, the Oaks remained unranked in the latest D-II Top 20. Among the teams in this week’s poll, only unanimous No. 1 Parkland (30) and No. 14 Bryant & Stratton-Wis. (18) have winning streaks equal or longer than the Oaks. 

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be (in the poll); I think we have a good shot,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said after Sunday’s sweep of Bucks CC. “We’re playing hot. We’re doing all the right things.

“The first step was getting a player recognized for the first time (GSAC Player of the Week Hayes). That’s a good start; hopefully we can make a good argument this week and see when the new rankings come up. It’s definitely going to be nice to see it, but (if) we don’t see it, it’s just more motivation for us – what do we have to keep doing to get there.”

JUCO DIVISION II RANKINGS
1. Parkland (37-3), 2. Copiah-Lincoln (27-3), 3. Louisburg (33-3), 4. Murray State (33-5), 5. Pearl River (33-6), 6. Jones (26-10), 7. Johnson County (26-6), 8. LSU-Eunice (32-8), 9. Kirkwood (22-10), 10. Phoenix (25-6);
11. Des Moines Area (23-7), 12. East Central (26-8), 13. St. Johns River (36-13), 14. Bryant & Stratton-Wis. (18-1), 15. Hines (23-11), 16. Spoon River (24-12), 17. Catawba Valley (19-2), 18. Cowley County (29-10), 19. Marion Military Institute (32-12), 20. NW Mississippi (19-13).
Receiving votes: Bryant & Stratton-Va., North Iowa Area, Kankakee, Rock Valley.

Salem CC softball reaches 20 wins for season, extends winning streak to 18 games; perhaps it’s time to bring the Oaks into the national picture

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – K.C. Garcia was just a little bit surprised when she was asked to participate in the post-game interviews after another weekend of Salem CC softball sweeps. 

It isn’t often a reserve outfielder with 25 at bats on the season gets requested to provide some insight on another Mighty Oaks run-rule sweep, but with a little bit of reflection the reason became abundantly clear.

It wasn’t lost on the sophomore from Houston the significance her jersey number has on the results of the day.

Salem reached the 20-win plateau for season Sunday with a 10-2, 11-0 sweep of Bucks CC at Watson Field. Neither game made it past the fifth inning.

“Our 20 wins, which is our highest record that we’ve had,” the Mighty Oaks’ No. 20 said. “It hasn’t (sunk in) yet, but I think it will a little bit later.”

Sunday’s sweep also extended the Oaks’ winning streak to 18 games, which is two more wins than they had all of last season.

The 20 wins aren’t quite enough to get the Oaks (20-4) in the playoffs yet – with a projected 48-game schedule that magic number is four for a .500 record to qualify – but it does represent a significant improvement over the team’s record in its resumption of play a year ago, which has been the goal all along. The Oaks were 13-11 after 24 games a year ago.

“(The 20) means a lot to me,” pitcher Caitlin LaGreca said. “Especially coming from last year since our record was definitely not like that last year.”

“We made our first mark last year, having the first team in quite some time, so anything we did last year was just great because we got it going,” Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “This year we wanted to set the bar a little higher and we went out and got a team that’s going to put in the work to do that. We’re just creating our own history here and we love it. The goal we had was to be better than we were last year and build from there and we’re just glad to be doing that now.”

It was another big day for the offense, supported by more sharp pitching in the circle. The Oaks banged out 27 hits in the two games.  The first six batters in their lineup went a combined 23-for-38 with 18 RBIs, 10 extra-base hits and a pair of homers in the doubleheader. Pitchers LaGreca and Morgan Mecham allowed three hits in each game.

Ella Hayes went 4-for-5 with eight RBIs in the doubleheader and came within a homer of hitting the cycle in the nightcap. Karyn Trice went 3-for-3 in Game 2 and 5-for-6 with five runs in the twinbill. Faith Penn had three hits and four runs; Vaye Savage had three hits with a homer in the opener and five RBIs; Haylee Pickrell had three hits with a homer in the nightcap, and Courtney Hoggard had four hits and two RBIs.

“Since I’m the third batter I always tell Karyn and Faith to do a job and I’ll get them in, and they’ve been doing their jobs every time,” Hayes said. “I’m pretty sure they’re all the RBIs I’ve had or pretty close. I really rely on them to get the job done and I know if I can’t get the job done they or (the following hitters) will get it done.”

The pitchers have given up 36 runs in the winning streak, but 21 of those came in two games. LaGreca’s shutout in the nightcap was the Oaks’ seventh during the streak and ninth of the season.

The longer the streak goes, the pitchers might start feeling the squeeze to keep it going. LaGreca said she feels pressure “sometimes,” but she relies on her teammates’ continual support to bring her through it.

“There is pressure, we have that chip on our shoulder, but we also have that swagger in us that allows us to play loose and have fun,” Hayes said.

For all the success the Mighty Oaks have enjoyed in the last month, it hasn’t shown up on the national scene. It remains to be seen if they will be ranked in the JUCO Division II Top 20 when it comes out Monday. Their .427 team batting average would rank fourth nationally, their 9.9 runs per game average would be among the leaders and their 2.40 ERA would be T-7 among teams with 18 games or more.

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be; I think we have a good shot,” Rodriguez said. “We’re playing hot. We’re doing all the right things. The first step was getting a player recognized for the first time (GSAC Player of the Week Hayes). That’s a good start; hopefully we can make a good argument this week and see when the new rankings come up. It’s definitely going to be nice to see it, but (if) we don’t see it, it’s just more motivation for us – what do we have to keep doing to get there.”

The Oaks haven’t suffered a loss since March 10, their final game in the Carolinas. They’ve trailed only four times during the winning streak and never after the fifth inning. It begs the question, will the Oaks ever lose again? The law of averages and nature of the game would suggest the streak will end at some point, but the players won’t hear of it.

“No, no shot,” Hayes said. “I won’t allow it. None of us will allow it. We’re going to keep that win streak.”

“Never again, never again,” Garcia said emphatically. “I’ll bet you 20.”

There’s that number again.

Salem CC softball extends winning streak to 14 with Good Friday doubleheader sweep of Sussex County CC

By Riverview Sports News

NEWTON – When you’re hot, you’re hot.

Haylee Pickrell and Courtney Hoggard both homered in the first game, Karyn Trice hit a pair of triples in the second and Salem CC softball extended its winning streak to 14 games with a 7-1, 14-2 sweep of its Good Friday doubleheader at Sussex County CC.

The Oaks (16-4) were held hitless for 3 1/3 innings of the opener when Pickrell came to the plate in the fourth in a scoreless game. She fouled off five straight pitches, then homered to left field to break the ice.

It stayed that way until the sixth when the Oaks’ first three batters reached base and Hoggard blasted their second homer of the game to left to break open the game.

They added two runs in the seventh on Vaye Savage’s RBI double and a run-scoring error.

Morgan Mecham shut out Sussex for six innings before Sussex’ Elise Cantu hit a leadoff homer in the seventh. Mecham struck out 10 in the victory.

The Oaks wasted no time jumping on the Skylanders in the nightcap, scoring twice in the first inning. Trice led off the game with a triple and scored on Faith Penn’s single. Savaged doubled home Ella Hayes later in the inning.

The broke it open with nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

Trice’s bases-loaded triple highlighted a four-run fourth that gave them a 9-2 lead. Trice went 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Callie Rozak also went 3-for-3 and Hayes and Savage drove in three runs apiece.

Caitlin LaGreca pitched a two-hitter in the nightcap – a solo homer in the second and a double in the seventh.

With 26 games left on the schedule, the Oaks’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is seven.

GAME 1
SALEM CC 7, SUSSEX COUNTY CC 1

Salem CC (15-4)	000 104 2 –	7 7 1
Sussex (2-9)	000 000 1 –	1 5 2

GAME 2
SALEM CC 14, SUSSEX COUNTY CC 2

Salem CC (16-4)	221 45 –	14 15 2
Sussex (2-10)	110 00 –	2 2 1

Cover photo: Ella Hayes slides in with Salem CC’s second run of the first inning in the nightcap of their doubleheader at Sussex County CC Friday.

Salem CC softball outfielder Beukman gives the Mighty Oaks some international flavor with her arrival from South Africa

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It’s hardly unusual for a college team to have players from places far from its campus footprint. In fact, it’s sort of expected. That’s why they call it recruiting.

Of course, most of those players come from within the United States, but even some those are from some far-flung locales invariably sparking a query of how they got here.

That question is even more poignant when it comes to Salem CC outfielder KiKi Beukman. While many of the Mighty Oaks have come halfway across the country to join the team, Beukman came from halfway around the world.

Ask her how in the world she got here and her answer is quick and to the point.

“By the plane, you know,” she said and laughed.

Actually, two of them. From her home in Pretoria, South Africa, there’s an eight-hour flight to Doha, Qatar, and then a 16-hour jaunt to Philadelphia. That would be 10,661 miles door-to-door, 10 total time zones. Leave there Tuesday night, get here Wednesday afternoon.

When Beukman started this journey she had never been to the United States before and didn’t know Salem County, N.J., from Salem, Mass., or Salem, Ore. She just knew she wanted to come to the States to study aerospace engineering, which isn’t offered in her country, and continue playing softball while doing it.

She put together a professional-looking prospect package and shopped it to numerous schools. She drew interest from five schools and spoke seriously with three – Salem, NAIA Avila (Mo.) University and JUCO Morton (Ill.) College – but felt most comfortable after her interaction with Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez.

She’s the first international player Rodriguez has ever had on any level. Most of the other international students on the Carneys Point campus are on the soccer team.

No, he didn’t get all the way to South Africa to recruit her. A lot of videos, e-mails, text messages and zoom meetings replaced the traditional on-site scouting, face-to-face contact and in-home visits.

He said the process of recruiting an international prospect was “fun to go through,” educational and a little self-reflective.

“We get a couple different e-mails each month and this one just kind came across and the most important thing that stuck out was the video was definitely personalized,” Rodriguez said. “Her and her family did some research … so the fact they were very proactive with it showed she was definitely interested and all in.

“I definitely think we got lucky with a really good one and I couldn’t be happier.”

The Oaks have a truly All-America softball team as it is with players from 11 different states – from New Jersey and Delaware, of course, to Utah and Idaho and everywhere in between (Texas, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina and Missouri) – so Beukman fit right in with this merry band of travelers.

They took a bunch of players to the airport to greet her when she first arrived. By the time they left the baggage carousel they were connecting as if they’d known each other the last three months.

It’s no gimmick she’s here. Beukman was a decorated school and club utility infielder back in South Africa and had tools Rodriguez could work with. She made several provincial teams that are the U.S. equivalent to all-state and even made a national team slated for international competition before COVID intervened.

She’s played in 12 games for the Oaks so far, mostly in the outfield, with a .350 batting average, seven hits and three RBIs. She went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs in the Oaks’ 11-10 win over Northampton last Sunday.

There are some parts of American life she finds fascinating. Like the open front yards that welcome an approach to the front door and the self-checkout line at Walmart or the way restaurants spread table assignments among their servers. In her neighborhood, all the yards are fenced, there is no self-checkout in stores and a savvy waiter or waitress can scarf up all the tables if they’re quick enough to greet the diners at the door.

“The self-checkout thing, I love it, I absolutely love it; mind-boggling,” she said. “This is easy, why don’t we have that?

“Another thing I found very different is how restaurants work. Waiters or waitresses get scheduled tables. Where I’m from, I actually work in the industry. We used to stand by the door and if someone comes in and you say ‘hi’ first that’s your waiter. You can have all the tables in there and everyone else doesn’t have anything. You need to fight for some customers.”

She hasn’t been to Atlantic City, any of the shore points or New York City since she’s been here. But she has been to Boston and drove through Washington and Baltimore on the team’s season-opening trip to the Carolinas. 

Being so far away has made it difficult to get back home, but the players with their shared experience of living away have helped lessen the load. She spent the Christmas holidays with roommate Jill Robinson’s family in Colorado, where she saw snow for the first time, and has a trip to California planned before heading home in May.

It’s been an eye-opening experience for her American teammates, too, especially when it comes to her food choices. Regulations won’t let Buekman bring food with her from home and she admits she misses it “a lot.” Buying it from Amazon is too expensive, so she improvises where she can. The apricot jam and cheese sandwiches have gotten her teammates’ attention and grabbed their taste buds.

By the same token, she has yet to partake in those Philly-area staples like a cheese steak or hoagie, but admits she’d like to try them sometime soon.

“It’s so funny,” shortstop Emma Hayes said. “A lot of the stuff around here she doesn’t have back home, so we spent like three hours at Walmart. Everything she had to stop and look at because she doesn’t have it. That was neat and kind of eye-opening, too, like not everyone has everything we do and vice versa. She just cracks us up. She’s hilarious about everything.”

“I think us Americans fit right in with her,” added third baseman Courtney Hoggard. “She’s part of the team, part of the whole. She’s a great mix into our team.”

Beukman may be the first international player in the program, but she likely won’t be the last. The Oaks are in with an infielder from Australia who could be here next season following the same process they went through to land Beukman.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a case by case basis. If we feel like it’s a good fit, we’re getting good emails and they’re interested in us, we need to see it. We like what we’re seeing, the fact they’re keeping up with us and they’re emailing and texting us throughout the week that’s a good sign.”