Pennsville’s Watson, former D-III All-American Bryszewski join Mighty Oaks’ coaching staff
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – What started off as a simple phone call just to gauge interest in coaching at the next level developed into an unexpected opportunity for Pennsville Little League softball coach Chris Watson.
Watson, the Pennsville LL president and head coach of the league’s 2023 Senior Softball World Series team, is joining Salem Community College coach Angel Rodriguez’ staff as an assistant coach.
“It kind of came as a surprise,” Watson said. “I never really thought about it before; I’m super thankful by wife was OK with it. I wasn’t expecting it to go over very well, but she’s actually kind of excited. I’m pretty pumped.”
Watson has developed this latest wave of Pennsville LL softball players into a state and regional summertime power. Last year’s team continued its progression through district, sectional and state titles, swept through the East Regional and finished seventh in the Little League Senior Softball World Series. Current Salem CC assistant Mackenzie Freas is one of Watson’s assistants.
It is about to embark on the defense of all those titles in a couple weeks.
The Mighty Oaks had an historic season in 2024. They won a school-record 31 games, enjoyed a school-record 19-game winning streak in the middle of the season and won a game in the Region XIX Tournament. Shortstop Ella Hayes was the Region XIX Player of the Year.
Assistant coach Chad Zearfoss has left the staff after three seasons to become the head softball coach at Cecil (Md.) College.
Rodriguez said adding Watson and Josie Bryszewski to the staff “will help tremendously.” He said specific coaching roles will start taking shape once off-season meetings begin, but Watson is eager to start. Bryszewski, a standout pitcher at Immaculata, was a Division III All-American at Moravian, where she most recently served as pitching coach.
“I want to learn all this stuff, all the recruiting and how colleges run practices and games,” he said. “I’m interested in all the little things they do differently.”
Earlier in the week, the Oaks announced several of their veterans have signed to play at four-year schools: Karyn Trice (Chestnut Hill), Haylee Pickrell (Chestnut Hill), Courtney Hoggard (Elizabeth City State), Morgan Mecham (Delaware Valley), Vaye Savage (Rider) and Caitlin LaGreca (Rosemont).
Among the signees they have landed to fill those spots include Pennsville’s Bella Rappa and Lilly Peverelle.
“We’re excited to get the incoming and returners on campus and begin rolling … should be a great squad we have ready to roll,” Rodriguez said. “Adding in Josie and Chris to our staff will help tremendously.”
Category: SALEM CC
Hayes region’s best
Salem CC shortstop Region XIX Division II Player of the Year, three other Mighty Oaks players named to all-region team; will be updated
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
Salem CC shortstop Ella Hayes was named Region XIX Division II Player of the Year and was among four Mighty Oaks softball players named to the all-region team.
Sophomore Karyn Trice was a first-team outfielder, while sophomore pitcher Morgan Mecham and sophomore catcher Vaye Savage were second-team picks.
“It’s very exciting,” Hayes said. “I am very honored and I’m just super glad I got to play with these girls and it gave me the opportunity to earn this award because without them there is no reward to be earned.”
Hayes, a freshman from Kansas City, “performed at the plate better than I thought I would.” She led all of Region XIX in batting (.595) – just missing her goal of hitting .600 for the season – was second in Division II slugging (1.000), tied for second in RBIs (61) – more than doubling her goal – and tied for third in homers (9). She was second nationally in Division II batting, second in on-base percentage (.646) and 12th in slugging.
During the Oaks’ school-record 19-game winning streak she batted .667 (36-for-54) with 43 RBIs. She struck out only once in 147 total plate appearances.
“I had a decent season but I personally think I could have performed better and helped out my team a little more,” she said. “There were a couple things that I should have been better at in my opinion, but overall I did what I could for the most part and I still had my team to back me up and everything when I wasn’t producing when I should have.”
Her consistency was the key. She was held hitless in only nine games. She had 22 multi-hit games, including 15 of three hits or more, had hitting streaks of 10 and six games (twice), and an RBI streak of seven straight games.
“She definitely had a tremendous year,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “She dominated offensively for sure; her numbers speak for themselves. She put in a lot of work. She definitely earned it. It was definitely nice to see … We definitely found a gem.”
Trice was the Mighty Oaks’ second-leading hitter (.460) and was a threat to turn any single or walk into a double. She was 20-for-20 stealing bases, tops in Region XIX Division II.
Savage hit .364 with eight homers and 45 RBIs. Mecham was 16-5 in the circle with 2.49 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 104 innings. At one stretch in the season she allowed just two earned runs over 34 2/3 innings with five shutouts.
“It talks to their hard work and the dedication they put in,” Rodriguez said. “The region is full of a lot of good talent, so to come up and be a part of it in their respective location is really good.
“Morgan had an incredible year this year and an incredible career, so it’s nice to see that recognition. The same with Vaye, seeing all the stuff she’s done and the hard work she’s put in, and Karyn as well. Karyn is a dual threat on the bases, hitting, covers a lot of ground in the outfield. They all earned their right and put in a lot of work just to be nominated for that, so it’s really nice to see.”
The year Hayes had attracted attention beyond South Jersey and Region XIX. She has a lot of interest from Division II schools back home, received an offer from Binghamton Wednesday, will continuing reaching out to Rutgers and will be visiting Emporia State when she gets home. She has a meeting set with Rodriguez Friday to discuss her future.
Rodriguez said Hayes “definitely has earned the lot of good eyeballs that are going to be looking her way,” but reiterated his desire to have her return.
“There’s no doubt we would love to have her back,” he said.
DeRamus, Velez recognized
Salem CC outfielder, catcher, big pieces of the Mighty Oaks’ second-half turnaround, named third-team picks on All-Region XIX baseball team
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
Salem Community College outfielder Demetrius DeRamus and catcher Angel Velez, two of the team’s hottest hitters in the second half of the season, were selected to the All-Region XIX baseball team.
Both were third-team picks, DeRamus and an outfielder and Velez as the designated hitter.
“They were both key parts to getting the ball rolling in the right direction,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “They both learned to make adjustments in regards to their approach and their swing throughout the year, which helped them in regards to their statistics.
“The thing I guess I preached the most that I spoke to them about was if you look at our stats nationally as a bunch of individuals we’re not very high in a lot of categories but if you look at the where we rank statistically as a team most of the good categories we’re in the top 15, top 20.
“I think that just proves we were better playing as a team than we were as a bunch of individuals and those two guys in particular really bought into that. They were keys to getting the season turned around and getting us where we had to be.”
DeRamus was the Oaks’ second-leading hitter (.374), was tied for the team lead in hits (64) and led them in doubles (17), homers (7) and RBIs (59). He made no errors in the field.
He hit .438 (42-96) with 36 RBIs during the second-half turnaround that culminated in the Oaks’ first Region XIX playoff appearance in 13 years. He went 8-for-14 with two homers and eight RBIs in their three playoff games against Northampton.
“Demetrius works very hard at his craft in regards to his swing and his hitting and made necessary adjustments throughout the year to adjust to college-level pitching and how people were attacking him,” Holt said.
Velez was the Oaks’ third-leading hitter (.369) with 55 hits and two homers. His 48 RBIs was second on the team. He was 24-for-46 (.522) with 18 RBIs during their 15-game winning streak that secured their playoff berth. He was 8-for-13 with nine RBIs in the playoffs.
“Angel made the adjustment to start hitting the ball to all fields and became an incredible opposite-field hitter to the point where that home run he hit against Northampton (in the playoffs) was opposite-field power,” Holt said.
The All-Region teams were dominated by top three tournament seeds RCSJ-Gloucester, Brookdale and Northampton. They had all 10 first-teamers, 24 total players and the Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year.
Brookdale’s Rocco Brzezniak was Player of the Year. Northampton’s Austin Beard was Pitcher of the Year. RCSJ-Gloucester’s Rob Valli was Coach of the Year.
The Oaks had the biggest turnaround in the region. They were 11 games under .500 on April 9. The next day they started on an 18-1 tear that included the 15-game winning streak that guaranteed their first winning season since the revival of the program.
“They were a resilient group,” Holt said. “A lot of teams being down 10 under .500 could’ve folded. Instead, those guys bought into what we were trying to teach them and they battled all the way through. To qualify for the playoffs and play as well as we did down the stretch, there’s a lot to be real pleased with this season and with the future.”
Ripped away
Salem CC opens 6-run lead in deciding playoff game, but Northampton rallies in its last three bats to end Mighty Oaks’ historic season
REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
Sunday’s game
Northampton CC 16, Salem CC 12
(Northampton wins series, 2-1)
NORTH ATLANTIC DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
(Double-elimination format)
May 17-19
First-round games
Middlesex vs. RCSJ-Gloucester, 11 a.m.
Northampton vs. Brookdale, 11 a.m.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second time in three games the Salem CC baseball team gave the No. 2 in the country all it could handle. But this time Northampton showed why it is the second-ranked team in the country.
The Mighty Oaks led 12-6 after their half of the sixth inning Sunday and for a moment appeared to be headed to next round of the Region XIX playoffs. But Northampton erupted for 10 runs over the next three innings to cut them down in the winner-take-all Game 3 16-12 and end their first winning season since reviving the program.
Going into the game, the Spartans (42-8) ranked sixth in JUCO Division III in runs scored (519). When it was over, they moved into third (535) – behind only No. 1 ranked RCSJ-Gloucester and Brookdale, their first-round opponent in the North Atlantic District tournament Friday. They scored 41 runs in the three games.
The seventh-seeded Oaks (27-25) had 15 hits over the first six innings, but it was their pitching and defense that hurt them in the end. Three errors in a mucky infield by shortstop Yen Rodriguez, moved from right field at midseason to remedy other defensive difficulties at the position, led to four runs during the Northampton comeback and pitchers J.D. Wilson, Ben Foote and Ryan Silnik issued seven walks or hit batsmen during it.
“We played hard,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “We made a couple mistakes and when you’re playing good baseball teams, they usually capitalize on those mistakes.
“Our guys left it all out there. That’s just baseball. We’re a young team. Nine inning ballgames are a grind and it was a long day. They have an opportunity to learn from this.”
Just as in the Oaks’ 14-11 win in Game 1, no lead was safe. The Oaks led 2-0 after Demetrius DeRamus’ two-run homer in the top of the first, but the Spartans answered with three in the bottom of the inning as starter Wilson struggled at the start.
Over the next three innings, though, Wilson kept the Spartans off the scoreboard, giving Salem a chance to get back in it. They went with Foote as the first option out of the bullpen when Wilson’s pitch count was getting “a little too dangerous for us” (127 pitches) because of his experience.
Foote was the Oaks’ Opening Day starter and their usual Friday starter and pitched only an inning and two thirds (46 pitches) in finishing their Game 1 victory.
The Oaks tied the game in the third and took a 9-6 lead in the fourth on DeRamus’ two-run single and Angel Velez’ ground out. They extended the lead to 12-6 with three in sixth on Velez’ two-run single and Lee Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly, but Northampton came back with five in the bottom of the inning to make it a game again.
DeRamus went 5-for-6 with four RBIs in the game and had eight hits and eight RBIs in the series. Velez was 4-for-5 with four RBIs and had eight hits and seven RBIs in the series. Yen Rodriguez homered for the Oaks during their third-inning rally.
Gabe Caso’s two-run single with one out in the seventh gave the Spartans in front for good and they stretched it to the final margin with three in the eighth. Caso went 4-for-5 with six RBIs.
Brandon Ratti, Northampton’s fourth pitcher, meanwhile, kept the Oaks off the scoreboard over the final three innings, holding them to three singles and four baserunners.
“We played a good series,” Holt said. “We were the only team in the regionals to extend their series to a third game and we were the seventh seed playing against a 2 seed. Most people wouldn’t have expected that out of us except for us.”
It may hurt a lot now, but when the sting of Sunday’s setback wears off, the Oaks will be able to reflect on a lot of good things they did during the season. This team was 11 games under .500 on April 9. The next day they started on an 18-1 tear that included a 15-game winning streak that earned them their first playoff berth since 2011 and guaranteed a winning season.
“They were a resilient group,” Holt said. “A lot of teams being down 10 under .500 could’ve folded. Instead, those guys bought into what we were trying to teach them and they battled all the way through. To qualify for the playoffs and play as well as we did down the stretch, there’s a lot to be real pleased with this season and with the future.”
| Salem CC (27-25) | 204 303 000 – | 12 19 7 |
| Northampton (42-8) | 330 005 23X – | 16 10 2 |
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.”
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.
