Here is a compilation of sports results from around Salem County Friday; includes college baseball, boys tennis, girls lacrosse
College baseball
RCSJ-CUMBERLAND 9, SALEM CC 4
The Dukes squeezed all nine of three runs into the sixth and seventh innings.
Yen Rodriguez, who’s made a mid-season Mookie Betts move going from right field to shortstop, homered for Salem and Cole Dawson drove in a pair of runs. Ben Charbonneau had three hits
The Mighty Oaks led 1-0 in the fifth, but the Dukes scored five in the sixth, then after Salem got within a run added four in the seventh.
Boys tennis
PENNSVILLE 3, DELSEA 2 Andrew McWilliams (D) def. Gabe Schneider, 6-3, 6-0 Maddox Efelis (P) def. T.J. Natalie, 6-2, 6-2 Brody Wiggins (P) def. Zeph Kell, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (P) def. Eli Croce-Jacob Bramble, 6-2, 6-3 Dominik Maronski-Zach Natalie (D) def. Luke Chamberlain-Sawyer Humphrey, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
WOODSTOWN 3, KINGSWAY 2 Tim Schwienbacher def. Filip Mirkovic, 6-4, 6-4 Drew Stengel def. Dominic Palladino, 6-4, 2-6, 10-6 Nick Decinque (K) def. Erich Lipovsky, 6-3, 6-2 Joseph Kurpis-Ben Stengel def. Charlie West-Tyler Wilkinson, 1-6, 6-2, 10-8 Aiden Shoemaker-Nolan Steurer (K) def. Jason LaFord-Mason Shimp, 4-6, 6-2, 10-8
HADDON HEIGHTS 3, SCHALICK 2 Ben Mazzucco (H) def. George Gould, 6-4, 6-1 Ryan Connor (H) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-1, 6-0 David Santana (S) def. Milan Stocker, 6-1, 6-0 Mike Pender-Gavin Ewing (H) def. Conor O’Toole-Rocky Monticello, 2-6, 6-2, 10-7 Kayden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Josh Harris-David Maher, 6-1, 6-2
Girls lacrosse
PAUL VI 19, WOODSTOWN 2: Paul IV’s Ava Diaz had eight goals and three assists, while Ave Martin and Emma McCarthy each had four goals and four assists. Delaney Walker scored both goals for Woodstown.
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
MORGAN MECHAM (WP) and Vaye Savage; SYDNEY GRIFONE (LP) and Natalie Armstrong. 2B: Vaye Savage (Sa). HR: Haylee Pickrell (Sa), Courtney Hoggard (Sa), Elise Cantu (Su).
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
CAITLIN LaGRECA (WP) and Callie Rozak, Vaye Savage; EMMA BABCOCK (LP) and Elisa Cantu. 2B: Callie Rozak (Sa), Vaye Savage (Sa), Mackenzie Shea (Su). 3B: Karyn Trice (Sa). HR: Natalie Armstrong (Su).
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.
Lehigh Carbon scores twice in the seventh after Salem rallies to tie, hands Mighty Oaks third straight loss in late innings
By Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The bad luck that has shadowed the Salem CC baseball team in recent games continued Wednesday when the Oaks gave up two runs in the seventh inning after tying it an inning earlier in an 11-9 Region XIX loss to Lehigh Carbon at the Carneys Point Rec Complex.
The second game of the scheduled doubleheader was postponed by the rain that started falling right before the final out of the opener.
The Oaks (7-12) have lost seven of their last eight. Since walking off No. 3 Brookdale in the opening game of that series last week, they have lost four straight. They were blown out by the Blues in Game 2, blew an eight-run lead to them in the rubber game, lost in the bottom of the 10th to Lehigh Carbon Tuesday after tying the game in the ninth and then Wednesday happened.
The Oaks answered Lehigh Carbon’s opening salvo with five in the home first, but continued giving up runs and fell behind 9-7 after three innings. They tied the game in the sixth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Angel Velez and J.D. Wilson.
Matt Decker threw 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief to keep the Oaks in the game into the seventh, but then Cougars (5-6) reached him.
It started when Decker hit Ethan Kauffman with one out. Kauffman stole second and scored the go-ahead run on Hunter Rothrock’s single up the middle. Rothrock stole second, went to third on the throw to first on a dropped third strike and scored the insurance run on winning relief pitcher Robbie Behrens’ RBI single.
Yen Rodriguez gave Salem life in the seventh when Kauffman misplayed his fly to left into a three-base error. But Behrens doused the threat with two infield pops and a grounder to first.
The Oaks had seven hits in the game, five of them doubles. Rodriguez had two of them. Wilson also had two hits.
Lehigh Carbon (5-6)
342
000
2–
11
11
5
Salem CC (7-12)
511
002
0–
9
7
0
Connor Kuster, Owen Ondrejca (1), ROBBIE BEHRENS (6, W 1-0) and Joey McNamara. John McAllister, MATT DECKER (3, L 0-1) and Angel Velez. 2B: Joey McNamara (LC), Noah Rush (LC), Yen Rodriguez 2 (S), Demetrius DeRamus (S), Angel Velez (S), J.D. Wilson (S). 3B: Kain Smith (LC).
Softball
VINELAND – The Mighty Oaks and RCSJ-Cumberland were scheduled to play a doubleheader, but the game were postponed by the Dukes for internal reasons. The teams are looking for a suitable date to reschedule.
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.
BEUKMAN
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.”
Hayes, Salem CC softball have another big day at the plate, slam season-high four homers, put up 18 runs, win 11th in a row; second game later ruled forfeit win for Oaks
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Salem CC softball coach Angel Rodriguez says shortstop Ella Hayes can play anywhere in the country. He just feels lucky she’s playing here.
HAYES
Hayes, a freshman from Kansas City, had her eye on a couple East Coast Division I schools when she was being recruited out of high school and eventually chose the Mighty Oaks.
It couldn’t have worked out better for either party. Hayes is the hottest hitter on one of the hottest teams in the country. On Tuesday, she went 3-for-3 with a pair homers, a double, two intentional walks and five RBIs as the Oaks outscored Middlesex College 18-11 at Watson Field to extend their winning streak to 11 games.
“I’ll definitely be the first one to say it on our team, we couldn’t have ended up being luckier with a player,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of people as we get going always ask how’d you get this one, how’d you get that one and, truthfully, we’re honest, we’re up front and we’re here to give them the best experience they can get.
“She’s a good player. She’s a natural-born player. I would say we definitely got lucky. Whatever we did or whatever attracted her I hope she stays. I don’t know how in depth her recruiting was, but I know she liked the East Coast and maybe we’re just one of those schools that gave her shot. I think she can play anywhere in the country. Right now, we’re lucky enough that she’s playing for us.”
Hayes got into the recruiting process late in high school because at the time she didn’t think she was good enough to play at a program with pedigree. There was a Division II school close to home that was interested, but she wanted to play on the East Coast and turned it down. She was talking with Binghamton (N.Y.) and would like to go to Rutgers, but the JUCO route would help her development and now she’s Division I material.
Over the last week she’s been virtually unstoppable at the plate. She’s 13-for-16 with five homers and 18 RBIs during the Oaks’ current five-game home stand, raising her batting average to .571. She’s working on a seven-game hitting streak (16-of-24) and has driven in at least one run in 10 of the last 12 games she’s played.
“That’s my way to pick up my team since I can’t produce as much as I should at short, so I need to be better on offense,” Hayes said. “Going up to bat I tend to let everything go and I’m very confident up to bat and if I do end up getting out my team will pick me up. It’s just really easy to relax up at the plate.”
The offensive eruption has left the Oaks (13-4) with 147 runs in 17 games. They banged out 15 hits and a season-high four homers against the Colts. They scored in every inning but fifth and bounced back from that by putting the game away with six runs in the sixth.
When a team hits like that it can overcome – but not overlook – one of what Rodriguez called “those funky defensive games we’ve just gotta clean up” that led to eight errors that produced eight unearned runs.
Karyn Trice got it started with a leadoff inside-the-park homer and went 3-for-4 to raise her average to a team-leading (.588). Hayes hit a solo homer in the first and a grand slam in the second. Callie Rozak went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the third and four RBIs. The Oaks now have 14 homers this season, one more than they had in twice as many games a year ago.
Hayes credited the roll on the players picking each other up throughout the lineup throughout the game. It reminds her of the club team she played on the summer before her junior year in high school, which she called her favorite year of club ball.
“They keep getting it done,” Rodriguez said. “No matter what the situation is … they just keep making adjustments. The more they keep doing that and keep seeing the softball and make the adjustments that are necessary they’re going to keep rolling.
“As a coach we try not to do a lot with stats and I’m not a big stats guru. I do look at it, I think what we’re doing is great, but at some point you’ve got to take appreciation at what we’re doing and it is good to see. I try not to rely heavily on that because I want to see the consistency in everything, but, yeah, we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. What we’re doing, the numbers speak for themselves. We’re playing well.”
The Oaks have the potential for the winning streak to hit 12 in a row if Region XIX rules a forfeit in their favor since the Colts declined to play the second game of the scheduled doubleheader.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in college,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to qualify for one (a forfeit win). We’re gonna push for it, I think we deserve it, but ultimately the decision will come from the region and what they decide. We’ll see.”
UPDATE
On Thursday, Region XIX ruled the second game a 7-0 forfeit win for the Mighty Oaks, extending their winning streak to 12 in row.
‘I think the ruling is justified,’ Rodriguez said. ‘Game 2 should’ve been played from the beginning and I’m glad our team gets the credit they deserve; they were ready to go. All in all, it’s in the past and we’re gearing up for a doubleheader (at Sussex County CC) tomorrow.’
SALEM CC 18, MIDDLESEX 11
Middlesex (3-2)
042
211
0–
11
6
1
Salem CC (13-4)
252
306
x–
18
15
8
CAITLIN LAGRECA (W 5-3), Morgan Mecham (5) and Callie Rozak, Vaye Savage (5); Madison Rackett, SUMMER RAMIREZ (4, L 2-1) and Sarah Ohnmeiss. 2B: Marissa Lugo (M), Ella Hayes (S), Haylee Pickrell (S). 3B: Kaylin Nepton (M), Kalila Pace (S). HR: Ella Hayes 2 (S), Callie Rozak (S), Karyn Trice (S).
Mighty Oaks softball team comes from behind in both games to sweep Northampton, winning streak at 10; baseball loses eight-run lead in loss to No. 3 team in country
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The one thing the Salem CC softball team hasn’t faced since returning from its season-opening trip to the Carolinas is adversity.
The Mighty Oaks had, as they say in the South, a mean mess of it Sunday and came through it like a team that hasn’t lost in two weeks.
The Oaks trailed three times in their doubleheader with Northampton at Watson Field and rallied every time to score an 11-10, 10-2 sweep to run their current winning streak to 10 games and remain undefeated in their new home. It was the first time they trailed at any point in any game since returning from the Carolinas.
In the opener they trailed 6-3 in the third inning and 8-7 in the fifth. They fell behind 2-0 after two innings of the nightcap before Ella Hayes blasted a three-run homer in the third to give the Oaks (12-4) the lead for good.
They pounded out 20 hits in the opener. Hayes went 5-for-5 with four RBIs and Karyn Trice went 4-for-4. Kiki Beukman and KC Garcia both went 3-for-4. But for all the offense they produced, they still needed ace Morgan Mecham to come out of the bullpen to get through a harrowing seventh inning.
They walked off the nightcap on Courtney Hoggard’s bases-loaded double in the fifth that got through a charging outfielder and cleared the bases although only two runs were needed for the run-rule margin. Hoggard went 4-for-4 in the game after being the only Salem player to go hitless in the opener.
“Seeing it for the first time we put into perspective that if we’re behind or we’ve got to battle back and forth we’re able to do it, but most importantly they’ve got to keep playing for each other and you saw it there,” Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “That’s key right there, just backing up your pitcher on defense, trying to make the next play, if someone’s a little down just picking them up and running from there.
“You definitely start turning to some of the returners or some key people who are going to come up in big moments and see how they’re going to do and they handled it well. They came and took it one pitch at a time and just kept it rolling. They didn’t panic, they just kept going and let the game come to them and it was good.”
With the lineup Rodriguez has at his disposal, the Mighty Oaks really aren’t out of any game. They’ve outscored their opponents 106-19 during the 10-game winning streak and are batting a torrid .515 as a team.
“One thing we learned from the Carolinas that we kept consistent is when we have big moments or we need something going we always tend to find ourselves right around the beginning or middle of the lineup,” Rodriguez said. “If we can keep doing that, it’s going to be just great for us.”
The Oaks led the opener 3-0, but the Spartans wiped it out with a six-run third on the strength of back-to-back homers by Hannah Karc and Shana Guliandolo to open inning and Chelsea Melkowits’ three-run shot three batters later.
Salem retook the lead with four in the bottom of the inning, but Northampton grabbed it right back with two in the fourth. The Oaks took the lead for good in the fifth on Hayes’ game-tying double, a go-ahead RBI single by Haylee Pickrell and an RBI double by Callie Rozak.
The teams traded runs in the sixth. The Spartans loaded the bases against Mecham in the seventh and made it 11-10 with one out, only the second run on the Oaks ace’s ledger since the team returned from the Carolinas. They still had the bases loaded, but Mecham got the final two outs on strikeout and pop to short.
“I think we did a very good job keeping our energy up,” Hoggard said. “When we got down, we stayed up (emotionally). When people were struggling, they picked them up. I know I was struggling for a while (3-for-13 in her previous four games), but they picked me up and I came out in the second game and did really good.
“Our coaches this year have told us you get down you’ve got to keep your foot on the gas pedal no matter what. We can’t look back. You’ve got to keep moving forward.”
The Oaks never wavered when they fell behind 2-0 in the nightcap. Hayes put them back on top with her third homer in four games and they continued to pour it on. They pushed across three in the fourth and walked it off in the fifth.
“I was never worried about it,” Hayes said. “Even in practice there will be times where there’s adversity and we come back and are fully prepared. I think we all just really wanted it, too.
“I love being on a winning streak. There is pressure, you don’t want that to end, it’s also fun. I think we’re having a lot of fun and that’s why we’re continuing the streak instead of feeling the pressure.”
Softball
GAME 1 SALEM CC 11, NORTHAMPTON CC 10
Northampton CC (0-1)
006
201
1-
10
17
0
Salem CC (11-4)
124
031
x-
11
20
1
Theresa Luongo, SYDNEY HARPER (3, L0-1), Kamryn Tokar (6) and Chelsea Melkowits; Caitlin LaGreca, KARYN TRICE (W 1-0), Morgan Mecham and Callie Rozak. 2B: Callie Rozak (S), Ella Hayes (S), Haylee Pickrell (S). 3B: Kiki Beukman (S). HR: Chelsea Melkowits (N), Hannah Karc (N), Shana Gugliandolo (N).
SALEM CC 10, NORTHAMPTON CC 2
Northampton CC (0-2)
110
00-
2
7
1
Salem CC (12-4)
004
33-
10
12
1
TAYLOR NEUMANN (L 0-1), Theresa Luongo (3) and Morgan Rissmiller; MORGAN MECHAM (W 7-2) and Vaye Savage. 2B: Chelsea Melkowits (N), Hannah Karc (N), Courtney Hoggard (S), Vaye Savage (S). HR: Ella Hayes (S)
Baseball
LINCROFT — The Mighty Oaks led the No. 3 team in the country by eight runs in the fourth inning, but couldn’t hold it and fell to Brookdale 14-10 in the rubber game of their three-game series.
The Oaks won the series opener 7-6 on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth and appeared headed for an even easier win in the getaway game, but it got away from them under a hail of walks and errors.
“It was just a rough day,” Salem coach John Bolt said. “We didn’t play our best baseball.”
BROOKDALE CC 14, SALEM CC 10
Salem CC (7-10)
007
300
000-
10
Brookdale CC (18-1)
200
800
22x-
14
Cover photo: Salem CC’s Courtney Hoggard prepares to connect with her walk-off hit in the bottom of the fifth inning of Sunday’s second game with Northampton CC. The Mighty Oaks won both games to extend their winning streak to 10 games.
def. Filip Mirkovic, 6-4, 6-4
