Mighty Oaks are in

Salem CC baseball gets into the Region XIX field of eight without a play-in game after sweeping Union Saturday, looking for help from eliminated Ocean to get a better seed

REGION XIX BASEBALL
Saturday’s Games
Salem CC 16-8, Union 2-5
Camden 6-16, Northampton 5-5
Middlesex 5-10, Atlantic Cape 0-0
RCSJ-Gloucester 19-19, Delaware County 0-2
Brookdale 7-14, Ocean 1-5
RCSJ-Cumberland 4-22, Bergen 0-1
CCBC-Essex 7-13, Lackawanna 6-5

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC baseball team got what it needed in the first game of Saturday’s regular-season ending doubleheader with Union. The Mighty Oaks got what they wanted from the day in the nightcap, but they had to work for it.

The Mighty Oaks secured the final spot in the eight-team Region XIX Division III playoff bracket with an dominating 16-2 rout in the opener, then they rallied from four runs down midway through the nightcap to win that 8-5 and give themselves a chance at a more favorable seed.

The doubleheader — and series — sweep, along with Brookdale’s sweep of Ocean, allowed the Mighty Oaks (23-26, 18-15) to make the bracket without having to deal with a play-in game with Ocean. Now they’ll become the biggest Ocean fans, hoping the Vikings can knock off Montgomery County Monday to give the Mighty Oaks the seventh seed and avoid top seed and three-time defending national champion RCSJ-Gloucester in the opening round.

If Montco wins the Monday game, the Mustangs and Mighty Oaks would finish tied for seventh in the standings, but Salem would be the eighth seed since the Mustangs hold the tiebreaker. The best-of-3 first-round series start Saturday at the sites of the top four seeds.

“We needed to win,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “We needed to control what we can control. We can control winning baseball games. We can’t control what happens with the other series that were going on. We just needed to control the variables we could control and we did that.

“At the end of the day the gameplan from the beginning was to win all three. Winning two out of three wasn’t an option. All along it’s we’ve got to win three. We did what we had to do to figure out how to win. It wasn’t pretty, but we figured it out.”

After having their way with the Owls (7-29) in the opener, the Mighty Oaks were held scoreless for the first four innings of the nightcap.

Meanwhile, the Owls scored four in the third as Salem starter Logan Peters lost the plate and his defense lost the handle. The Owls threatened again in the fourth, but Nick Reckard came on to get the final out of the inning before giving way to Tyler Hacker for the final three innings or however long it was going to take for the Mighty Oaks to pull it out.

They came to life in the fifth and tied the game on a pair of two-run singles by J.J. Pankowski and Hacker. Pankowski had two hits in the game and was on base in all three innings Salem scored down the stretch.

“When the inning starts I’m always telling the two batters before me get on for me because I know I’ll do the job,” the second baseman said. “Coach is always saying ‘pass the stick,’ so I just try to do my job, do whatever I can to get myself a ribbie and help the team get a rally going.”

Union retook the lead with an unearned run off Hacker in the bottom of the fifth, but Salem took it back for good in the sixth when Owls second baseman Hengel Brown threw to the first base side of the plate trying to cut down a run Pankowski’s ground ball and Roman Hernandez took a pitch off the helmet after the Owls intentionally walked Hacker in front of him to load the bases.

“I’m not looking to get hit by a pitch, but I am looking to get on base and get that winning run in no matter what it is,” Hernandez said. “It could’ve been a walk, a wild pitch, anything I could’ve done to help my team out. They’ve had my back, they’ve always cheered me on this entire season, it’s the least I can do to take one for the team.

“They intentionally walked Hacker to get to me, so I kind of took that personal, to be honest with you. The first couple swings I decided to swing for the fences a little bit, but then I realized that’s not the approach I needed to be having. I adjusted and got the game winning run.”

They added two insurance runs in the seventh on Chase Hortiz’ long sacrifice fly to left and Jason LeBold’s RBI single that handcuffed the third baseman.

Hacker stared down threats in each of his first two innings on the mound. He gave up the run in the fifth and In the sixth the Owls loaded the bases with one out, but he got out of it with a strikeout and ground out to third.

“I love it,” the sophomore right-hander said of the pressure. “You’ve probably heard the expression pressure make diamonds and if you want to be the best you’ve got to shine the brightest. No matter who the team is, no matter who we play, when we play them, how we play them, I want to win and if it’s up to me I’m going to make it happen.

“I think my willingness to win rubs off on the team, so whatever needs to happen needs to happen. It’s easier to rally around someone who wants to win and is busting his butt to do that. I have full confidence in my guys. Even after the couple errors. It was like we’re gonna get these runs back and we’re gonna shut ’em down.”

**Salem CC’s Tyler Hacker (L) breaks for second and his 60th stolen base of the season in Saturday’s first game,**

Holt handed the ball to Pat Seitzinger for the game that would get the Mighty Oaks in the playoffs. Seitzinger, pitching on Carneys Point mound for only the third time in 12 appearances this season, although it was technically a road game.

The sophomore left-hander threw 90 pitches over five innings, giving up two runs, five hits and struck out four. He walked two and hit two. Joe D’Amato worked the last two, facing eight batters, striking out three and getting a double play.

“I felt good,” Seitzinger said. “I pitched in a big game last year, probably the biggest game, so I didn’t feel any pressure. I didn’t really have everything, but I felt good enough to win.”

The Mighty Oaks had 10 hits in the first game, but took advantage of five Union errors and 20 walks and three hit batsmen. Every batter in the lineup reached base at least once. Eight of the nine spots in the lineup scored at least one run.

Colin McLaughlin enjoyed his first-ever four-hit college game, going 4-for-4 with a sacrifice fly. The freshman third baseman kept it going in the nightcap with a single in his first at-bat and two walks in four plate appearances. He had been three for his last 26, but had cut down on his early-season strikeouts considerably.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “I feel as of recently I’ve been making pretty good contact here and it just felt really good to see those balls finally dropping, to see something go my way. Nothing changed at the plate, those balls were just falling today.”

Unlike Friday’s series opener that was tighter than it should’ve been, the Mighty Oaks took control of their destiny with three runs in each of the first three innings. Hernandez had a two-run double in the first, Hacker had a two-run single in the second, and McLaughlin’s sacrifice fly and two bases-loaded walks (among five passes in a row) highlighted the third.

NOTES: The Mighty Oaks serenades assistant coach Jake MacNellis with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” in the outfield huddle after the game … Hacker picked up his national leading 60th stolen base of the season in the opener. He needs eight for 100 in his JUCO career … If the playoffs were to start today, RCSJ-Gloucester would host Montco, Brookdale would host Salem, RCSJ-Cumberland would host Northampton and Middlesex would host Camden. There are six game the next two days that would impact the standings, the most significant for Salem being Montco at Ocean.

Salem	333	141	1-	16	10	0
Union	010	100	0-	2	5	1

WP: Pat Seitzinger. LP: Edwin Oyolo.

Salem	000	042	2-	8	7	5
Union	004	010	0-	5	5	5

WP: Tyler Hacker. LP: Joseph Valdez.

REGION XIX D-III	R19	ALL	GSAC
RCSJ-Gloucester	27-5	33-10	19-5
Brookdale	25-8	38-10-1	20-5
RCSJ-Cumberland	24-9	32-11-1	18-6
Middlesex	23-10	33-15	18-8
Camden	21-11	24-15	14-10
Northampton	21-11	30-17
SALEM CC	18-15	23-26	15-11
Montgomery	17-15	17-15
Ocean	15-18	18-21	10-15
Bergen	11-22	13-29	11-16
Atlantic Cape	5-27	5-27	2-22
Union	3-28	7-31	0-25
Delaware County	1-32	2-32

SUNDAY’S GAMES
Union at Northampton (2)
Monroe-Bronx at Brookdale
Suffolk CC at Middlesex (2)
Sussex at UConn-Avery Point (2)
MONDAY’S GAMES
Camden at Delaware County, resumption
Montgomery at Ocean
RCSJ-Gloucester at Atlantic Cape
Bucks County at Northampton

Close to clinching

Mighty Oaks in position to clinch a Region XIX playoff berth in final doubleheader of regular season after getting past Union in series opener

REGION 19 BASEBALL
Friday’s Games
Salem CC 11, Union 7
Brookdale 25, Ocean 6
RCSJ-Cumberland 12, Bergen 0
RCSJ-Gloucester 29, Delaware County 3
Camden 4, Northampton 3
Middlesex 16, Atlantic Cape 8

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The stage is set for the Salem CC baseball team to clinch a spot in the Region XIX playoffs, but the Mighty Oaks still have to take care of business in their final regular-season doubleheader. At least they control their own destiny.

The Mighty Oaks need only split Saturday’s twinbill with Union after Friday’s 11-7 win at The Treehouse to get into the region playoffs, whether it’s the eighth seed outright, a play-in game participant or a better seed.

A split will leave them 17-16 in region, satisfying the .500 or better record in region play caveat for qualifying; getting swept knocks them out. They can avoid a play-in game altogether if Ocean gets swept by current second-place Brookdale (Ocean lost Game 1 25-4) and they could finish as high as seventh if they sweep, Ocean gets swept and then beats Montgomery Monday, which is why they’re so intent on sweeping Union in Saturday’s doubleheader, which has been moved to the Carneys Point Rec Complex (with the Owls as home team).

“We just have to attend to our business,” right fielder Roman Hernandez said. “We played down to the level today, but we have to come out with energy and ready to kick their butt. We do have some pressure to win both of them (so) we can’t underestimate them. We’ve got to do our thing and play our way and not play down to the level.”

Pat Seitzinger is scheduled to get the ball for the Mighty Oaks in Game One. Interestingly, it will be only his third outing on the mound at The Treehouse – and it comes oddly enough in what technically is a road game. And just because they would clinch a playoff spot by winning the opener, it won’t change the way they approach Game Two.

“No, because we’ve got to win that one,” head coach John Holt said. “There’s a possibility of an 8-9 game. We don’t want an 8-9 game. That’s a one-game series on a Thursday. I’d rather control what we can control, win what we can win, and then let the cards fall.”

The game was a lot closer than it should have been given the teams’ positions in the standings. The Mighty Oaks (21-26) scored three runs in the first inning and opened a 5-1 lead in the second, and needed all of it. They never lost the lead, but they couldn’t shake the Owls (7-29).

It was a two-run game until the Mighty Oaks put three up in the seventh on a run-scoring error, Tyler Hacker’s sacrifice fly and Rocco String’s second RBI single of the game.

“Union played us tough,” Holt said. “They always seem to play us tough. Every year at the end of the year they always seem to find a way to make It a game with us.”

“I think some of our guys got out of our approach,” Hacker said. “Their guy wasn’t throwing very hard. We try to hit baseball hard and far, instead of putting it on the ground and doing our job.”

Hacker accounted for seven of the Mighty Oaks’ 11 runs. He had a two-run double in the first, a two-run single in the second and the sac fly for five total RBIs, and he scored twice. Hernandez had three hits and reached base four times. Cliff Wysinger and Jason LeBold both also reached four times.

“We get the stats before the game and see what the pitcher has done,” Hacker explained. “He walked a lot of guys, so going into the game we look for pitches we could hit, we could drive, and that’s what I did.”

Both of the Mighty Oaks’ statistical leaders added to their standing against the Owls. Hacker added two more stolen bases towards his all-of-JUCO leading total (56) on the way to his goal of 60 (and 100 career). Jason LeBold moved into solo second on this season’s Division III hit by pitch list after getting plunked in his first two at-bats. He’s now been hit 21 times – from head to toe.

“The thing for me is I don’t move out the way; I just let it hit me,” he said. “I’ve been called twice for learning into them. I just don’t really move out the way.

“Everyone in the dugout after I get hit by a pitch makes a big joke out of it. I know they find it fun. They know I get hit a lot, I just laugh it off. I had a lot last year for the little number of games I played. The Cumberland game here I got hit five times, in the head twice, everywhere. Now it’s just a big joke with all of them.”

There was a scary moment in the fifth inning when Salem starter Seth McCormick collapsed hard on the mound after his left leg buckled as he delivered a warm-up pitch. As scary as the scene looked, and he was helped off the field, team officials expect the sophomore right-hander to be all right. He already was dealing with elbow issues.

Union	010	112	110-	7	13	4
Salem CC	321	101	30x-	11	11	1

REGION XIX D-III STANDINGS	R19	ALL	GSAC
RCSJ-Gloucester	25-5	31-10	19-5
Brookdale	23-8	36-10-1	18-5
RCSJ-Cumberland	21-9	29-11-1	15-6
Northampton	21-9	30-15
Middlesex	21-10	31-15
Camden	19-11	22-15	14-10
Montgomery	17-15	17-17
SALEM CC	16-15	21-26	13-11
Ocean	15-16	18-19	10-13
Bergen	11-19	13-26	11-13
Atlantic Cape	5-25	5-25	2-20
Union	3-26	7-29	0-23
Delaware County	1-29	2-29

Mighty Oaks heartbroken

Salem CC lost early leads in both of their Region XIX softball playoff games, were walked off bottom of the seventh of the elimination game

REGION 19 D2 PLAYOFFS
Friday’s Games
Mercer 8, Salem CC 3
Delaware Tech 5, Lackawanna 0
Lackawanna 6, Salem CC 5
Mercer 4, Delaware Tech 2
Saturday’s Games
Lackawanna vs. Delaware Tech, 10 a.m.
Delaware Tech-Lackawanna winner vs. Mercer, noon
If necessary, 2 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST WINDSOR – Salem CC’s trip to this year’s Region XIX softball playoffs started with such promise, evoking memories of their start two years ago when they upset the No. 1 seed in the opening round. But then the No. 1 seed came to life.

Fourth-seeded Salem grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning of their opening round game against Mercer, but the top-seeded Mustangs shut it down and their own bats came to life sending the Mighty Oaks to an 8-3 loss.

The elimination game was even more heartbreaking. The Mighty Oaks took a four-run lead into the sixth inning and a two-run lead into the seventh, but Lackawanna walked it off on Mekenzie Dineen’s bases-loaded triple with two out in the bottom of the seventh, 6-5.

Two years ago, the Mighty Oaks were the fourth seed and Mercer the 1 and Salem pulled off a 6-0 upset. It looked like things would repeat Friday when they scored three runs right out of the gate.

Lilly Peverelle got it started with a one-out double. She scored on J.J. Aguirre’s two-out single, Emme Witter followed with a single and Savannah Palverento brought them both home with a smash off pitcher Jozalyn Sheipe-Warthen’s glove.

After that, however, they managed only three hits off Sheipe-Warthan and five baserunners. They did get runners to third in the second and fourth innings, but failed to bring them home.

Mercer tied it in the third, then took the lead in the fifth after putting the first two runners on forcing Salem starter Reagan Wilson out of the game. Both runners stole bases to advance, then Sheipe-Warthen delivered a sacrifice fly and Karisa Krawiec doubled. The Mustangs added three insurance runs in the sixth, a rally capped by Sheipe-Warthen’s two-out, two-run double on a 3-2 pitch from reliever Jordyn Busch.

Bella Rappa and Palverento each had two hits in the game for the Mighty Oaks.

They were in an even better position in the elimination game. They scored two in the first and two in the fourth and led 5-0 going to the bottom of the fifth.

Busch held Lackawanna to three hits over the first four inning. The Lady Falcons scored their first run in 12 tournament innings in the fifth and closed the gap with two in the sixth.

Riley Knott got the seventh-inning rally started with a single. The Lady Falcons loaded the bases on one-out singles by Mackenzie Adolfson and Gracie Sokol. Busch got Mia Scalese to pop out to short, then Dineen lined a triple to center to win the game.

The Mighty Oaks scored two in the first on Megan Koski’s sacrifice fly and a run-scoring error. They doubled the lead in the fourth when Jocelyn Melendez and Rappa raced home on passed balls. Palverento’s RBI double gave them a 5-0 lead in the fifth, her second hit of the game.

Salem CC	300	000	0-	3	7	2
Mercer	021	023	x-	8	11	1

WP: Jozalyn Sheipe-Warthen, LP: Reagan Wilson. 2B: Lilly Peverelle (S), Karisa Krawiec (M), Jozalyn Shiepe-Warthen (M), 3B: Stella Logan (M).

Salem CC	200	210	0-	5	4	0
Lackawanna	000	012	3-	6	12	2

WP: Mekenzie Revere. LP: Jordyn Busch. 2B: Savannah Palverento (S), Kyle Edwards (L), Mia Scalese (L). 3B: Mekenzie Dineen (L).

It’s clear cut

Mighty Oaks know precisely what they have to do to make the Region 19 playoffs after being swept by Mercer, get some help from RCSJ-Cumberland

TUESDAY REGION XIX BASEBALL
Mercer 12-9, Salem CC 1-4
Delaware Tech 9-5, Monroe 2-3
Northampton 17, Montgomery 4
Camden 11, Atlantic Cape 10
RCSJ-Cumberland 10, Ocean 0
Middlesex 8, Raritan Valley 7
Union 17, Queensborough 3

By Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — The Salem CC baseball team knows exactly what has to happen this weekend if they want to make the Region XIX playoffs after being swept by Mercer 12-1 and 9-3 Tuesday.

The losses left the Mighty Oaks (20-26, 15-15) no chance to have a .500 or better regular season with three games left, but they can still qualify for the playoffs by taking at least two of three against Union this weekend.

They could avoid a play-in game for the final playoff spot by winning two of three this weekend and having Ocean (17-18, 14-15) go no better than 2-2 in its final four games (Wednesday vs. Delaware County and three vs. region current No. 2 Brookdale). In other words, assuming Ocean beats one-win Delaware County Wednesday, the Mighty Oaks would get in by winning their weekend series and Ocean losing theirs.

Ocean lost Tuesday to RCSJ-Cumberland 10-0. Former Schalick pitcher Lucas D’Agostino threw a seven-inning complete-game two-hitter and the Dukes walked it off with seven in the bottom of the seventh.

No doubt the Mighty Oaks will have to hit better over the weekend than they did Tuesday.

Mercer held them to five hits in the five-inning opener and held them the one hit in the nightcap.

The Mighty Oaks scored the first run of the doubleheader when Cliff Wysinger opened the home first with a double, was sacrificed to third by Jason LeBold and rode home on Tyler Hacker’s sacrifice fly. Wysinger had a pair of doubles in the game.

It stayed that way until the third when Mercer reached Salem starter Joe Pallante for five runs. The visitors added three in the fourth and four in the fifth.

The Mighty Oaks were no-hit through four innings of the nightcap. Wysinger broke up the no-hitter with a single to left to load the bases with none out. They got two runs out of the threat on a sacrifice fly and a double steal. It cut Mercer’s lead to 7-2.

Even though the Mighty Oaks had only one hit, they had plenty of base runners. Mercer walked 14 and hit one.

Salem added two more runs in the seventh on Roman Hernandez’ bases-loaded sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk to Jacob Sharrow.

Mercer	005	34-	12	12	0
Salem CC	100	00-	1	5	1

WP: Daniel Dryzga. LP: Joe Pallante. 2B: Mikey Amrheim 2 (M), Jordan Raba (M), Quaren Williams (M), Cliff Wysinger (S), Roman Hernandez (S).

Mercer	211	122	0-	9	12	0
Salem CC	000	020	2-	4	1	1

WP: Gabe Ahlemeyer, LP: Andre Stewart. 2B: Jordan Raba (M), Mikey Amrheim (M)

Softball: Bracket announced

The Salem CC softball team is seeded fourth and will play top-seeded host Mercer Friday at 10 a.m. in the opening-round of the Region XIX Division II tournament. The bracket was officially announced Tuesday.

Delaware Tech and Lackawanna are seeded 2-3, respectively, and will play their opening-round game at noon.

An elimination round game will be played at 2 p.m., followed by the winner’s bracket game at 4.

The loser’s bracket final will be Saturday at 10 a.m., following the championship game at noon (with an if necessary game at 2 p.m.

Two years ago, the Mighty Oaks went to Mercer as the No. 4 seed and one-hit the top-seeded host team 6-0. Two weeks ago the teams played in Pennsville and Mercer barely escaped with a sweep, 8-4 and 7-6.

Keeping track

Here is an update on the former Salem County high schoolers playing in college; anyone missing? send additional players to al.muskewitz@gmail.com; statistics as valid as program reporting

Baseball

PLAYER	SCHOOL	GP	BA	H	HR	RBI
Elijah Crespo, Penns Grove	RCSJ-Cumb	15	.190	4	0	4
Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick	RCSJ-Cumb	20	.262	11	1	19
Andrew Pedrick, Woodstown	Harford CC	27	.395	32	2	34
Lucas Prendergast, Woodstown	York	38	.413	59	5	26
Jarrett Pokrovsky, Schalick	Penn	35	.284	40	1	17
Terrell Robinson, Salem	Rosemont	25	.261	18	0	9
Jackson Schalick, Schalick	Frostburg	45	.358	54	6	44
Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown	Rosemont	31	.337	34	0	15
Connor Starn, Pennsville	Keystone	10	.154	2	0	2
Rocco String, Woodstown	Salem CC	28	.265	22	3	24
Chase Swain, Woodstown	LaSalle	43	.364	60	8	33
Mike Valente, Woodstown	Salem CC	8	.000	0	0	0
Brent Williams, Woodstown	G-Beacom	30	.264	29	2	21

NOTE: Chase Swain is 6 hits shy of 250 for his college career and 1 RBI shy of 150.

PITCHER	SCHOOL	GP	W-L	ERA	IP	K
Evan Biddle, Salem	Frostburg	8	1-0	9.00	9.0	6
Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick	RCSJ-Cumb	9	3-2	2.56	38.2	35
Ben Foote, Woodstown	Caldwell	6	1-1	11.37	6.1	3
Jack Holladay, Woodstown	Neumann	6	0-3	11.15	15.1	12
Peyton O’Brien, Pennsville	Harford CC	7	0-0	1.74	10.1	12
Luke Pokrovsky, Schalick	Penn	12	0-1	12.89	14.2	15
Terrell Robinson, Salem	Rosemont	4	0-0	8.10	6.2	2
Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown	Rosemont	2	0-0	27.00	1.1	1
Rocco String, Woodstown	Salem CC	4	0-1	46.29	2.1	4
Mike Valente, Woodstown	Salem CC	7	2-1	6.05	19.1	11
Luke Wood, Pennsville	McDaniel	9	4-1	5.05	41	34

Softball

PLAYER	SCHOOL	GP	BA	H	HR	RBI
Emily Holladay, Woodstown	Hartwick	12	.226	7	0	3
Tulana Mingin, Woodstown	East Stroudsburg	46	.320	49	0	5
Ava Ortiz, Salem	Salem CC	14	.438	7	0	6
Savannah Palverento, Pennsville	Salem CC	42	.398	41	2	37
Lilly Peverelle, Pennsville	Salem CC	44	.478	66	6	55
Bella Rappa, Pennsville	Salem CC	35	.427	38	0	33
Cayla Sbrana, Schalick	RCSJ-Cumb	18	.279	12	0	7
Sawyer Simmons, Pennsville	Salem CC	30	.317	19	1	15

NOTE: Tulana Mingin has 36 runs and is 17-21 in stolen bases

PITCHER	SCHOOL	GP	W-L	ERA	IP	K
Savannah Palverento, Pennsville	Salem CC	16	2-0	6.16	25.0	27
Cayla Sbrana, Schalick	RCSJ-Cumb	9	2-7	10.27	45.0	16
Raegan Wilson, Salem	Salem CC	21	10-6	5.85	81.1	48

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports calendar for the week of April 27-May 2; all games start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MONDAY, APRIL 27
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Pitman
Salem at Gateway
Salem Tech at Bridgeton
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pitman at Pennsville
Winslow at Penns Grove
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
BOYS GOLF
Woodstown vs. Cumberland, TBA, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Triton, Valleybrook CC, 3:45 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Clearview, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 3:45 p.m.
Wildwood at Pennsville
TRACK
Schalick at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Overbrook at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Washington Twp., 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 28
BASEBALL
Camden Academy Charter at Salem Tech
Millville at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Bridgeton
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter, 3:45 p.m.
GOLF
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
West Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Clayton at Schalick
Pennsville at Penns Grove
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Williamstown
GIRLS LACROSSE
West Deptford at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Mercer CC at Salem CC (2), 3 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Woodstown
Pitman at Penns Grove
Rancocas Valley at Schalick
Salem at Overbrook
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Salem
Penns Grove at Pitman
Woodstown at Pennsville
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Pitman, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Williamstown, Scotland Run CC, 3:45 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Running Deer GC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Clayton, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Triton, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Ocean City

THURSDAY, APRIL 30
BASEBALL
Schalick at Clearview
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech at Bridgeton
Winslow at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Washington Twp.
TRACK
Salem County Championships, Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pitman
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Camden Co. Tech, 3:45 p.m.
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Pennsville, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, MAY 1
BASEBALL
Gloucester at Woodstown
Lindenwold at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Salem
SOFTBALL
Camden Tech at Schalick
Salem at Pennsville
Salem Tech at Woodbridge Academy (NJTAC(
TENNIS
Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Wildwood at Penns Grove
GIRLS LACROSSE
Maple Shade at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Union at Salem CC, TBA
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region XIX Tournament, Mercer CC
Salem CC vs. Mercer, 10 a.m.
Lackawanna vs. Delaware Tech, noon

SATURDAY, MAY 2
BASEBALL
Schalick at Timber Creek
Woodstown at Audubon, 11 a.m.
TRACK
SJTCA Meet, Delsea, 1 p.m.
SJTCA Meet, Rancocas Valley, 1 p.m.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Highland, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Union (2), noon

Big innings, good & bad

Salem CC softball scores 18 in first, 12 in second of DH opener, 16 in nightcap inning of record sweep; baseball falls behind 10-0 vs. RCSJ-Gloucester

COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC 36-31, Raritan Valley 6-1
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester 15, Salem CC 3

By Al Muskewitz and Nolan Dowell
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — The Salem CC softball program celebrated its sophomores Sunday and two of their local sophs enjoyed record-setting days.

Playing in the final home games of their junior college careers, Bella Rappa drove in 10 runs in the opener, Lilly Peverelle hit three home runs and had 13 RBIs in the doubleheader and the Mighty Oaks enjoyed three of their most prolific innings of the season as they swamped Raritan Valley 36-6 and 31-1.

The 36 runs in the opener broke the Mighty Oaks’ single-game scoring record, at least since reviving the program four years ago; they had scored 29 in a game twice earlier this season. The 67 runs in the doubleheader were the most they’ve scored in a twin bill since the revival as well, eclipsing the 50 they put on the Lady Lions in an April 10 sweep.

The Mighty Oaks scored 18 runs in the first inning of the opener — erasing a 2-0 deficit — and 12 more in the second; it was 30-2 before the Lady Lions had gotten to the top of their lineup. All nine players in the Salem lineup had scored a run by the time they made their first out, which was a sacrifice fly. They had a 16-run inning in the nightcap.

The collected 31 hits in the doubleheader, batting .633 as a team (31-for-49), and received 20 walks in each game. Pennsville products Rappa and Peverelle were a combined 11-for-13 with 15 runs scored, 18 RBIs and five walks.

“I told our players the most important goal for this team is just to kind of find those balances of things that we have to keep working on,” head coach Angel Rodriguez said. “If you get a good pitch, make sure you’re on time and square it up and a lot of us were able to do that. In a game like this a lot of patience has to be had and that’s another thing we have to work on. All that kind of goes into what we’ve been working on to the end of the season and it definitely prevailed today.

“It’s not really that we aren’t proud of what we’re able to put up, we look at every player’s at bats and is it something they improved on. It’s always interesting to put up some runs and then a couple times you’re like Holy cow we have no outs. It’s good to know they’re not forcing thing. In a game like today it’s very easy to try to force things and then it disrupts your at bats. Today we let the game come up us. It was good to see us not be over ambitious about what we were trying to do.”

Rappa collected all her RBIs in the first game in her first four at bats over the first two innings. She had a two-run double and three-run single in the first inning, and had a three-run single and two-run single in the second. Peverelle hit a two-run homer in the second inning and a two-run homer in the third.

“I knew that I was only going to see one good pitch, so I realized when I saw it coming I had to take advantage of it.” Rappa said.

Rodriguez even gave her a turn in the circle for the first time this season. Rappa gave up two hits and was charged with three runs, but the highlight was the four-pitch strikeout to the second batter she faced. Tiana Wilson came in behind her and had a great 1-2-3 double play to end the game.

“It felt great to go out there and do what my best friend (starter Raegan Wilson) does on a daily basis,” Rappa said. “I got one strikeout, and I was proud of that. I have to work on my release point, and stay in my lane, but it was fun.”

The Mighty Oaks turned the nightcap into a rout with 16 runs in the second inning. Peverelle had an RBI single in the first, an RBI ground out and two-run double in the second, and a grand slam in the fourth. Her 13 RBIs in the doubleheader broke the previous record, set by two-time Region Player of the Year Ella Hayes (12) against Sussex County last March.

“I just saw ball and hit ball,” Peverelle said. “Plus, I was singing to myself in the box.”

“It’s been good to see their progress,” Rodriguez said. “We always say as coaches we’re getting players in their first year and there are lot of things we have to break. A lot of bad habits, a lot of things we have to adjust. To see both of them from Year One to where they are now is incredible.

“We’re proud of what Bella was able to do Game One. I thought she came out on fire, but I think that rolled over with the last couple games she had. She had a very good Mercer Game 2 a couple games ago, so that’s good some of that’s starting to go with them game-to-game now; it’s not more of a rollercoaster.

“And Lilly’s been red-hot. She’s been doing very well, but another one who’s growth and maturity has gotten her to this level. I think that plays a huge part in what they’re able to do. It’s definitely paying off and they’re getting hot at the right time, so that was good to see too, especially with the (playoff) week we have coming up.”

Other top Game One performers included Jolee Robinson (2-for-3, six RBIs, five runs); Ava Ortiz (2-3, 3 RBIs off the bench) and Jalyn Rambally (3-5, five runs, four RBIs).

Freshman Jordyn Busch nearly pitched a shutout in the nightcap, but a wild pitch with two outs in the fifth inning ended the bid. She allowed only four hits and struck out seven. Among the hitters, Savannah Palverento went 3-for-3 with three RBIs; Megan Koski had two hits, four runs and three RBIs; and Robinson went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Raritan Valley	200	13-	6	4	5
Salem CC	(18)(12)6	0x-	36	17	0

WP: Raegan Wilson. LP: Yaneli Ruiz. 2B: Bella Rappa (S), Jocelyn Melendez (S). 3B: Jalyn Rambally (S). HR: Jayla McNeil (RV), Lilly Peverelle 2 (S).

Raritan Valley	000	01-	1	4	4
Salem CC	2(16)5	8x-	31	14	1

WP: Jordyn Busch. LP: Riley Dosch. 2B: Emme Witter (S), Jocelyn Melendez (S), Jolee Robinson (S), Lilly Peverelle (S), Savannah Palverento (S). HR: Lilly Peverelle (S).

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION II SOFTBALL	R19	ALL	GSAC
x-Mercer	18-4	37-5	14-0
x-Lackawanna	19-5	40-13
x-Delaware Tech	19-5	26-12
x-SALEM CC	14-10	28-18	12-4
Sussex	6-14	8-20	6-6
Morris	3-21	3-19	3-11
Raritan Valley	1-23	1-23	1-15

x-clinched playoff spot

SUNDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 36-31, Raritan Valley 6-1
Lackawanna 10-8, Onondaga 1-0
Delaware Tech 17-17, Morris 1-1
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Region XIX Tournament
at Mercer CC
Salem CC vs. Mercer, 10 a.m.
Lackawanna vs. Delaware Tech, noon
Winners bracket, 2 p.m.
Losers bracket, 4 p.m.

Baseball: Flat Mighty Oaks swept

CARNEYS POINT – Region-leading and third-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester jumped out front with three runs in the first inning, then put seven more on top of it in the second to send Salem CC into a spiral that ended in a 15-3 loss to sweep the three-game series and ramp up the pressure on the Mighty Oaks to make the playoffs.

“In the game of baseball regardless how the game goes you’re gonna get punched and we have to do a better job of taking that punch and punching back,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said.

The loss left the Mighty Oaks 15-15 in Region 19 and 20-24 overall with five games remaining. To qualify for the playoffs teams must be .500 or better overall or in region play. The Mighty Oaks would get in by winning all five games from Mercer and Union or at least taking two of three from Union this weekend.

Of course, they would avoid a play-in game with Ocean if they take care of business and the Vikings (17-17, 14-14) lost three of their five remaining games – all against teams with significant winning records. If there is a play-in game, the Mighty Oaks would host since they swept the season series

“We’ve got to win all three against (Union),” outfielder Roman Hernandez said. “Just because their record might not be the best, we can’t act like it. Sometimes we’ve done that and let a couple games get away from us. We’ve gotta handle our business and get three games and then see how the seeding goes after that. Like coach said, we’re fighting for a playoff spot, we’re not even fighting for a seeding. We just got to handled our business and take care of all those three games and see where we go.”

“We’ve gotta win,” Holt said. “We’re looking at a possibly play-in game, 8-9, based on whatever happens with Ocean. We talk about controlling what we can control and that’s all we gotta do. We gotta control what we can control and the chips are gonna be where the chips fall.”

Roadrunners righthander Matt Hewitt held the Mighty Oaks hitless for 3 2/3 innings before Hernandez broke up the bid with his first homer in a Salem CC uniform. Hewitt went the distance, holding Salem to four hits and striking out nine.

“We knew coming in he had a hard slider, hard to hit, and he abused us with that and he also had a good changeup that I saw early in the count,” Hernandez said. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a fastball, but he gave me a high fastball and that’s my sweet spot. I just tried to get on base and pass the stick to the next person but it just happened to fly out.

“I was just trying to put a ball in play. We didn’t strike out that much first time around. We were putting the ball in play a lot, but they just had good defense, so I was trying to drive something hard in the gap and have the next guy after me drive him in.”

The Roadrunners’ big inning was helped along by three Mighty Oaks’ errors. Later in the game, Nick Izzo delivered a two-run single and Jack Mustaro hit a two-run homer.

RCSJ-Gloucester	370	023	0-	15	14	1
Salem CC	000	111	0-	3	4	5

WP: Matt Hewitt. LP: Tyler Hacker. 2B: Nick Izzo (G). HR: Jack Mustaro (G), Roman Hernandez (S)

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III BASEBALL	R19	ALL	GSAC
RCSJ-Gloucester	24-5	28-9	19-5
Brookdale	22-8	32-9-1	17-5
Middlesex	20-9	29-14	15-7
RCSJ-Cumberland	18-9	26-11-1	13-6
Northampton	16-8	25-13
Montgomery	17-11	17-11
Camden	16-11	19-15	12-10
SALEM CC	15-15	20-24	12-11
Ocean	14-14	17-17	10-11
Bergen	11-17	13-24	11-13
Atlantic Cape	4-23	4-23	2-18
Union	3-24	6-27	0-21
Delaware County	1-27	2-27

SUNDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Gloucester 15, Salem CC 3
Union at Northampton (2), ppd. to May 3
Brookdale 10, Lackawanna 9
Sussex at UConn-Avery Point (2)
Harford 7-12, Mercer 0-1
Rockland at Middlesex (2)
MONDAY’S GAMES
Middlesex at Camden
Bergen at Northampton (2)
RCSJ-Gloucester at Delaware Tech
Atlantic Cape at Delaware County
Raritan Valley at Rockland CC
RCSJ-Cumberland at Union

Salem CC Saturday

Mighty Oaks swamped by RCSJ-Gloucester in DH opener, Game 2, series finale, postponed to Sunday

COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester 22, Salem CC 6
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, Game 2, ppd., Sunday, 1 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Raritan Valley at Salem CC (2), ppd., Sunday, noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – John Holt reminded the sophomores he recognized on their final home Saturday of the season there still were weeks of baseball to play and these Sophomore Day festivities he was presiding over weren’t the end of their Salem CC journey.

The Mighty Oaks appear to be in a good position to make the Region 19 playoffs, but after Saturday’s 22-6 loss to region-leading RCSJ-Gloucester they still have some work to lock it down.

The loss left them 20-23 overall and 15-14 in region play, a half-game ahead of Ocean for eighth place with Sunday’s game against the Roadrunners and next weekend’s three-game series with 12th-place Union left in the region. Ocean has five region games left, three against current 2-seed Brookdale.

Today, nine teams are in the mix for the eight spots in the playoff bracket by finishing .500 or better overall or in region play. If nine teams qualify, 8 and 9 would play for the final spot in the bracket. Salem holds the tiebreaker over Ocean.

“I know we’ve got to win the next couple games,” first baseman Tyler Hacker said. “We have to sweep Union if we want to keep the eighth seed. We have to take one from Gloucester if we want to think about moving up and not have to play them (in the opening round). I think we get in. I’m pretty sure we get in as long as we sweep Union.”

“What’s good is pretty much everyone is pretty close,” outfielder Jason LeBold said. “Gloucester’s gonna be 1, Brookdale’s gonna be 2, but 3, 4, 5, 6, even 7 is pretty close. Right now we’re (the) eight seed, but you never know; tomorrow we could bounce up to the 5. I think there’s a high chance we make it and we’re just looking forward to who we’re going to play next.”

“We’ve just got to handle our business,” Holt said.

Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader started out well for the Mighty Oaks. They scored a run in each of the first two innings to open a 2-0 lead and starting pitcher Seth McCormick kept the Roadrunners off the board.

McCormick, making his first start/appearance since April 10 after developing elbow trouble, went to the mound to see what he could do and plan his future accordingly, and for two innings he was a sharp as he’d ever been. He retired the Roadrunners in the first on one hit, striking out two, including Region 19 home run leader Nick Slogik, and put them down in order in the second without a ball leaving the infield.

“It felt good to be on the mound again,” McCormick said. “I love pitching. I love baseball. I love being out there. To be able to come out and go is like a miracle in itself. Obviously, the game didn’t go how I wanted it to, but I’m proud I got out there.”

The third-ranked Roadrunners (27-9) figured him out in the third, erupting for seven runs on six hits. In the middle of the rally they put five straight balls in play that produced runs.

“The second time through the lineup our guys started to get a better look at a very good righthander and we were able to get some guys on base and drive them in,” Gloucester coach Rob Valli said.

The Mighty Oaks built their lead on a bad throw trying to catch Cliff Wysinger stealing third in the first and and Colin McLaughlin’s RBI infield out in the second. They cut their deficit to 9-5 in the fourth on an RBI single by Wysinger and a two-run single by Jason LeBold. They got their final run in the sixth on Roman Hernandez’ RBI single.

The nightcap of the doubleheader was postponed to 1 p.m. Sunday with extended rain due in the area to potentially disrupt play mid-game. Valli didn’t mind the decision.

“I really didn’t want to play in the rain,” he said. “Historically I’ve had bad experiences in the rain with players. This time of year always it scares you to play in the rain … when you don’t have to.”

The Mighty Oaks are scheduled to start Hacker (1-1, 7.71), their Game 3 starter the last three series, on the mound. Gloucester will counter with Kevin Ruff (2-0, 9.53).

RCSJ-Gloucester	007	229	2-	22	15	5
Salem CC	110	301	0-	6	8	5

WP: Brevin Bezick (3-1). LP: Seth McCormick (3-4). 2B: Nick Izzo (G), Jayden Rosado (G), J.J. Pankowski (S).

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III BASEBALL	R19	ALL	GSAC
RCSJ-Gloucester	23-5	27-9	18-5
Brookdale	22-8	32-9-1	17-5
Middlesex	20-9	29-14	15-7
RCSJ-Cumberland	18-9	26-11-1	13-6
Northampton	16-8	25-13
Montgomery	17-11	17-11
Camden	16-11	19-15	12-10
SALEM CC	15-14	20-23	12-10
Ocean	14-14	17-17	10-11
Bergen	11-17	13-24	11-13
Atlantic Cape	4-23	4-23	2-18
Union	3-24	6-27	0-21
Delaware County	1-27	2-27

SATURDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Gloucester 22, Salem CC 6
RCSJ-Cumberland at Union, ppd.
Bergen at Northampton, ppd.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 1 p.m.
Union at Northampton (2)
Lackawanna at Brookdale (2)
Sussex at UConn-Avery Point (2)
Harford at Mercer (2)
Rockland at Middlesex (2)

Friday sports report

Salem CC falls at RCSJ-Gloucester; Hyatt spins Penns Grove’s first shutout since 2019, Salem Tech walks one off in extras

BASEBALL
Buena 26, Salem 1
Salem Tech 8, Cape May Tech 7
Penns Grove 13, Winslow 0
SOFTBALL
Lower Cape May 14, Salem 10
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester 12, Salem CC 2

By Riverview Sports News

SEWELL – Region 19 home run leader Nick Slogik hit a pair of three-run homers and Bryson Kirby scattered eight hits as league-leading No. 3 RCSJ-Gloucester run-ruled Salem CC 12-2 Friday.

Slogik hit his first homer off Mighty Oaks starter Pat Seitzinger in the first inning and the second one off Louie Rivera in the fifth. He now has 18 on the season.

The first blast was part of a four-run inning that erased Tyler Hacker’s solo homer in the top of the inning. The Roadrunners (26-9) added two in the third and three in the fourth before Slogik’s second homer put the game in run-rule territory, 12-1.

The home was the only hit Rivera allowed in his 2 2/3 innings of relief. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out two.

Hacker went 3-for-3 for the Mighty Oaks (20-22). Aiden Nestor had two hits.

The Mighty Oaks scored a run in the seventh on Cliff Wysinger’s RBI single.

Kirby struck out 10 and walked one in his seven-inning complete game.

The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader at the Carneys Point Rec Complex 11 a.m. Saturday. It will be the Mighty Oaks’ Sophomore Day.

Baseball

SALEM TECH 8, CAPE MAY TECH 7: Lucas Clement was awarded home on a throwing error created by his aggressive base running with one out in the bottom of the eighth to help the Chargers complete a challenging week 3-0.

Clement singled and stole second with Cole Sacks at the plate. The attempt to get him at second went into the outfield and he had already reached third when the relay from the outfield went out of play.

The Chargers (7-3) trailed at one point in the game 7-4, but tied it in the sixth on Clement’s bases-loaded walk and a two-run game-tying single by Sacks. They had the winning run at second in the seventh with one out, but couldn’t get it home.

Clement had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Chargers’ offense. Sacks had two hits and two RBIs and Chase Pompper had two hits.

The Chargers beat Pilgrim Academy, Clayton and Cape May Tech to match their longest winning streak of the season.

“They’re learning how to win,” Chargers coach John Helsel said. “It was just a great team effort. I can’t be happier. We won them all. It was tough – our catcher got hurt, we had to shuffle guys around, we were running out of pitching – but we did it and we came back.”

PENNS GROVE 13, WINSLOW 0: Dylan Hyatt spun Penns Grove’s first shutout since 2019, a one-hit, 12-strikeout effort that helped the Red Devils (3-7) snap a two-game losing streak.

It was their first shutout since Austin Smith blanked Wildwood (14-0) on April 8, 2019 (115 games, 20 wins)

“It’s the best we’ve seen him,” Red Devils coach Chuck Weigel said. “He brought everything today.”

The only Hyatt allowed was a two-out single in the top of the first. He then retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced, 12 by strikeout. The only baserunner in that stretch reached on a misread infield fly in the fourth.

He threw 58 pitches in the five-inning game, 48 for strikes. He had 13 first-pitch strikes to the 18 batters he faced and had only two two-ball counts.

“He was locating his fastball and mixing a curve to keep them off balanced all afternoon,” assistant coach Joe Mecholsky said.

Bristol Scott had a two-run single in the first to get the Red Devils going and Josh Widen had two hits and two RBIs.

BUENA 26, SALEM 1: The Chiefs (9-3) scored 11 runs in each of the first two innings and their two pitchers limited the Rams to two hits and struck out eight.

Richie Wilson hit a two-run homer in the second 11-run inning and had three RBIs in the game. Ricky Bessix had four RBIs and Gio Crescitelli drove in three.

The Rams (0-8) scored their run in the fifth when Josthen Jimenez hit a leadoff triple and rode home on a ground out.

Softball

LOWER CAPE MAY 14, SALEM 10: The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead after two innings, then held on as the Rams steadily climbed back into the game.

The Rams got back in it with a six-run fourth inning highlighted by aggressive base running and plate discipline. They scored the runs on a two steals of home, a passed ball, an error, a bases-loaded walk and bases-loaded hit batsman. They added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Khloe Bubier had two hits for the Rams and Avah Brown had two RBIs. Akayla Nichols reached base four times.

Track: Penn Relays

Schalick and Salem ran in the same heat of Friday’s boys 4×100 at the Penn Relays and finished neck and neck.

The Cougars finished fifth in the heat and 40th overall. The team of Amauri Conyers, Jacob Carter, Kenny Bartee and David Stewart ran 44.119.

Salem was sixth in the heat and finished 51st overall. The team of Jelani Beverly, Jameek Clayton, Rashar Stevenson and Quimere Bergen ran a PR 44.348.

Central Bucks East won the heat at 43.37 and qualified ninth overall.

Mighty Oaks sweep

Here are scores and details from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar

SOFTBALL
LEAP 21, Penns Grove 11
BOYS GOLF
Pitman 172, Salem Tech 247
Sterling 161, Woodstown 167
TENNIS
Haddon Heights 5, Schalick 0
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC 3-8, Brookdale 8-3

By Riverview Sports News

LINCROFT — The Salem CC softball team outdueled Brookdale’s top pitcher in Game 1 and then jumped out quickly in Game 2 to sweep the Jersey Blues 3-0 and 8-3 in its last tough tuneup before the Region 19 playoffs.

The Mighty Oaks will be the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and wrap up the regular season this weekend against Raritan Valley. a team they outscored 51-2 in a doubleheader two weeks ago.

Raegan Wilson and Jordyn Busch combined on a two-hit shutout and outdueled Brookdale ace Jules Hart in the circle in the opener. Wilson pitched the first five innings, giving up two singles and walking none, while Busch notched a six-out save. Hart gave up just three hits and struck out nine, leaving her one shy of 300 for her career.

The Mighty Oaks scored two runs in the first inning when the Blues misplayed a ball hit by Emme Witter. J.J. Aguirre drove in a run in the third.

They erupted for 13 hits in the nightcap and jumped out to a 7-0 lead after batting in the fourth inning. Lilly Peverelle continued her hot hand at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and homer.

“She said I think I can hit a home run,” assistant coach Chris Watson said. “I said, ‘Lilly, the wind’s blowing in, just hit a line drive.’ She said OK, then put the first pitch over the left field wall.”

It was her fifth homer of the year and helped raise her team-leading batting average to .470. In her last 14 games she is hitting .460 with 23 RBIs.

Witter also had three hits in the nightcap. Megan Koski and J.J. Aguirre both had two hits. Busch pitched the first 5 2/3 innings to get the win, with Savannah Palverento picking up the final four outs without allowing a hit.

Track

The girls 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams from Salem and Schalick ran at the Penn Relays Thursday.

Salem’s girls 4×100 (Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Amaia Massengil, Aniyah Williams, Dynastie Tucker) ran 49.89 and the 4×400 team (Massengil, Williams, Brooklynn Jackson, Tucker) ran 4:25.90 in the South Jersey Small race.

The Rams’ boys 4×100 team runs Friday and their South Jersey Small 4×400 team goes Saturday.

Schalick’s 4×100 team (Karlie Bakley, Willow Davis, Brooke Valentine, Jaelynn Jarmon) ran a 54.45 The 4×400 team (Bakley, Lucy Virga, Jarmon, Valentine) ran a 4:28.23.

The Cougars’ boys 4×100 relay team runs Friday and their 4×400 relay goes Saturday.

Golf

STERLING 161, WOODSTOWN 167: Sterling’s Ethan Weitzel and Colin Bove both shot 3-over-par 38 to share medalist honors at Town & Country. Jack Bucksar (39) posted Woodstown’s low round. The Wolverines also counted 40s from Logan Jones and Chris Porreca.

PITMAN 172, SALEM TECH 247: Micah Frost played his final five holes at Sakima CC in 1-over-par and parred at the last to pull into a tie with teammate Jake Bowen-Ashwin for medalist honors. Freshmen Daniel Atanasio and Thomas Conto had the Chargers’ low rounds (59).

Tennis

HADDON HEIGHTS 5, SCHALICK 0
Owen Peakes (H) def. Gabe McFeeley, 6-0, 6-0
Jackson Zalkind (H) def. Reece Loatman, 6-1, 6-2
Gavin Ewing (H) def. Tyr Brattlie, 6-1, 6-2
Nibal AlKhatib El Baayni Abou-Andrew D’Amelio (H) def. Cooper Halperin-Jack Genievich, 6-1, 6-4
Joe Foster-Cameron Wilson (H) def. Angelo Boston-Gavin McGrath, 7-5, 7-5
Records: Haddon Heights 5-5, Schalick 4-6