Salem CC to hold informational Open House for interested players Saturday
CARNEYS POINT – With interest growing at an accelerated rate and the difficulty some players may have getting to campus during the week, the Salem CC football program will hold its second informational Open House for prospective players and interested members of the community Saturday in the college’s Davidow Hall.
The event is free and no pre-registration is required. Check-in will open at 9:30 a.m., with the program to begin at 10 a.m. in the theater. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the coaches and players, who are currently in the middle of their inaugural spring practice, after the formal presentation.
The Mighty Oaks will play their inaugural season this fall.
The program conducted a quickly arranged Open House in February shortly after the program’s formal launch and it drew more than 40 participants. As interest has grown over the following months, as evidenced by the overwhelming number of inquiries that have come into the football office, team officials expect a larger turn out Saturday.
“I was surprised back on Presidents Day how many people showed up and the interest; I was really shocked,” head coach Jay Accorsi said. “I imagine this is going to be a bigger event, too.
“This seems to be the time a lot of players are deciding I’m not going to go to a four-year school, maybe now I want to play (again), things like that. Now seems to be that window for the JUCO players to start to seriously look and see if that’s what they want to do.”
Accorsi hinted they may hold another Open House in late May or June.
Top photo: Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi explains a drill to (from left) Aiden Alexander (5), Jermar Jones (5) and Brian Pritchett (3) during Wednesday’s spring practice session.
Category: SALEM CC
Another grinder
Salem CC pulls away from close game with six in final two bats, includes scores, details from Wednesday’s limited Salem County sports calendar
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
BASEBALL
Overbrook 16, Penns Grove 2
SOFTBALL
Overbrook 21, Penns Grove 1
TENNIS
Winslow at Penns Grove
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC 9, Bergen 5
By Riverview Sports News
PARAMUS — The Salem CC baseball team was locked in a tight battle with Bergen for seven innings Wednesday, then erupted for six runs in their final two bats to pull off a 7-2 win that strengthened its position for a Region 19 playoffs.
The Mighty Oaks led 3-2 through seven innings with Joe Pallante and Mike Valente keeping the Bulldogs at bay from the mound, then broke it open with four runs in the eighth. Roman Hernandez scored on a passed ball, Cliff Wysinger drew a bases-loaded walk and Jason LeBold lofted a sacrifice fly and J.J. Pankowski scored the fourth run.
Trevor Hernandez and Pankowski both had two hits in the game.
They added two in the ninth.
Pallante and Valente both pitched four innings. Pallante gave up three hits and an unearned run. Valente also went four, giving up five hits and one run. Joe D’Amato brought it home in the ninth.
“Pitching did its job,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said.
The win left the Mighty Oaks (20-21, 15-12) three games up in the Region 19 win column on ninth-place Ocean CC, four full games up overall on Bergen CC and just one game behind seventh-place Camden and two back fifth-place Montgomery and RCSJ-Cumberland.
They hold the tiebreakers on Ocean and Bergen, but not Camden, Montgomery or RCSJ-Cumberland.
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III BASEBALL | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 21-5 | 25-9 | 16-5 |
| Brookdale | 20-7 | 30-8-1 | 17-5 |
| Middlesex | 18-8 | 27-13 | 14-6 |
| Northampton | 15-7 | 24-13 | |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 16-9 | 24-11-1 | 11-6 |
| Montgomery | 16-9 | 16-9 | |
| Camden | 15-10 | 18-14 | 11-9 |
| SALEM CC | 15-12 | 20-21 | 12-8 |
| Ocean | 12-14 | 15-17 | 10-11 |
| Bergen | 11-16 | 13-23 | 11-13 |
| Atlantic Cape | 4-23 | 4-23 | 2-18 |
| Union | 2-22 | 5-25 | 0-19 |
| Delaware County | 1-25 | 2-25 |
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 9, Bergen 5
Mercer 11, Rockland CC 1
RCSJ-Cumberland 9, Camden 4
Montgomery 14, Atlantic Cape 4
Northampton at Middlesex
Union 12, Delaware County 5
Brookdale 14, RCSJ-Gloucester 8
Sussex at Suffolk
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Monroe-Bronx at Sussex
Bronx CC at Raritan Valley
Montgomery at Brookdale
Baseball
OVERBROOK 16, PENNS GROVE 2: Tyler Burger homered and drove in three runs and three Overbrook pitchers held Penns Grove to two hits over five innings as Rams run-ruled the Red Devils for the second day in a row. Connor McNally also drove in three runs for the Rams. Yadiel Sierra-Soto and Dylan Hyatt had Penns Grove’s two hits. Sierra-Soto and Liam Irvin drove in the Red Devils’ runs in the fifth inning.
Softball
OVERBROOK 21, PENNS GROVE 1: Natalia Silva went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Angelina Campbell spun a four-inning no-hitter with two walks and five strikeouts. The Red Devils scored their run in the top of the first on three hit batsmen and Nyh’la West’s bases-loaded walk, then Campbell retired 10 of the next 11 batters she faced. The Rams, meanwhile, scored three in the bottom of the first to take the lead, then erupted for 10 in the second.
Chop and grind
Salem CC baseball grinds out a rally behind ‘war chant’ to chop down Bergen, Mighty Oaks softball sweeps Morris in dominant fashion
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC 9, Bergen 7
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC 29-21, Morris 1-1
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – John Holt has had some lively dugout in his tenure as a college baseball coach, but the one he commands this year at Salem CC may be one of the liveliest.
Whenever the Mighty Oaks get something cooking — or need to get something cooking — there’s always some kind of chant coming from the dugout to get their players hyped and if rattles the opposition along the way, so be it.
Usually it’s the Tomahawk Chop. They’ll occasionally break into the “Oh, oh-oh-oh-ohhhh” number for a change of pace, but it somehow always morphs back to The Chop.
The Chop was most effective in Tuesday’s “borderline ugly” 9-7 come-from-behind win over Bergen. Every inning the Mighty Oaks scored runs, the Chop was the soundtrack of the rally. When they didn’t do it and needed it, a threat died on the vine.
“I think when you hear your dugout up to bat you kind of remember to have fun, because that’s all we’re doing, especially in those tight moments,” said first baseman Tyler Hacker, whose two-run double in the eighth put the Mighty Oaks up for good. “When you hear the Tomahawk Chop it feels like we’re going to war. That’s our war cry. We’re ready to kill these guys. I think it really unites us as a team and keeps us going.”
“It’s effective, for sure,” DH Rocco String agreed.
It batted 1.000 Tuesday. The Mighty Oaks were no-hit for the first three innings by Bulldogs starter Shane Snell, but broke out The Chop in the fourth when they got something going and scored three runs – still without getting a hit — to get Snell out of the game and take their first lead. They started it again in the seventh and got another run. They did it in the eighth and rallied for five to win the game.
They didn’t do it fifth when they loaded the bases with one out in a 3-3 game and got nothing out of it but an infield fly and foul pop to first.
“We have other chants, but I think we do the best when we Chop,” starting pitcher Andre Stewart said. “I 100 percent believe that. The Chop is definitely the best chant we’ve got. We definitely do the best when we’re Choppin’.”
Holt likes the energy his team draws from the chant.
“Our guys feed off energy,” he said. “They’re a young bunch and that’s part of their game. They feed off it and it gets them going.
“One of the things I’ve said to these guys from the beginning (is) if you’re juiceful, you’re useful; if you’re juiceless, you’re useless. We get close to crossing that line and we do every once in a while and I’ve got to reel them in a little bit, but for the most part I think our guys handle it well and do it well.”
The Mighty Oaks still didn’t have a hit when they left the fourth inning, but they did have a 3-2 lead. Three walks and a hit batsman got Snell out of the game. Jason LeBold scored Salem’s first run when he stole third and came home when the catcher’s throw sailed into left field. Colin McLaughlin and Jacob Sharrow followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies to put them up 3-2.
Bergen tied it with a run in the fifth and took a 5-3 lead with two off Sean Bogan in the seventh. Bogan was making his first appearance since facing three batters April 11 at Middlesex and just his third since March 19 when he was the Mighty Oaks’ Game 3 series starter before developing arm trouble.
The side-winding right-hander got through his first inning without drama. The next inning he hit a batter and gave up an RBI triple and run-scoring single before his infield got him out of it with a double play. He misplayed a pop up in the eighth and two more errors led to a pair of runs that extended the Bulldogs lead to 7-4.
Bogan said other than self-inflicted mistakes he thought his outing was “pretty good” and he felt the same physically. Holt called it “a step towards getting him back” and said the pitcher “could be a factor for us” if they can get him strong enough down the stretch to go.
The Mighty Oaks had the right part of the lineup – and The Chop – going for them in the eighth. They had runners at first and second with one out and the top of the order coming up. Cliff Wysinger shot a single through the hole at short to make it 7-5. LeBold singled to right with the runners moving to make it 7-6 and then stole second to put two runners in scoring position.
Hacker then doubled into left field to give them the lead. He collected his nation’s best 52nd stolen base to reach third and came home with an insurance run on String’s bouncer to short. String also singled home a run as a pinch hitter in the seventh. “Just doing my job,” the Woodstown product said.
Louie Rivera, who got the final out of the eighth behind Bogan, closed it out in the ninth with the help of a batter’s interference out and game-ending double play when Michael Baez was called out at first for returning to the orange safety base instead of the normal bag trying to get back on Dom Maucione’s fly to right.
“They grinded out a win today,” Holt said. “We couldn’t run away with it, it was borderline ugly all day, they just kept finding ways to put runs up.
“I’m proud of them for figuring out a way to win it. That’s grinding. We haven’t done a lot of grinding this year. We get behind like that, we’ve folded a lot of times, so this was a step for us. It’s a step in the direction I want to go in.”
| Bergen | 200 | 010 | 220- | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Salem CC | 000 | 300 | 15x- | 9 | 6 | 5 |
Softball
RANDOLPH — The Mighty Oaks softball team enjoyed their second 50-run doubleheader of the season, overwhelming CC of Morris for the second time this season, 29-1 and 21-1. The 29 runs in the opener matched the record they set against Morris on March 28. The 50 runs in the doubleheader fell one shy of that modern era record, set on April 10 at Raritan Valley.
“We set the tone for this week about making adjustments and continuing to prepare for ending the season strong while getting ready for postseason,” coach Angel Rodriguez said. “This team has a lot of talent. They continue to want to get better.”
Savannah Palverento had a big doubleheader. She went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the opener and 3-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored in the nightcap.
J.J. Aguirre drove in a pair of runs in the opener to set the program’s modern-era single-season RBI record (62) and added two more in the nightcap. Lilly Peverelle had six RBIs. Pahola Chavez had a pair of doubles and drove in four runs. Emme Witter and Jocelyn Melendez both had two hits.
In addition to Palverento’s big game in the nightcap, Ava Ortiz and Jalyn Rambally both had two hits and three RBIs, while Chantelle Haskie and Jordyn Busch both had two RBIs.
The Mighty Oaks used two pitchers in each five-inning game and both sets spun two-hitters. Raegan Wilson picked up the 100th strikeout of her career in the opener. Busch notched her 100th strikeout of the season while throwing three no-hit innings in the nightcap.
In the four games against the Titans this season, the Mighty Oaks have scored 96 runs, collected 54 hits and batted .505. Palverento went 9-for-13 with 13 RBIs in the series.
| Salem CC | 685 | 55- | 29 | 17 | 3 |
| Morris | 001 | 00- | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Salem CC | 694 | 02- | 21 | 14 | 1 |
| Morris | 000 | 10- | 1 | 2 | 8 |
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III BASEBALL | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 21-4 | 25-8 | 16-4 |
| Brookdale | 19-7 | 29-8-1 | 16-5 |
| Middlesex | 18-8 | 27-13 | 14-6 |
| Northampton | 15-7 | 24-13 | |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 15-9 | 19-11-1 | 10-6 |
| Montgomery | 15-9 | 15-9 | |
| Camden | 15-9 | 18-13 | 11-8 |
| SALEM CC | 14-12 | 19-21 | 11-8 |
| Ocean | 12-14 | 15-17 | 10-11 |
| Bergen | 11-15 | 13-22 | 11-12 |
| Atlantic Cape | 4-22 | 4-22 | 2-18 |
| Union | 1-22 | 4-25 | 0-19 |
| Delaware County | 1-23 | 2-23 |
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 9, Bergen 7
Monroe CC 8-12, Lackawanna 6-7
RCSJ-Cumberland 7, Camden 1
Montgomery 15, Atlantic Cape 1
Raritan Valley 24, Westchester CC 15
RCSJ-Gloucester 12, Brookdale 3
Northampton 14, Middlesex 7
Sussex 12, Dominican 2
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Bergen
Mercer at Rockland CC
RCSJ-Cumberland at Camden
Atlantic Cape at Montgomery
Northampton at Middlesex
Union at Delaware County
Brookdale at RCSJ-Gloucester
Sussex at Suffolk
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Monroe-Bronx at Sussex
Bronx CC at Raritan Valley
Montgomery at Brookdale
| DIVISION II SOFTBALL | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Mercer | 16-2 | 35-3 | 12-0 |
| Delaware Tech | 17-5 | 23-11 | |
| Lackawanna | 15-5 | 34-13 | |
| SALEM CC | 12-10 | 24-18 | 10-4 |
| Sussex | 4-14 | 5-19 | 4-6 |
| Morris | 3-15 | 3-17 | 3-9 |
| Raritan Valley | 1-17 | 1-17 | 1-11 |
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 29-21, Morris 1-1
Lackawanna 19-12 Sussex 0-4
Mercer 5-8, Monroe 3-7
Camden 7-6, Northampton 5-14
Brookdale 14-19, Middlesex 0-2
RCSJ-Gloucester 17-16, Bergen 0-5
Ocean 7-11, RCSJ-Cumberland 0-3
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Raritan Valley at Sussex
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Brookdale
RCSJ-Gloucester at Camden
Raritan Valley at Lackawanna
Morris at Mercer
Sussex at Orange County CC
Tuesday sports report
Here are the scores and details from the Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL
Overbrook 15, Penns Grove 0
Salem Tech 16, Clayton 10
BOYS GOLF
Salem Tech 226, Wildwood 233
TENNIS
Pitman at Schalick
TRACK
Salem at Cherokee
Penns Grove at Schalick
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GCIT 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-7, 25-15)
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC 9, Bergen 7
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC 29-21, Morris 1-1
By Riverview Sports News
CLAYTON — Chase Pompper had three doubles among his four hits and pitched the final three innings to get the win as Salem Tech outscored Clayton 16-10 in high school baseball Tuesday.
The Chargers ripped seven doubles in their 16-hit attack. Seven of their nine batters had at least one hit and eight scored at least one run.
Daulton Sites went 4-for-5, Logan Hearn, starting pitcher Jack Beal and Brayden McAllister had two hits apiece and Bryce Harris drove in three runs.
The Chargers never trailed in the game, scoring three in the first and four in the second.
OVERBROOK 15, PENNS GROVE 0: Luke Boyd pitched a five-inning three-hit shutout and the Rams took control with eight runs (five unearned) in the first inning. Liam Irvin, Dylan Hyatt and Angel Ocasio had the Red Devils’ hits.
Golf
WOODBURY — West Deptford’s Rylee Delaney bounced back from a double bogey on her first hole of the day and played the last eight holes even par to shoot 2-over 38 for medalist honors in the South Jersey Girls Invitational at Westwood Golf Club.
She won the individual title by four shots over Cumberland’s Nicole Tarquinio. Moorestown (195) won the team title by seven strokes over Clearview. Kingway was third (203).
Delaney, a senior, bogeyed the par-5 first and because of the shotgun start was four shots behind Moorestown’s Sonia Rosenman, who birdied her first hole (No. 4). But she steadily closed the gap, pulled even with her birdie at 6 and took the lead with the birdie at 7.
Schalick finished 11th (262), eight shots ahead of 12th-place Pennsville. Ava Marynowicz posted the Cougars low round (57). Gabriella Marandola shot the low round for Pennsville (58).
SOUTH JERSEY GIRLS INVITATIONAL
At Westwood Golf Club
TEAM LEADERBOARD: Moorestown 195, Clearview 202, Kingsway 203, Cumberland 207, Bordentown 210, Eastern 227, Moorestown 228, Mainland 230, Sterling 243, Northern Burlington II 248, SCHALICK 262, PENNSVILLE 270.
| INDIVIDUAL TOP 10 | ||
| Rylee Delaney | West Deptford | 38 |
| Nicole Tarquinio | Cumberland | 42 |
| Sonia Rosenman | Moorestown | 43 |
| Lily Delaey | Eastern | 45 |
| Katelyn Reichert | Clearview | 46 |
| Norah Stankoski | Clearview | 46 |
| Lanie Whitehead | Kingsway | 46 |
| Maahishee Patel | Cumberland | 48 |
| Shree Desai | Moorestown | 48 |
| Olivia O’Neill | Kingsway | 48 |
Keeping track
Here is the weekly update on former Salem County high school baseball and softball players on the college level; will be updated every Monday; anyone missing? send additional players to al.muskewitz@gmail.com
Baseball
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | GP | BA | H | HR | RBI |
| Elijah Crespo, Penns Grove | RCSJ-Cumb | 13 | .167 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick | RCSJ-Cumb | 16 | .250 | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| Andrew Pedrick, Woodstown | Harford CC | 22 | .388 | 26 | 2 | 26 |
| Lucas Prendergast, Woodstown | York | 34 | .425 | 54 | 5 | 25 |
| Jarrett Pokrovsky, Schalick | Penn | 31 | .287 | 35 | 1 | 14 |
| Terrell Robinson, Salem | Rosemont | 23 | .246 | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| Jackson Schalick, Schalick | Frostburg | 40 | .368 | 49 | 5 | 41 |
| Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown | Rosemont | 29 | .283 | 26 | 0 | 11 |
| Connor Starn, Pennsville | Keystone | 10 | .154 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rocco String, Woodstown | Salem CC | 26 | .263 | 20 | 3 | 22 |
| Chase Swain, Woodstown | LaSalle | 39 | .368 | 56 | 8 | 33 |
| Mike Valente, Woodstown | Salem CC | 8 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Williams, Woodstown | G-Beacom | 26 | .284 | 27 | 2 | 17 |
| PITCHER | SCHOOL | GP | W-L | ERA | IP | K |
| Evan Biddle, Salem | Frostburg | 7 | 1-0 | 7.56 | 8.1 | 6 |
| Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick | RCSJ-Cumb | 9 | 3-2 | 2.56 | 38.2 | 35 |
| Ben Foote, Woodstown | Caldwell | 5 | 1-1 | 16.62 | 4.1 | 2 |
| Jack Holladay, Woodstown | Neumann | 5 | 0-3 | 12.83 | 13.1 | 11 |
| Peyton O’Brien, Pennsville | Harford CC | 6 | 0-0 | 0.90 | 10.0 | 11 |
| Luke Pokrovsky, Schalick | Penn | 11 | 0-0 | 11.85 | 13.2 | 14 |
| 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 | 8 | 3-1 | 5.08 | 33.2 | 29 |
Softball
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | GP | BA | H | HR | RBI |
| Emily Holladay, Woodstown | Hartwick | 7 | .200 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Tulana Mingin, Woodstown | East Stroudsburg | 40 | .331 | 44 | 0 | 5 |
| Ava Ortiz, Salem | Salem CC | 12 | .455 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Savannah Palverento, Pennsville | Salem CC | 34 | .350 | 28 | 2 | 25 |
| Lilly Peverelle, Pennsville | Salem CC | 36 | .472 | 51 | 4 | 37 |
| Bella Rappa, Pennsville | Salem CC | 28 | .444 | 32 | 0 | 31 |
| Cayla Sbrana, Schalick | RCSJ-Cumb | 17 | .286 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Sawyer Simmons, Pennsville | Salem CC | 26 | .275 | 14 | 1 | 11 |
NOTE: Tulana Mingin has 33 runs and is 16-20 in stolen bases
| PITCHER | SCHOOL | GP | W-L | ERA | IP | K |
| Savannah Palverento, Pennsville | Salem CC | 14 | 2-0 | 7.11 | 21.2 | 25 |
| Cayla Sbrana, Schalick | RCSJ-Cumb | 8 | 2-6 | 10.07 | 41.0 | 13 |
| Raegan Wilson, Salem | Salem CC | 17 | 7-6 | 7.22 | 64.0 | 40 |
Top photo: Penn’s Jarrett Pokrovsky (Schalick)
This week’s schedule
Here is the Salem County sports calendar for the week of April 20-25; all games at 4 p.m. unless noted; senior trips reduce the high school slate
MONDAY, APRIL 20
BASEBALL
Salem Tech at Pilgrim Academy
SOFTBALL
Buena at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester County Christian
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Wildwood, Town & Country
Salem Tech vs. Clayton, The Birches
TUESDAY, APRIL 21
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Clayton
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Wildwood, Union League National, 3:45 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
South Jersey Open, Westwood GC
TENNIS
Pitman at Schalick
TRACK
Salem at Cherokee, 3:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GCIT at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Bergen at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Morris, 3:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Overbrook
TENNIS
Winslow at Penns Grove
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Bergen, 3:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
SOFTBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
BOYS GOLF
Salem Tech vs. Pitman, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Sterling, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Schalick at Haddon Heights
TRACK
Penn Relays
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Brookdale, 3:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
BASEBALL
Buena at Salem
Cape May Tech at Salem Tech
Penns Grove at Winslow
SOFTBALL
Lower Cape May at Salem
TRACK
Penn Relays
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 25
BASEBALL
Schalick at Vineland, 1 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Salem Tech at Highland, 10 a.m.
TRACK
Penn Relays
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Raritan Valley at Salem CC, noon
Hacker on target
Hacker gives Mighty Oaks big boost, pitching them to a Game 3 win over Camden to stay in the Region XIX playoff hunt; softball sweeps Sussex
SALEM CC BASEBALL
Camden CC 10-2, Salem CC 9-12
SALEM CC SOFTBALL
Salem CC 10-8, Sussex CC 1-6
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – In a game that suddenly had a lot of meaning for the Salem CC baseball season, Mighty Oaks coach John Holt handed Tyler Hacker the ball and told him to just go out and have fun.
For the sophomore right-hander that suggestion took him back to the days as an 8-9-10 year-old learning how to pitch by throwing the baseball against a big ol’ tree in the family’s yard in Lake Mary, Fla., next door to a future major-leaguer. Not to a catcher with tree trunks for legs or a guy named Wood or Birch or Pine, but to an honest-to-goodness oak.
When you want something bad enough, you make do, and that’s what Hacker did. It was those lessons and memories he leaned on Saturday to throw a 100-plus pitch complete-game victory, 12-2 over Camden CC, that salvaged the getaway game of the three-game series and kept the Mighty Oaks on the right side of the Region XIX playoff hunt. The Cougars won the opener 10-9 to win the series.
Hacker threw 111 pitches in the seven-inning game just one week removed from his second college start on the mound. He started last week’s Game 3 at Middlesex and one time on the team’s early-season trip to Myrtle Beach.
He had come to campus with a big bat and, a year removed from Tommy John surgery, the idea of being the Mighty Oaks’ closer. The bat – and legs – has always been a part of the plan. He’s the Mighty Oaks’ leading hitter, their top RBI producer and leads the nation in stolen bases. And now the self-taught pitcher is a Game 3 series starter due to injuries to Seth McCormick and Sean Bogan. Self-taught is the operative word.
“When I was younger I didn’t have like friends in the neighborhood so I learned to pitch to a tree,” Hacker said. “Learned to pitch to a tree. I watched baseball and I just tried to mimic what they did. I watched YouTube videos. I read – surprisingly. Everything I learned it was for myself and that’s what happens.
“I measured it out, put a mound there, and just sat in my driveway and threw at a tree. It’s almost a strike zone. I put some tape on there and threw baseballs at it all day. All day. Even now I wouldn’t consider myself a pitcher. I consider myself a thrower. I understand the game well, so I think I can get by. I think throwing at that tree has helped me with the basics and coming here I’ve learned to be a pitcher.”
Holt confirmed the tree story. He’s heard it before from the player and the coach who sent the player to him.
The Mighty Oaks didn’t need a closer Saturday, they needed a stopper. They had lost the first two games with the Cougars and let a 6-3 lead in the opener get away. They were falling farther below .500 in both their region and overall record and getting dangerously close to dropping out of the top eight to get in the playoffs.
It didn’t look good early. Hacker gave up two runs on two hits and a bad pickoff in the first inning, but things began to change when he surrendered to the idea of letting his teammates help him. He kept the Cougars off the board the rest of the game. He only gave up two hits after the first inning – and one of those was a bad hop single in the ninth – walking two, hitting two and striking out one.
Holt was going to take him out in the sixth inning when the pitcher was up to 99 pitches – there were relievers warming in the bullpen – and there was what Holt called “some conversation” but Hacker convinced his coach to let him stay.
“I wanted to beat them bad, especially after yesterday,” Hacker said. “Yesterday they owned us and we just did it back to them today. That was really what wanted me to keep going and stay in. Coach tried to pull me out, I said no, absolutely not. It’s going good for me, you’re not taking me out. He said you get one batter. As soon as I got 3-1 to that last guy I locked it in.”
There was a little more to the conversation than that. When his pitcher started looking unsteady, Holt told him just throw it at that tree. It flipped the switch and he started mowing down the Cougars like a lumberjack in the forest.
“It didn’t lock me in to throw strikes, it locked me in to have fun,” Hacker said. “In games like that when you’re trying to go for a complete game, when you’re trying to put up zeroes, you typically don’t have fun. You’re in your head a lot and if you watch me at first base, I have a lot of fun. That’s just the way I need to play and the way I need to pitch. It was a good idea for him to say throw to the tree because it absolutely snapped me in.”
The Mighty Oaks erased Camden’s two runs in the first with three when they came in to bad. Cliff Wysinger got it started with a double and scored on Hacker’s RBI single – his fifth RBI of the doubleheader. Hacker scored on Roman Hernandez’ RBI single and Rocco String scored the go-ahead run when the catcher’s throw trying to catch him stealing third sailed into left field.
Aiden Nestor’s 0-2 RBI single in the third extended the lead to 4-2. They scored four more in the fifth on back-to-back two-run singles by Wysinger and Jason LeBold, then blew it open in the sixth on Nestor’s RBI double and a two-run single by J.J. Pankowski.
What Hacker does on offense has never been questioned. He had three hits and five RBIs in the doubleheader – doing the Ohtani thing as a pitcher/designated hitter in the nightcap – and stole three more bases to extend his JUCO Division III-leading total to 49. He would have reached his goal of 50 in his next-to-last at bat of the day had String not bounced into the final out of the fourth inning with Hacker on the move.
And what of that tree? They ended up cutting it down.
He doesn’t throw at trees any more.
“I’ve gotten friends since,” he said. “And a car. I can drive places.”
The Mighty Oaks are hoping he drives them into the playoffs.
| Camden | 003 | 007 | 0- | 10 | 13 | 3 |
| Salem CC | 002 | 503 | 0- | 9 | 6 | 2 |
| Camden | 200 | 000 | 0- | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Salem CC | 301 | 053 | x- | 12 | 12 | 1 |
Softball
NEWTON — The Salem CC softball team snapped its longest losing streak of the season by sweeping a doubleheader from Sussex, 10-1 and 8-6.
The Mighty Oaks had lost their last four games, but got back on the winning track behind a combined six-hitter from Reagan Wilson and Jordyn Busch.
Salem struck for four in the first inning and never trailed against. J.J. Aguirre, Emme Witter and Savannah Palverento had consecutive RBI singles and Jocelyn Melendez brought the fourth run home with a ground out. Witter and Lilly Peverelle both had three hits in the game.
The Skylanders got a run in the fourth inning, then the Mighty Oaks broke it open with four in the sixth
The nightcap was a bit closer, with the Mighty Oaks taking the lead for good with two in the sixth. Peverelle broke a 6-6 tie with a two-out run-scoring single and Peverelle scored an insurance run on a passed ball.
Sawyer Simmons went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Peverelle had two hits to lead the offense. Busch threw a complete game in the circle. She struck out nine.
Before take the lead for good in the sixth inning, the Mighty Oaks had leads of 1-0 and 6-5 only to see the Skylanders rally to draw even.
REGION XIX BASEBALL
Camden 10-2, Salem CC 9-12
Northampton 17-3, Atlantic Cape 0-4
Ocean 10-18 Montgomery 6-12
Brookdale 12-7, Union 6-2
Bergen 7-5, Delaware County 6-0
Middlesex 6-3, RCSJ-Cumberland 4-8
Sussex 7-6, Raritan Valley 0-1
Lackawanna 4-9, Delaware Tech 3-2
REGION XIX SOFTBALL
Salem CC 10-8, Sussex 1-6
Camden 11-3, Middlesex 1-1
Northampton 13-15, Bergen 4-3
Brookdale 11-13, Ocean 2-1
Mercer 4, Howard 1
Delaware Tech 4-4, Lackawanna 1-3
RCSJ-Gloucester 9-5, CC of Rhode Island 1-3
Double the fun
Pennsville softball rips four first-inning doubles on the way to a division-controlling win over Pitman; includes scores and highlights from Friday’s Salem County sports action
SOFTBALL
Cape May Tech 16, Salem 2
Cumberland 13, Woodstown 6
Pennsville 8, Pitman 1
BASEBALL
Cumberland 7, Woodstown 0
Pennsville 9, Pitman 6
Salem Tech at Atlantic City
TENNIS
Delsea 3, Woodstown 2
Schalick at Penns Grove
GOLF
Audubon 165, Pennsville 221
Lower Cape May 161, Schalick 166
Overbrook 202, Salem Tech 214
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown 20, Millville 3
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Camden 6, Salem CC 1
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — The players on the Pennsville softball team were arriving at second base so often in the first inning Friday one would have thought stopping at first base was just a suggestion.
The Eagles produced three straight RBI doubles from the heart of their batting order in the first inning and a two-run two-bagger later in the inning to set the stage for an 8-1 win over Pitman that gave them complete control of the TCC Classic Division race.
The Eagles (7-1) hit five doubles for the second game in a row. Kylie Harris, the recognized Queen of the Double, hit two. It was such a complete win, eight players got a hit and six scored. Graillyn Weber came within one out of posting their third straight shutout.
Pennsville took control of their straight win from the start. Lily Edwards started the inning with a single and stole second. After Weber flew out to deep right, the Eagles got consecutive RBI doubles from Harris (the 45th of her career), Avery Watson and Kenzie Widener.
“That was so crazy,” Harris said. “I think we just connected the ball really well and found the gaps. I’ve never seen three doubles hit in a row like that, but that was the best feeling ever, especially here on our field. Probably maybe we’ve had three doubles, but never back-to-back like that. That was awesome.”
Later in the inning, Taylor Bass hit her first career double to drive in the last two runs of the inning. Harris hit her 46th career double later in the game and scored the Eagles’ final run on an RBI single by Widener. The Eagles have hit 24 doubles this season, half of which have come on their home field.
“It’s just like a momentum thing,” Watson said. “We all see each other ripping line drives off this girl – both of them were great pitchers – and we gave each other advice coming into the dugout and saw what we saw up there.
“Taylor’s (double) was really exciting. Seeing someone new to the game ripping a double out there is really exciting and it gets everyone hyped in the dugout. We were all talking like I’ve never seen this many doubles in a row before. It was just exciting. That’s what keeps us going.”
The Eagles don’t need extra-base hits in order to score. They used aggressive baserunning and Pitman errors to score two more runs in the second inning and extend the lead to 7-0. The next inning the Panthers brought in Listella Eisenhart to pitch and the sophomore lefthander kept the Eagles off the board until the sixth.
The big early lead made it more comfortable for Weber to throw strikes. She gave up just one hit over the first four innings, facing just three batters over the minimum, and kept the Panthers off the board until she tired in the seventh. The Panthers loaded the bases and scored on Cassidy Batten’s sacrifice fly and then Weber ended the game on the next pitch. It was the first run Pennsville allowed since Haddon Heights’ walk-off homer last Friday.
She gave up five hits, struck out three and walked one (in the seventh inning).
“I threw pretty good,” Weber said. “I probably could’ve been better on a few pitches, but I did pretty good. I’m happy with my results.”
The defense kept the shutout bid alive. The biggest run-saver came in the fifth when Eisenhart led off with a triple and with Delaney Pierson showing bunt, catcher Harris threw behind Eisenhart and got her in a rundown, where she was easily tagged out. Pierson wound up singling that would’ve gotten the run home.
Harris almost turned a double play two batters later when she caught a foul pop, but threw too high to first to get a runner who strayed too far off the base. Watson turned a nifty double play going to the backhand side earlier in the game and made two diving stops to keep singles from going into the outfield for potentially extra bases. And Reagan Wariwanchik snared a rising liner at second base that looked like it was headed into the outfield.
“They helped me a lot; I really appreciate it,” Weber said. “There were a lot of good plays made today, that honestly made me happy. I’m glad that our defense got a little chance when I’m pitching to field a little bit because I know they don’t get a lot. I tried to keep my arms to myself when I was pitching today a little more.”
CUMBERLAND 13, WOODSTOWN 6: Ellie Wygand went 4-for-4 at the top of the Woodstown lineup, but the Wolverines were in catch-up mode all day after the Colts erupted for seven runs with two outs in the home first.
Woodstown pitcher Leah Clark retired the first two batters she faced, then the Colts put together a walk and seven straight hits. The Wolverines cut into their deficit with three runs in the third on Macie Moore’s RBI triple, an RBI single by Wygand, and Madison LaPalomento’s run-scoring ground out, but the Colts got them all back in the fifth.
CAPE MAY TECH 16, SALEM 2: The Hawks broke open a close game with nine runs in the third inning. and Emma Oravits held the Rams to one hit.
The big inning was highlighted by a two-run single from Addison LeSage and a two-run triple from Melissa Rivello. Madison Johnson had Salem’s only hit, a third-inning single. Oravits faced the minimum through three innings thanks to a pair of double plays.
BASEBALL
PENNSVILLE 9, PITMAN 6: The Eagles rallied from a 6-2 deficit with seven runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and reliever Gavin Spears was sharp on the mound after a rough start to score the divisional win.
Logan Streitz started tor the Eagles and pitched into the second inning on 30 pitches to prep for Saturday’s Steal Your Base (Williamstown) Tournament start against Kingsway. Spears was tabbed for 30 pitches as well, but after he gave up five runs in the third inning the Eagles just had him eat innings.
It turned out to be a good move. After finding himself, Spears held the Panthers hitless over the last four innings, facing just two batters over the minimum, while the Eagles rallied. Spears went 5 2/3 innings and struck out 12.
The Eagles (7-1) tied the game in the fifth when the Panthers misplayed Logan Cowperthwiat’s fly to right into a pair of run. They took the lead in the sixth when Mason O’Brien scored on a wild pitch and extended it on RBI singles by Jake Layfield and Mike McClincy.
“(Spears) went to work on the mound, pitched very well, pounded the zone and challenge hitters,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “The offense chipped away and kept winning innings and we found a way to win. I’m proud of their effort to dig out of the hole on the road against a division opponent.”
CUMBERLAND 7, WOODSTOWN 0: Kameron Fiorani and Peyton Brennan shut out the Wolverines on five hits and Fiorani hit a two-run homer in the sixth to put an exclamation point on the performance.
Fiorani went the first six innings, giving up five hits, walking four and striking out five. Brenner set the Wolverines down in order in the seventh.
The Wolverines mounted a few threats, getting five runners in scoring position, but Fiorani got out of them every time. His defense helped with two double plays.
GOLF
LOWER CAPE MAY 161, SCHALICK 166: Schalick senior Seth Fisher birdied 4 and 5 at Centerton CC to shoot even-par 35 and win medalist honors, but Lower Cape May posted two scores in the 30s to win the match. Cole Bade shot 37 and Alex Sekela 39 to lead the Caper Tigers.
The girls teams also played and LCM’s Lina Tastevin posted the low round (49). Jasmine Hunt shot Schalick’s low score (57).
AUDUBON 165, PENNSVILLE 221: The Green Wave posted the four lowest scores of the day to win the match. Ben Cameron was Audubon’s low man (40). Trevor Hann led Pennsville with a 48.
OVERBROOK 202, SALEM TECH 214: Joseph Linane parred his last three holes to shoot 4-over 40 at Kresson GC and lead the Rams to victory. Sophia Conto shot the Chargers’ low round (46).
GIRLS LACROSSE
WOODSTOWN 20, MILLVILLE 3: Delaney Walker moved closer to 200 career goals when she scored five and Arianna Hyman pumped in four to help the Wolverines snap a three-game losing streak.
Walker now has 195 career goals. Her first chance at the milestone will be April 28 at home against West Deptford. Isabella Lindenmuth, Angelina Lindenmuth, Blair Baldi and Emma Perry scored two goals apiece for the Wolverines (5-3).
TENNIS
DELSEA 3, WOODSTOWN 2
Zeph Kell (D) def. Drew Stengel, 6-4, 6-2
Eli Croce (D) def. Mason Shimp, 6-2, 6-1
Zach Natalie (D) def. Luke Shaw, 6-2, 6-4
Vincent Merendino-Nick DiTeodoro (Wo) def. Jacob Bramble-Jude Thompson, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 10-8
Connor Miller-Josh King (Wo) def. Marcus Saigueiro-Seth Bui, 7-5, 6-1.
Records: Delsea 7-1, Woodstown 8-3
College baseball
FRIDAY’S REGION XIX GAMES
Camden 6, Salem CC 1
Brookdale 22, Union 4
Mercer 25, Morris 7
Northampton 14, Atlantic Cape 4
Middlesex 13, RCSJ-Cumberland 7
Bergen 29, Delaware County 7
Lackawanna 19, Delaware Tech 9
BLACKWOOD — Two Camden pitchers held Salem CC to two singles and off the scoreboard until the ninth inning to beat the Mighty Oaks in their series opener 6-1.
Nick Mokienko, a freshman right-hander with a sub-1.50 ERA, worked the first 7 2/3 innings and gave up one hit while striking out 11. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last six appearances (24 innings). Michael Manera came in behind him and gave up one hit and the Mighty Oaks’ only run.
Until the ninth, the only hit the Mighty Oaks mustered was Colin McLaughlin’s leadoff single in the fifth. Mokienko faced only one batters over the minimum through the first four innings
The Mighty Oaks finally got on the board in the ninth. Jason LeBold led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch for the 15th time this season and Tyler Hacker singled. The runners pulled off a double steal and LeBold rode home on Roman Hernandez; sacrifice fly.
The Cougars scored two runs in each of the first two innings. C Hudson delivered a two-out two-run single off Pat Seitzinger in the first and I Monteith hit a two-run double in the second.
The series concludes with a noon doubleheader Saturday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex.
Seeing beyond the day
Salem CC softball coaches take, share encouragement from team’s play despite being swept by current region leader Mercer
REGION XIX SOFTBALL
Mercer 8-7, Salem CC 4-6
RCSJ-Gloucester 9-0, Monroe 8-12
Lackawanna 10-6, Frederick CC 1-0
Bucks 12, RCSJ-Cumberland 5
Bergen at Dutchess
Brookdale at Morris
Middlesex at Orange County CC
Morris at Sussex
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — The Salem CC softball team came ever so close to giving acting head coach Mackenzie Freas an early birthday present by knocking off a team they haven’t had much luck against in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader.
The Mighty Oaks had a lead after a big inning with six outs to go, but then Mercer did what Mercer always does against the Mighty Oaks and rallied to complete a sweep of their Region 19 twin bill and regular-season series, 8-4 and 7-6.
Under any other circumstances it would have been an occasion to hang heads and put on a brave face when it came to talking about what transpired over the last four and a half hours of softball. But this time, the Mighty Oaks were encouraged by the things they saw against a team they had only beaten only once in 12 previous meetings, never in the regular season, and hadn’t score a run the last four times they played, including both games the day before Easter.
The Mighty Oaks (20-18) scored three runs in the seventh inning of the opener to make that one close and had the tying run at the plate when it ended, then they scored six in the fifth inning of the nightcap to take a 6-3 lead with six outs to go and just had to get out of the seventh to earn the win.
“Obviously we lost, but it was, I don’t want to say a good loss, but it was like a ‘we needed that,” said Freas, who remains the face of the program while head coach Angel Rodriguez awaits clearance from the college to return. “I think our girls had some doubt, not doubt in themselves because they knew they could do it, but the first time we played them we didn’t even get six walks, or six hits, we didn’t get anything.
“This game we got six runs in one inning. The game before we had three runs on two outs. I think it was almost like an eye-opener to them in like we can do this. We just said to them this is such a good team and you are realizing it now. Now that we’re going into the postseason … during the postseason you don’t want the team that’s red hot, we’re getting red hot. We’re getting so close. We’re getting right there.
“This is the best team in the region and to hold them like we did and then to almost beat them, that felt a little bit good.”
Mercer (29-3) led 3-0 in the nightcap before the Mighty Oaks flipped the game with six in the fifth. Bella Rappa single home the first run, then J.J. Aguirre gave them the lead with a three-run double. But the Mighty Oaks weren’t finished. They reloaded the bases and then Jocelyn Melendez ripped a two-run single up the middle to make it 6-3. Rappa had three hits in the game and Melendez had two.
“Oh my God, that felt great,” Freas said. “I don’t think we felt like that against them since the year (they beat them in the playoffs, 2024). The body of them was so similar and our girls were just like fueling off of it. it was their best way of (thinking) this is what post-season can feel like. That was their taste of it and they want it.”
The Mighty Oaks just had to get six outs to secure the win. Mercer scored two in the sixth, although Aguirre made a diving stop at third with the bases loaded to keep a ball from going down into the corner and really hurting the Mighty Oaks, and two more in the seventh to take the lead.
Karisa Krawiec raced home with the tying run on a wild pitch that was ball four to Isabella Cornish-Didonato. Cornish-Didonato continued around the bases on pitches that got away and finally came home with the go-ahead run when Jamie Kozarski hit a sharp grounder past third that shortstop Lilly Peverelle collected but couldn’t make a throw.
“I just think we tried to get too big in a moment, we tried to do too much in the moment,” Freas said. “When we had that six-run inning nobody was trying to do anything crazy. Everybody was just gotta get on base, gotta do my job, gotta stay patient. And then when we get to the sixth and seventh inning it’s I’ve got to do too much. Before, it was just like you’re just playing to play.
“Come playoffs you can feel this again. You’re going to feel this pressure opportunity again. You have to now get comfortable with that uncomfortable now when we’re in the regular season. Come postseason you’re going to knock it out of the park.”
The Mighty Oaks went down in order in the seventh, but not before making it interesting. Aguirre, the modern-era single-season home run record holder, led off with long fly Krawiac flagged down in right field. Megan Koski lofted a fly into shallow right that Krawiac raced in just as hard to snare and then Witter flew to center to end the game.
The Mighty Oaks hadn’t scored a run against Mercer since the third inning of an April 5, 2025 run-rule loss, but they broke that 27-inning drought in the third inning of Game One on Emme Witter’s sacrifice fly. They could have gotten a lot more early. They had bases-loaded, no-out situations in the first and third innings, but only got the one run out of them.
They finally capitalized on a bases-loaded situation in the seventh, but by then trailed 8-1. Witter delivered a two-run single to make it 8-3 and Jordyn Busch scored the final run on a wild pitch. They brought the tying run to the plate, but the game ended on a grounder back to the pitcher.
“We saw what we can be; we saw that we can play up here,” Freas said. “That’s the No. 1 team in the region and we saw we can get ahead and we can hang with the big dogs. And come playoff time we are going to beat the big dogs. It’s coming. I know it’s coming. This reminds me so much of that (2024) team. It is so similar and we’re starting to see the spurts now.”
ACORNS: The Mighty Oaks are now 1-13 in the series with Mercer since reviving their program. Their only win came in the first round of the 2024 Region 19 playoffs (6-0) … Game 2 Thursday was the closest game in the series … Aguirre is two RBIs shy of tying the modern era single-season school record (Ella Hayes, 61) … Freas continues to serve as the Mighty Oaks’ head coach while Rodriguez awaits clearance to return by college HR, although he has been medically cleared by his cardiac surgeon to return to his full-time job as a Salem CC advisor and fulfill his daily coaching responsibilities. He spoke to the team after the doubleheader … Freas’ birthday is Friday.
| Mercer | 102 | 302 | 0- | 8 | 15 | 1 |
| Salem CC | 001 | 000 | 3- | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| Mercer | 002 | 012 | 2- | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| Salem CC | 000 | 060 | 0- | 6 | 8 | 1 |
What a comeback
Salem CC rallies from big early deficit to beat Ocean, sweep Region 19 series
REGION XIX BASEBALL
Tuesday’s Games
Salem CC 14, Ocean 12
Montgomery 6-17, Delaware County 2-1
Camden 14-24, Atlantic Cape 2-6
RCSJ-Gloucester 15, Mercer 10
Raritan Valley 20, Middlesex 11
Brookdale 21, Bucks 0
Bergen 18, Westchester 10
Morris 6, Rockland 5
Sussex 5, Ulster 2
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – If the Salem CC baseball team makes the Region 19 playoffs this season – and the Mighty Oaks are trending in that direction – they can point to Tuesday’s incredible comeback for getting them there.
The Mighty Oaks staged one of their most memorable in-game turnarounds in coach John Holt’s tenure, rallying from two eight-run deficits with 10 runs in their final three bats to beat Ocean CC 14-12.
They got close with five in the sixth inning and then took the lead with four in the bottom of the eighth. Chase Hortiz drew them even with a two-run single and Jason LeBold gave them the lead with a two-run single with two strikes and two outs.
Logan Peters put the Vikings down in the ninth, facing the tying run at the plate, to complete a courageous 4 2/3 innings relief stint to give the Mighty Oaks the chance to come back and for him to record his first college win.
What made it important? It gave the Mighty Oaks (17-19, 12-10) a sweep of the Region 19 series and an important tiebreaker on the Vikings, who they were two games behind in the region win column entering the series, put them two games over .500 in the region standings and got them within two wins of a .500 overall record.
Teams must be .500 or better either overall or in region play to qualify for the playoffs. Right now, eight of the 13 teams in Region 19 Division II are qualified, and Ocean is not one of them. Two of the four region series the Mighty Oaks have left are against teams ahead of them in the standings, including league-leading No. 2 RCSJ-Gloucester.
“We were tied with them going into the series, last year they had a leg up on us,” LeBold said. “We knew Middlesex was an important series because they took one from them. We wanted the sweep. We were happy with a series win, but the sweep gives us that push over.
“We know if we do tie – we’re planning on beating Camden (this weekend), so we don’t want a tie – but if we do tie, we get that win, so it could be the most important game to get us into the playoffs. I’d rather have three than two.”
The Vikings led 11-3 in the fifth and 12-4 in the sixth as the Mighty Oaks got off to a dreadful start in the field and at the plate, but as LeBold said, “as long as there were still innings to play we were still in it.” The Mighty Oaks scored five runs in the sixth on Aidan Nestor’s RBI double, J.J. Pankowski’s two-run triple and sacrifice flies by Cliff Wysinger and Tyler Hacker. Pankowski singled home another run in the seventh.
“They showed a lot of resilience,” Holt said. “I think they’re starting to become who they can be. It was a pretty big team win. When you have to use your lineup card like that much, you’ve got to be proud of that, that they all contributed.
“We had the conversation last week, going into that Middlesex series, we had to go all Hernan Cortes, we had to burn the boats. They bought in, they’re believing in one another. Top to bottom guys are playing selflessly.”
Colin McLaughlin got the eighth-inning rally started when he reached on an infield throwing error. Jacob Sharrow followed with a single and then Vikings reliever Noah Cullen mishandled Nestor’s bunt to load the bases. Hortiz followed with his game-tying single.
“I was just trying to have a team at bat and get my guys in,” Hortiz said. “We didn’t play to the scoreboard. We just kept fighting. We never lost our energy and it got us all the way back.”
Cullen was on the verge of getting out of it when he retired the next two hitters and had LeBold down to his final strike. But the sophomore outfielder, a difference-maker relegated to DHing by an elbow injury he hopes won’t keep him down long, laced a single to left that easily scored Nestor with the tie-breaking run and Hortiz beat the relay to the plate for an insurance run.
“Nick Reckard came up to me (right before the at-bat) and said, man, you’re going to win the game for us here; that was important to me,” LeBold said. “I was sitting alone, by myself in the corner a little bit, kind of in my head because I hadn’t been hitting that well, and he came up to me and said you’ll be the one to do it for us. That meant a lot and gave me all the confidence.
“When I went up there I believed in what he said. I took that into the at-bat and it helped me stay in it the whole time. I was down 0-2 at a point and I was thinking about that the whole time, knowing that someone has that much confidence in me.”
The Mighty Oaks showed their ability to rally early in the game when they answered Ocean’s four in the top of the first with three in the bottom of the inning. They would have gotten even more but Ocean left fielder Matt Nuccio robbed Hacker of a homer when he leaped knee-high to the top of the fence and caught the ball going over the wall. There’s a deep divot in the warning track at the base of the fence where Nuccio planted for the leap.
Peters gave the Mighty Oaks every chance to come back with his longest outing of the season. He gave up an inherited run on a sacrifice fly when he came in behind Rocco String in the fifth and gave up a run in the sixth, but he didn’t allow a hit over his final three innings while facing two batters over the minimum.
“It was pure excitement,” he said. “To go out there knowing you can give your team a chance to win and really kind of just shock everybody that’s here. It was nothing but excitement going out there for the last three (outs). Just got out there, threw strikes and gave my team the best chance they can to win. Close it out.”
ACORNS: The bottom half of the Mighty Oaks’ lineup – Sharrow, Nestor, Hortiz and Pankowski – had two hits apiece … Hacker picked up his JUCO D3-leading 41st stolen base in the game, moving him well in range of his goal of 50 … Trevor Hernandez had a two-run single for the Mighty Oaks in the first, but was replaced by Sharrow after getting thrown out at third for the final out of the inning … The three games in the series were decided by a total of four runs … Peters’ previous longest stint was four innings against Surry CC in the last game of the team’s Myrtle Beach trip … The Vikings were playing their eighth game since last April 6.
| Ocean CC | 410 | 151 | 000- | 12 | 10 | 4 |
| Salem CC | 300 | 015 | 14x- | 14 | 13 | 7 |
