Category: SALEM TECH

Deja vu with higher stakes

Pennsville rallies to beat Pitman in a South Jersey Group I playoff game eerily similar to a regular-season game they played a month ago; Schalick rolls in another Elmer win, Salem Tech falls in first-ever playoff game

SJ GROUP I BASEBALL
Friday’s quarterfinals
(8) Audubon at (1) Schalick, 3 p.m.
(5) Wildwood at (4) Maple Shade, 3 p.m.
(6) Pennsville at (3) Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
(10) Buena at (2) Woodstown, 4 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Somebody had to remind Pennsville baseball coach Matt Karr it was May 28 and he hadn’t been magically transported back to April 17. Stop him if you’ve seen this movie before. 

The Eagles found themselves in the same kind of game against Pitman Thursday they were in when the teams played for lesser stakes a month earlier. The Panthers had one big inning again to make them sweat, but just as they did that day in April the Eagles rallied and escaped with a 6-5 win in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

It was Karr ‘s 150th win as the Eagles’ head coach – “and 150 more grey hairs, too,” he quipped.

“I think the word I used walking down with the coaches was ‘aw, this is like déjà vu, man,’” Karr said. “It was that same kind of inning they were literally just putting the ball in play. But that’s baseball. When you get in those situations those little things are amplified because of the pressure that’s created by having baserunners and we did that to ourselves, walking guys, not picking our pitcher up with ground balls that should be outs.

“We magnified the situation and we amplify the pressure on ourselves because now we’ve got to be perfect. Now any little thing goes wrong and it’s a run here, a run there. We talk all the time that great teams have the ability to say who are we and how do we win ballgames. It’s hard for us to fire up a four- or five-run inning. We have to play good defense, we have to do the little things and win innings throughout the course of the game and that one got away from us.”

In the April game, Pitman scored five runs in a squirrely third inning to take a three-run lead and the Eagles chipped away each of the next three innings to come back and win. On Thursday, the Panthers scored four in an equally squirrely third to take a three-run lead and the Eagles chipped away over the next three innings to tie the game and ultimately go ahead on Dante Cummings’ bases-loaded fly that got away from the outfielder and scored two runs.

In April, Karr called on Gavin Spears to shut the door behind starter Logan Streitz and Spears gave up no runs over the final four of his 5 2/3 innings striking out 12. In this one, Karr brought in Mason O’Brien behind starter Logan Cowperthwait and O’Brien gave up one run and four hits over the final 4 2/3, striking out eight, including the 100th of his career.

“In a perfect world I would love to get to (Friday) with Mason and Gavin both available, but we did tell Gavin we were trying to get to him tomorrow as the starter,” Karr said. “Mason does a really good job coming in as a reliever. He’s got a lot going for him. I didn’t want to go from a righty to another righty, so we went to Mason as a lefty to throw them off.

“Mason and Gavin are our 1A and 1B. When you have those guys on the mound for you it’s a different mindset. Your team just feels a little more relaxed when their guy’s on the mound. We had that to finish today’s game with Mason and we’ll have that again tomorrow with Gavin on the mound to start.”

The game was tied 4-4 going into the home sixth. Pinch-hitter Scott Streitz drew a leadoff walk and forced a pitching change. Jake Layfield greeted reliever Drew Keefe with a sacrifice to move the runner into scoring position. O’Brien walked (for the third time), but Keefe fanned the next batter for the second out.

Jeff Wagner took an 0-2 pitch off the elbow to load the bases and bring Cummings to the plate. The junior designated hitter who has developed into one of the Eagles’ best hitters barreled a ball into the gap that was tailing away from centerfielder Logan Williams. The Pitman outfielder appeared to get his glove on it but couldn’t pull it down and both Streitz and O’Brien scored.

“He threw a first-pitch fastball and I saw Mason on second base, he was giving me that sign, so I knew I had to get my foot down, hit it hard, make someone make a play,” Cummings said. “I know it hit the barrel and I took off. All I saw was it hit the ground and after that I got excited. It’s probably one of the biggest hits in my career. It felt good coming back both games but today felt a lot better knowing now we get to advance and get these seniors one last home win.”

“We’ve talked a lot this year about creating our own luck and we created a pressure situation there,” Karr said. “We had runners on, we put the ball in play, we made them have to make a play. In that moment, the lucky bounce went our way.”

But O’Brien and the Eagles still had to get through seventh before they could claim victory. The Panthers got one run closer on Dylan Tyler’s RBI single and had the tying and go-ahead runs on base with two outs, but O’Brien got the final out on a grounder to second.

O’Brien came on in the third after Cowperthwait loaded the bases, threw a wild pitch to allow the tying run to score and then issued a walk to reload the bases with one out. O’Brien had gotten out of bases-loaded jams in the past this season, but this outing got off to a balky start, literally. On his first play in the game he was called for a balk after making a pickoff attempt to first without the first baseman covering the bag, bringing in the second run. 

“We saw the Seattle Mariners do it and I was like I could do this as a lefty,” O’Brien said. “They looked it up and sent an email and I saw it was a balk. I got a sign to pick off a runner, it was supposed to be at second, but I thought it was first base and then that happened.”

Kiernan Clark followed with shot first baseman Grady Sanders knocked down to keep in the infield, but another run scored. The Panthers made it 4-1 when Payton Miller hit a slow roller to the left side of the infield and beat a high throw to first. The Eagles eventually got out of the inning and after that the southpaw with the sparkly cleats kept the Panthers off the board until the seventh.

“I trust myself and I know I’ve got guys behind me who’ll make a play any day of the week,” O’Brien said. “I’m just going to throw the ball over the plate and if they don’t hit it, they don’t hit it, good for me, but if they do I know my defense is going to make plays.”

The Eagles got a run back in the fourth on Steve Fatcher’s RBI single and tied it in the fourth on another RBI single by Fatcher and Gavin Spears’ sacrifice fly.

“I trusted my guys that we were going to score runs and come back and win this ball game,” O’Brien said.

After all, he had seen it before. They all had.

Pitman0040001-562
Pennsville100122x-651
WP: Mason O’Brien. LP: Kiernan Clark.

SCHALICK 23, CAPE MAY TECH 0: The top-seeded Cougars scored 13 runs in the fourth inning to turn an already one-sided playoff opener into an outright rout.

The Cougars (18-7) pounded out 21 hits in the game. Travis Snodgrass went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Evan Glaspey drove in four runs. Jamari Whitley had three hits, Evan Sepers had three RBIs and Ricky Watt collected his 100th career hit on a second-inning RBI single that gave the Cougars a 4-0 lead.

They batted around twice in their big inning. The first 13 batters reached base and 10 scored before an out was recorded. Sepers had three RBIs in the inning, Glaspey and Snodgrass each had two.

“It’s good to kind of get things rolling and going in the right direction heading into the next round,” Cougars coach Sean O’Brien said. “We looked pretty good pitching wise, defensively and at the plate, so we saw positive things going on to the next round.”

It looked like Watt had become the second Cougar this season to reach 100th hit when he had three hits, including two record-tying homers, at Collingswood May 20, but the game was washed out two outs from becoming official. So he had to wait more days to reach the milestone.

He flew out in his first at-bat Thursday, but didn’t miss his second time up, ripping a liner to left field.

“To be honest, the second time around was definitely less special,” Watt said. “And I also didn’t add two homers on top.”

Mason Sanchez and Mason Hollywood combined on a five-inning one-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Sanchez worked the first four innings, giving up a bloop single in the first inning and striking out eight. The sophomore hasn’t given up an earned run in his last three appearances (13 innings).

“He was attacking the hitters, he was commanding the strike zone, he did good job getting ahead of guys,” O’Brien said. “He looked a lot like what he did against Pennsville, which is definitely reassuring for us this year and moving forward for next year, too.”

The game was moved to the Cougars’ second home, the Elmer Little League complex, because of field conditions. It was their eighth straight win at the alternate site and third this year. They are 16-6 and have won 15 of their last 18 there since Sean O’Brien became head coach in 2016.

“I didn’t realize overall our record there,” O’Brien said. “I know we’ve had a lot of success there, there are very few games I can remember losing, but I didn’t realize we had that good a record there.

“Playing there, it’s like our second home where I don’t feel uncomfortable being there. I like being at our place, but when we play there it’s comfortable. It’s not like we’re playing at a different field.”

“Playing at Elmer is always fun,” said Watt, who is 11-for-18 with nine RBIs at the complex the last two seasons.

The Cougars now host eighth-seeded Audubon (10-12) back in their traditional home Friday at 3 p.m. It’s an earlier start time than usual to accommodate the Green Wave’s prom later in the evening.

Cape May Tech00000-013
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WP: Mason Sanchez. LP: Owen Galvin. 2B: Travis Snodgrass (S), Cooper Willoughby (S), J.T. Fleming (S), Mason Sanchez (S).

Sweet Home Away From Home

Here is Schalick’s baseball ecord at the Elmer LL complex since Sean O’Brien became head coach (16-6)

YEARRESULTYEARRESULT
2026Cape May Tech, W 23-02022Woodstown, W 9-7
2026Bridgeton, W 17-42022Bridgeton, W 21-0
2026Woodstown, W 4-32021Woodstown, W 15-7
2025Glassboro, W 7-22019Woodstown, W 12-0
2025Buena, W 10-02019Glassboro, L 3-2
2025Salem, W 26-22018Woodstown, W 12-2
2025Woodstown, W 5-02018Glassboro, W 5-4
2024Bridgeton, W 25-42017Glassboro, L 8-5
2024Woodstown, L 12-42017Woodstown, L 6-5
2023Bridgeton, W 12-02016Glassboro, L 8-6
2023Woodstown, L 4-22016Woodstown, W 8-4

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2
BARNEGAT 16, SALEM TECH 1: The Chargers were playing in their first-ever sectional tournament game as a program and the home team didn’t make it easy for them. Barnegat pitcher Ray Danbrowney threw a five-inning one-hitter and struck out seven. The Bengals put four on the board in the first inning and added on every inning.

Jack Beal had the Chargers’ only hit, a single leading off the third inning. He moved to second on a passed ball and scored when the Bengals misplayed Lucas Clement’s grounder to short. 

Salem Tech00100-114
Barnegat4435x-16122
WP: Ray Danbrowney. LP: Jack Beal. 2B: Nick Bruno (B), Declan Brain 2 (B)


Thursday playoff report

Woodstown wins a pair of third-set tiebreakers to lock down a spot in SJ Group 1 boys tennis finals; Wolverines win their girls lacrosse playoff opener; includes scores from Thursday’s South Jersey Groups 1&2 playoff action

BASEBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Schalick 23, Cape May Tech 0
Audubon 3, Gateway 0
Wildwood 10, Paulsboro 0 (Tues.)
Maple Shade 2, Riverside 1
Haddon Twp. 19, LEAP 1
Pennsville 6, Pitman 5
Buena 8, Glassboro 2 (Wed.)
Woodstown 12, Clayton 0 (Wed.)
South Jersey Group II Tournament
Barneget 16, Salem Tech 1
(Story on website)
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove vs. LEAP, Rutgers-Camden, 6 p.m.
South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals
Audubon 10, Riverside 0
Pennsville 8, Pitman 0
Palmyra 3, Gateway 2
Woodstown 3, Buena 1, 8 inns.
(Story on website)
GIRLS LACROSSE
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Woodstown 11, West Deptford 8
(See story below)
TENNIS
South Jersey Group I Semifinals
West Deptford 5, Pt. Pleasant Beach 0
Woodstown 4, Haddon Twp. 1
(See story below)

Tennis: Woodstown plays for title

WESTMONT — Luke Shaw and the doubles team of Connor Miller and Josh King both came all the way back from dropping the first set to win third-set tiebreakers and lift Woodstown to a 4-1 win over Haddon Twp. for a spot in the South Jersey Group I boys tennis championship match.

The Wolverines (14-8) will play at top-seeded West Deptford (23-1) in the title match Tuesday. It’s their first trip to the SJ Group 1 boys final since 2019 — and first under head coach Jesse Stemberger — when they lost to Middle Twp. 3-2. Stemberger was the program’s assistant coach when it made the South Jersey final four straight years from 2016 to 2019.

Shaw lost the first set at third singles to Grady Carson, then evened the match 6-2 and won the pro set 10-5. Shaw was 9-9 at third singles, 10-10 overall, entering the match. Carson had won his last six matches and 13 of his last 15.

“Luke’s win was a little more intense because we had two points and if he wins, the match is over,” Stemberger said. “After losing the first set he told his parents he wasn’t going to lose. He took control of the second set, built a lead in the tiebreaker and closed it out with a big first serve on his first match point.”

Miller and King dropped their first set to Sylar Kennedy and Jack Considine at second doubles 5-7, then won the second set 6-3 and the pro set 10-4. Miller and King were 13-4 entering the match (2-1 in third-set tiebreakers). Kennedy and Considine had won their last five matches

“They didn’t have the pressure, but they wanted to win and basically followed the same script as Luke,” Stemberger said.

WOODSTOWN 4, HADDON TWP. 1
Nathan Keating (HT) def. Drew Stengel, 6-4, 6-2
Mason Shimp (WO) def. Declan Gallagher, 6-4, 6-4
Luke Shaw (WO) def. Grady Carson, 2-6, 6-2, 10-5
Vincent Merendino-Nick DiTeodoro (WO) def. Cristian Picerno-Shea Anderson, 6-4, 6-1
Connor Miller-Josh King (WO) def. Sylar Kennedy-Jack Considine, 5-7, 6-3, 10-4
Records: Woodstown 14-8, Haddon Twp. 14-8.

GROUP 1 SECTIONAL FINALS
Tuesday’s matches
Central: Edison Magnet (7-12) at Metuchen (14-0)
North I: Pascack Hills (15-4) at Glen Rock (16-3)
North II: Glen Ridge (8-12) at Verona (17-5)
South: Woodstown (14-8) at West Deptford (23-1)

Girls lacrosse: Woodstown wins opener

WOODSTOWN — Delaney Walker added four more goals to her school-record total and Emma Morgan added another assist to that all-time school record, powering Woodstown to an 11-8 victory over West Deptford in the first round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs.

Walker’s four goals ran her career total to 243. Morgan extended her assist record to 85 and also scored a goal.

Blair Baldi, Arianna Hyman and Emma Perry all scored twice for the Wolverines (10-7), who now travel to second-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven (14-5) for Monday’s quarterfinals.

TCC Showcase

Here are the tresults of the Tri-County Conference Showcase at Pitman GC

GIRLS

Clearview’s Stella Bernardi survived a double bogey on her final hole and a late charge from her twin sister Lydia to win medalist honors. Stella made four birdies in a 1-over-par 74. Lydia made four straight birdies (7-10), a bogey and a par over her final six holes to finish with 75. Salem/Cumberland Challenge winner Nicole Tarquinio of Cumberland finished fourth (81). Salem Tech’s Hannah Kormann was the top Salem County finisher (108, T-11).

TEAM SCORES: Clearview 149, Washington Twp. 184, Williamstown 204, Kingsway 221, OLMA 222, Salem Tech 223, Schalick 243, Pennsville 247, Delsea 252.
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS: Stella Bernardi, Clearview 74; Lydia Bernardi, Clearview 75; Tessa Reilley, Washington Twp. 79; Nicole Tarquinio Cumberland 81; Adrienne Abalos, Gloucester Catholic 92.

SALEM TECH (223): Sophia Conto 115, Hannah Kormann 108.
SCHALICK (243): Lena Virga 118, Miya Watkins 125.
PENNSVILLE (247): Abigail Bohn 121, Makenna Minguez 126.

BOYS

Kingsway sophomore Nick Fargnoli made three birdies and shot 1-under-par 69 to win medalist honors and lead the Dragons to the team title. Schalick finished second and Woodstown was fourth. Schalick’s Jaxon Weber was the top Salem County finisher, (75, T-5). Teammate Mikey Nelson, the Salem/Cumberland Challenge runner-up, was T-14 (82)

TEAM SCORES: Kingsway 297, Schalick 338, Pitman 343, Woodstown 368, Triton 384
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS: Nick Fargnoli, Kingsway 69, Christopher Parrish, Kingsway 73; Christian Trabosh, Washington Twp. 73; Ryan Stankoski, Clearview, Clearview 73; Michael Links, Kingsway 75; Jaxon Weber, Schalick 75

SCHALICK (338): Jaxon Weber 75, Mickey Nelson 82, Reed Bucolo 92, Shawn Kelly 89.
WOODSTOWN (368): Logan Jones 97, Jack Bucksar 93, Nate Valente 94, Alejandro Vazquez 84.
SALEM TECH: Thomas Conto 122.
PENNSVILLE: Trevor Hann 103.

Girls medalist Stella Bernardi (C) is flanked by runner-up Lydia Bernardi (L) and third-place finisher Tessa Reilley.

TEE ASSIGNMENTS
1A: Bradyn Skokowski (Triton), Landen Hedrick (GCIT), Christopher Parris (Kingsway), Thomas Luu (Clearview)
1B: Cole Murray (Delsea), Mac Weldon (Highland), Nick Fargnoli (Kingsway), Ryan Stankoski (Clearview)
2A: Austin Tennyson (Deptford), Jaxon Fretz (Williamstown), David Dempsey (Delsea), Jack Kessler (Kingsway)
2B: Braydon Lewis (Triton), Dylan Simonson (Williamstown), Jake Bowen-Ashwin (Pitman), Jaxon Weber (Schalick)
3: Colin Buri (Triton), Evan Hall (GCIT), Christian Trabosh (Washington Twp.), Michael Links (Kingsway)
4: Joseph Nolan (Cumberland), Logan Jones (Woodstown), Max Pappalardo (Pitman), Mike Gallagher (Washington Twp.)
5: David Prante (Deptford), Madden Goss (Timber Creek), Nate Valente (Woodstown), Mikey Nelson (Schalick)
6: Nick Landi (Triton), Jack Bucksar (Woodstown), Joey Zubert (Pitman), Anthony Beach (Gloucester Catholic)
7: George Schultz (Timber Creek), Alejandro Vazquez (Woodstown), Zack Payne (Gloucester Catholic), Reed Bucolo (Schalick)
8: Manntram Patel (Cumberland), Sam Adams (Pitman), Shawn Kelly (Schalick), Luca Calabro (Highland)
9: Jackson Venuto (Clayton), Braxton Gillis (Overbrook), Trevor Hann (Pennsville)
10: Kyle Lex (Clayton), Daniel Atanasio (Salem Tech), Caden Thomas (Pennsville)
11: Angel Gonzalez (Wildwood), Thomas Conto (Salem Tech), Jeffrey Boyd (Overbrook)
12: Nicole Tarquinio (Cumberland), Tessa Reilley (Washington Twp.), Stella Bernardi (Clearview), Adrienne Abalos (Gloucester Catholic)
13: Maahishee Patel (Cumberland), Kendall Stewart (Kingsway), Lydia Bernardi (Clearview), Kaci Adams (Williamstown)
14: Julia Świerczyński (Woodstown), Camryn Heil (Clearview), Olivia O’Neill (Kingsway), Lena Verga (Schalick)
15: Sophia Conto (Salem Tech), Hannan Meloro (Clearview), Isabella Gordon (Williamstown), Emily Devecchis (Washington Twp.)
16: Hannah Kormann (Salem Tech), Claudia Bui (Delsea), Amelia Voronov (OLMA), Jess Alameno (Wildwood)
17: Leigh Ann Nage (Clayton), Gianna Spinelli (OLMA), Miya Watkins (Schalick), Abigail Bohn (Pennsville)
18: Madison Traister (Clayton), Kirra Ritz (Delsea), Makenna Minguez (Pennsville)

Top photo: TCC Showcase boys medalist Nick Fargnoli of Kingsway (C) is flanked by runner-up teammate Christopher Parrish (L) and third-place Christian Trabosh.

Tuesday playoff report

Woodstown rallies to take down Schalick in South Jersey Group I softball tourney opener; Pennsville win, Salem Tech falls; Woodstown lone survivor in SJ Group I tennis quarterfinals


SOFTBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Audubon 15, Paulsboro 0
Riverside 8, Maple Shade 1
Pennsville 10, Wildwood 0
Pitman 11, Haddon Twp. 2
Glassboro at Palmyra, 3:30 p.m. (Wed.)
Gateway 12, Cape May Tech 8
Woodstown 7, Schalick 3
Buena 14, Burlington Twp. 1
South Jersey Group II Tournament
Gloucester 10, Haddonfield 0
Middle Twp. 8, Oakcrest 7
West Deptford 11, Collingswood 0
Cedar Creek 15, Manchester Twp. 0
Haddon Heights 15, Lower Cape May 0
Cinnaminson 11, Salem Tech 0
Medford Tech 5, Sterling 1
Barnegat 14, Overbrook 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – He watched his team hit softball after softball on the button for four innings and get nothing for it, but Woodstown coach Rob Hildebrand remained confident all it would take is one ball falling in play to change the Wolverines’ fortunes.

There was a slow roller up the first base line that refused to go foul, a dropped fly in the outfield, another ball just out of the reach of an outfielder that cleared the bases and suddenly the Wolverines had a rally going.

The dropped fly, instead of being the last out of the fifth inning, opened the door for a five-run rally that gave Woodstown the lead and lifted them to a 7-3 win over Schalick in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs.

“All that it takes is putting one ball in play, I literally told them that the inning before,” Hildebrand said. “The first inning it’s rocket, rocket, rocket and a blooper falls in for our base-runner. That’s the game of softball/baseball. It will fall when it wants to fall; when it doesn’t (want to), it doesn’t.

“That’s why you have to put the ball in play and we’ve got to limit our strikeouts. That’s something we’ve really been working on, having better quality at bats. The girls have only gotten better and better at that as the year’s gone on.”

The seventh-seeded Wolverines looked in real danger of losing to their county and division rivals for the third time late in the game. 

The Cougars took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth and Addi Shimp was pitching brilliantly in the circle. The left-hander held the Wolverines to just two hits and three baserunners to that point, and kept them off the scoreboard with the help of a diving catch by centerfielder Noelani Whitley in the first inning that Hildebrand called “the best play I’ve seen all year in the outfield” and robbed Kendall Young of an RBI double or more.

The offense, meanwhile, pushed across a run in the third on Liv VanAcker’s RBI single and two in the fourth on a walk and four consecutive singles. They also had two runners cut down on close plays at the plate.

Shimp was headed for another quiet inning in the fifth when she retired the first two batters on a fly to center and a strikeout. But Emma Hitchner, pressed into her second career start due to an injury to regular catcher Lila Bowling, kept the inning alive with a single to center.

Ellie Wygand followed with a roller up the first base line that stayed in for a single, bringing Talia Guardascione to the plate for the at-bat that changed the game. Wanting to “do something big” after a hard flyout in her previous at-bat, Guardascione lifted a fly to center that looked like it would end the inning. Instead, the ball hit the heel of Whitley’s up-turned glove and after making an attempt to save it the ball fell away to score Hitchner with the Wolverines’ first run.

“That girl made a great catch the first inning and I was really shocked that she dropped my ball.,” Guardascione said. “When I saw it hit in the air I knew I got under it. I thought for sure she had it and I was just hoping everyone was still running. I even slowed up a little bit at first because I was already there by the time they were. It was great to see her drop it. I think she tried to be a little nonchalant (and) it got to her, and then after that it sparked the rally a little bit.”

Leah Clark walked to load the bases. Young then dropped a single in front of a diving Whitley that cleared the bases and gave the Wolverines a 4-3 lead. Maddie LaPalomento then doubled past a diving Kassady Sickler in right to make it 5-3.

“I just really let it all happen,” Young said. “After it comes off my bat I just run all the way through the bases and see what happens.”

“I could tell off the bat it was a base hit but because she made that other great catch I was just running as fast as I could with two outs because I knew I was getting home,” Guardascione said.

For all the balls the Wolverines put in play in the fifth, several of them said the biggest hit of the inning belonged to Hitchner for setting it all in motion. The sophomore had played in only seven games this season prior to Tuesday’s start and had nine career at-bats prior to her hit.

“Emma’s hit gave us the confidence to come back,” Young said.

“I was pretty nervous going up there because my first at bat was not very good,” she said, “but then I just told myself it’s a 2-2 count you’ve gotta do something here. Definitely going into (the game) I was just like I’ve got to prove myself,  I haven’t really gotten the opportunity all year, but I definitely proved myself today.”

The Wolverines extended their lead to 7-3 with two runs in the sixth. The Cougars threatened in the seventh, getting two on after two were out, but Clark struck out the next batter to end the game. Clark held the Cougars to just one hit and four base runners over the final three innings to pick up her 15th win of the season, believed to be the most by a Woodstown pitcher since Anna Marino’s 16 in 1979.

It was the third year in a row the Cougars (14-7) were eliminated by Woodstown.

“It wasn’t our best effort; we didn’t put out the defensive effort that we should have and it cost us,” Schalick coach Rick Higinbotham said. “We knew that would be the case, we would have to play defense; we didn’t do what we needed to do. We’ve got to play seven innings of solid softball, not five, not four, and that’s what we haven’t been able to do on some of our games this year. We get five, six innings, and then we have a cluncker of an inning. We’ll get better from it.”

Woodstown (17-8) now travels to second-seeded Buena (18-8) for Thursday’s quarterfinals game. The Wolverines have won eight in a row and 11 of their last 12

Schalick0012000-372
Woodstown000052x-761
WP: Leah Clark. LP: Addison Shimp. 2B: Karly Spears (WO).

PENNSVILLE 10, WILDWOOD 0: Graillyn Weber went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and spun a four-hit shutout in the circle, Avery Watson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Lily Edwards went 3-for-3 to collect her 100th career hit. The Eagles walked it off on Taylor Bass’ RBI single following Reagan Wariwanchik’s leadoff triple in the fifth.

Weber walked three and struck out four while shutting out the Warriors for the second time this season. She threw a three-hit shutout at them with a career-high 11 strikeouts on April 13.

Edwards led off the home first with a single, stole second and third, and scored on Weber’s sacrifice fly. She singled in the second and scored on an RBI single by Watson and collected her milestone hit with a single to center in the third. She’s had three hits in three of her last four games.

Wildwood00000-041
Pennsville23311-10140
WP: Graillyn Weber. LP: Emma Contreras. 2B: Graillyn Weber (P). 3B: Reagan Wariwanchik (P).

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2
CINNAMINSON 11, SALEM TECH 0: The Pirates put together Hailee Hunter’s two-run homer and three consecutive doubles to produce five runs in the first inning to take the upper hand.

The 11th-seeded Chargers (13-6) were held to two hits in their first-ever playoff game in program history — singles by Izzy Roberts in the first and third innings. They did put two runners on with one out in the first, but the Pirates quelled the threat with a pair of strikeouts.

Hunter had three hits and four RBIs for the Pirates (13-11). Mia Zuccarelli had three hits and three RBIs.

Salem Tech00000-023
Cinnaminson5213x-11110
WP: Evelyn Astor. LP: Izzy Roberts. 2B: Delaney Kroll (C), Hailee Hunter (C), Mia Zuccarelli (C), Peyton Farquhar (C). 3B: Makayla Sheker (C). HR: Hailee Hunter (C).
Woodstown celebrates its come-from-behind playoff victory over Schalick in the circle with pitcher Leah Clark after getting the final out.

Tennis

South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals
West Deptford 5, Penns Grove 0
Pt. Pleasant Beach 3, Pennsville 2
Woodstown 4, Pitman 1
Haddon Twp. 5, Schalick 0
Thursday’s Semifinals
Pt. Pleasant Beach (14-4) at West Deptford (22-1)
Woodstown (13-3) at Haddon Twp. (14-7)

WOODSTOWN 4, PITMAN 1
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Nolan Russell, 6-1, 6-2
Liam Etter (P) def. Mason Shimp, 7-5, 1-0 (ret.)
Luke Shaw (WO) def. Ben Williams, 6-1, 6-0
Nick DiTeodoro-Vincent Merendino (WO) def. Spencer Bianchini-Jonah Raymer, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
Josh King-Connor Miller (WO) def. Ezra Ralph-Ayden Employ, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 13-8, Pitman 14-8

WEST DEPTFORD 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Carter Watson (WD) def. Stuart Mondragon
Aiden Bardon (WD) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-1, 6-1
Carter Weber (WD) def. Juan Ortiz, 6-1, 6-2
Chase Eagle-Jeffrey Hack (WD) def. Jesus Arredondo-Adan Gonzalez, 6-0, 6-1
Allen Eastlack-Connor Watson (WD) def. Jordan Hernandez-Fernando Palacios Lima, 6-1, 6-0
Records: West Deptford 22-1, Penns Grove 7-9

HADDON TWP. 5, SCHALICK 0
Nathan Keating (HT) def. Gabe McFeeley, 6-0, 6-0
Declan Gallagher (HT) def. Reece Loatman, 6-1, 6-1
Grady Carson (HT) def. Tyr Brattlie, 6-2, 6-0
Cristian Picerno-Shea Anderson (HT) def. Cooper Halperin-Jack Genievich, 6-1, 6-2
Sylar Kennedy-Jack Considine (HT) def. Angelo Boston-Gavin McGrath, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Haddon Twp. 14-7, Schalick 9-11

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports calendar for the week of May 25-May 30

TUESDAY, MAY 26
SOFTBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Paulsboro at Audubon
Riverside at Maple Shade
Wildwood at Pennsville
Haddon Twp. at Pitman
Glassboro at Palmyra
Cape May Tech at Gateway
Schalick at Woodstown, 3 p.m.
Burlington Twp. at Buena
GOLF
TCC Showcase, Pitman GC
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Nottingham, 5 p.m.
TENNIS
South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals
Penns Grove at West Deptford
Pennsville at Pt. Pleasant Beach
Pitman vs. Woodstown
Schalick vs. Haddon Twp., 3 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27
BASEBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Cape May Tech at Schalick
Gateway at Audubon
Paulsboro at Wildwood
Riverside at Maple Shade
LEAP at Haddon Twp.
Pitman at Pennsville
Buena at Glassboro
Clayton at Woodstown, 3 p.m.
South Jersey Group II Tournament
Salem Tech at Barnegat

THURSDAY, MAY 28
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove vs. LEAP, Rutgers-Camden, 6 p.m.
South Jersey Group I Quarterfinals
Paulsboro-Audubon vs. Riverside-Maple Shade
Wildwood-Pennsville vs. Haddon Twp.-Pitman
Glassboro-Palmyra vs. Cape May Tech-Gateway
Schalick-Woodstown vs. Burlington Twp.-Buena
South Jersey Group II Quarterfinals
Haddon Heights-Lower Cape May vs. Salem Tech-Cinnaminson
GIRLS LACROSSE
South Jersey Group I Tournament
West Deptford at Woodstown
TENNIS
South Jersey Group I Semifinals
Penns Grove-West Deptford vs. Pennsville-Pt. Pleasant Beach
Pitman-Woodstown vs. Schalick-Haddon Twp.

FRIDAY, MAY 29
BASEBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Cape May Tech-Schalick vs. Gateway-Audubon
Paulsboro-Wildwood vs. Riverside-Maple Shade
LEAP-Haddon Twp. vs. Pitman-Pennsville
Buena-Glassboro vs. Clayton-Woodstown
South Jersey Group II Tournament
Salem Tech-Barnegat vs. Mastery Camden-Haddon Heights
TRACK
NJSIAA Championships, Franklin HS

SATURDAY, MAY 30
TRACK
NJSIAA Championships, Franklin HS

What might have been

Schalick has game with Collingswood waved off leading in the fifth, two outs from making milestones by Watt, Hartley official; includes scores and highlights from Wednesday’s Salem County sports calendar

BASEBALL
Wildwood Catholic 7, Salem Tech 5
Schalick at Collingswood, canceled

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

COLLINGSWOOD – Ricky Watt got his milestone hit – and then some – and Cole Hartley was working on a no-hitter, but the only thing winning Wednesday was the weather.

Watt collected his 100th career hit and hit two home runs to tie Schalick’s single-season home run record and Hartley was building a lifetime memory, but it all got wiped away as the Cougars had their game with Collingswood called in the fifth inning before becoming official because of the weather. 

The Cougars were leading 5-0 and just two outs away from the game and all the milestones becoming official when play was halted due to lightning in the area. Once they got on the bus, the skies opened and the umpires called it a day.

“It was definitely a bummer for it to go out in the bottom of the fifth like that,” Watt said. “I can’t remember a high school game that got rained out in the middle of the game my whole career. I wasn’t aware of the ruling. I walked off the field and everybody was just telling me that nothing counted.”

“I was definitely a little annoyed,” said Hartley.

The Panthers had cause to beef, too. They were mounting a charge when play was halted, loading the bases with one out on an infield error and two walks.

Watt got what would have been his 100th career hit in his first at-bat, a sharp RBI single into left field that put the Cougars on top 1-0. He then hit solo homers to center in the third and fifth, giving him 10 for the season. That’s what would’ve been entered into the record had the game been official. Instead, with the washout, he’s still sitting on 99 hits and eight homers.

“That would’ve tied Luke (Pokrovsky) and all of his brothers for the single-season home run record,” Watt said. “That’s kind of what I was more excited for, to be honest, aside from the 100 hits. Not only did it suck for me but Cole was pitching such an awesome game.”

Hartley took a perfect game into the fifth inning, but lost the gem on an error leading off the fifth. He struck out the next batter, then, pitching into a gusting wind that signaled the approaching rain and “messed with” his breaking ball, he walked the next two. That’s where it ended.

He was part of a combined five-inning no-hitter with Jamari Whitley two years ago and a five-pitcher, five-inning no-hitter last year, but had never put one together by himself. He had thrown just 45 pitches through the first four innings with three strikeouts.

“I was dealing, I was on a roll,” Hartley said. “I had a goal of at least getting closer to my 100th strikeout (he had four, still needs 18). I was actually feeling like I might throw a perfect game today, or at least close to it, and I did.”

The Cougars don’t play again until Wednesday’s first round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs. As the No. 1 seed, they’ll play all their sectional playoff games at home, where it’s a bit more challenging to put one out.

SOFTBALL
GLASSBORO 19, SALEM 3: Marissa Rode’s three-run double highlighted a nine-run third inning that broke the game open. Rode had three hits and six RBIs in the game. Phoenix Holland had two of Salem’s three hits.
WOODSTOWN 9, ATLANTIC TECH 4: Woodstown’s Ellie Wygand ran her career hit total to 103 with three singles. The Wolverines broke a scoreless tie with three in the third inning on Kendall Young’s RBI single and Maddie LaPalomento’s two-run single and built their lead to 9-0. The Wolverines (16-8) have won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11.
MIDDLE TWP. 4, SCHALICK 2: Sophia Brown’s two-run single highlighted a three-run fourth inning that gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead and they withstood Cougars comeback bid. Katie Creamer kept the Cougars off the board until the sixth and struck out 10. Alex Shimp had two hits for Schalick.

GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Nottingham, ppd. to Tuesday

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Projected First-Round Pairings
(16) New Egypt at (1) Haddonfield
(9) Shore at (8) Point Pleasant Boro
(12) Gateway at (5) Delaware Valley
(13) Dayton at (4) Bernards
(14) Middle Twp. at (3) New Providence
(11) Lower Cape May at (6) Haddon Twp.
(10) West Deptford at (7) Woodstown
(15) Johnson at (2) Rumon-Fair Haven

Sanchez sharp in start

Schalick sophomore right-hander throws masterful complete-game in longest outing of his career, likely to start in Cougars’ playoff opener; Woodstown pair no-hits Pitman; includes SJ baseball playoff pairings

TUESDAY BASEBALL
Schalick 12, Pennsville 3
Woodstown 8, Pitman 0
Clayton at Penns Grove
Gloucester at Salem Tech
Salem at Glassboro

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Matt Karr flat-out said Schalick pitcher Mason Sanchez played truth or dare with his Pennsville hitters Tuesday afternoon.

The sophomore right-hander threw it up there, dared the Eagles to hit it and the truth was they never did, or simply couldn’t.

The Cougars’ projected first-round playoff starter looked like a righthander version of another pitcher named Sanchez in the Philadelphia market – Phillies’ left-hander Christopher Sanchez – especially in the late innings of a masterful 12-3 complete-game victory over the Eagles,

“That’s what they call me in school, actually,” the slender sophomore said with a smile.

The Schalick Sanchez, who still plays Little League baseball and is proud of it, allowed just three hits, no earned runs, walked one and struck out three. He was especially sharp late in the game, retiring the last 15 batters he faced after throwing away Mason O’Brien’s bunt single leading off the third inning. He threw 94 pitches, 64 for strikes.

“We got our butts kicked – period,” Karr said. “He threw well, shoved it. Threw the ball right down the middle and played truth or dare. Said I dare you to hit it and we couldn’t. Just an absolute, awful, poor, no effort. It’s just … embarrassing.”

It was the longest outing of Sanchez’ career and clearly the most effective. He had never gone more than three innings in any outing before. The Cougars are 7-3 in the games he pitches.

“I was thinking before the season even started what do I want to be this season, a starter, reliever, a starter, reliever,” the pitcher said. “They’ve been talking about it and now we decided on starter. My goal coming into this game was to get at least three strikeouts and keep it under four hits, because that’s just my goal for every game. I’m not a big guy who goes up there and strikes everybody out like Jamari (Whitley) and Cole (Hartley). I’m a guy who goes up there and tries to (get them to) hit the ball. I know my defense is really good, the guys behind me.”

“I wanted him to challenge them,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said. “We don’t want to walk guys. You saw what happened yesterday where we give free passes and teams will hurt you. Limit the walks and challenge guys to give you weak contact is kind of what we want to do. He did that, embraced that, and did a great job. If you compete and you’re not walking guys ,hitters are going to get themselves out. You just make the right pitch and you just have to trust your fielders behind you to make the plays and he did a good job doing that today.”

Offensively, it was a complete 180 from what both teams experienced the day before. Pennsville kept the meter running and crushed Penns Grove 28-8, while Schalick was lethargic in a 13-5 loss to Haddon Heights.

The Cougars (17-7) answered Pennsville both times the Eagles (14-9) scored in the first three innings. They finally took the lead for good on Jamari Whitley’s two-run single in the fourth, then broke it open with seven in the fifth on a combination of hard-hit balls, soft or seeing-eye liners and poor Pennsville defense. Ricky Watt had a chance to walk it off with his 100th career hit in the sixth, but flew out to center for the final out of the inning and leave him sitting on 99.

Five Cougars had at least two hits in the game. Evan Glaspey had three hits and three RBIs.

“The good thing about having a bad game and then you get to play the next day is then you can kind of quickly forget about the day before,” O’Brien said. “We did a good job of settling into the game, Mason did a good job settling into the game. We started a little slow, we were making some errors behind him, but we picked it up there and then offensively we finally started to pick things up. One through nine we were hitting the ball hard and we didn’t do that consistently yesterday.

“I just want our guys to just be playing good baseball when next week comes around. Playing good teams and beating good teams is playing good baseball. I think that helps us going forward.”

Pennsville2010000-333
Schalick201270x-12142
WP: Mason Sanchez. LP: Gavin Spears. 2B: Jacob Layfield (P), Evan Sepers (S), Cole Hartley (P). 3B: Logan Streitz (P), Evan Glaspey (S).

WOODSTOWN 8, PITMAN 0: Blake Rodriguez and Stone Hassler combined on a seven-inning no-hitter, facing the minimum 21 batters. The only base runner they allowed was a third-inning walk to Payton Miller by Rodriguez and Miller was erased on a double play.

Rodriguez worked the first 5 2/3 innings, coming out after 73 pitches. Hassler threw 16 pitches to get the final four outs.

The Wolverines took control of this one early, scoring four runs in the first inning. Luke Fraley had two hits and two RBIs. Drew Sutton and Sol Elmer also had a pair of hits. Tommy Tucci went 1-for-3 to collect his 50th career hit and Ty Coblentz went 1-for-4 to move within nine of 100.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s First-Round Games
(16) Cape May Tech at (1) Schalick
(9) Gateway at (8) Audubon
(12) Paulsboro at (5) Wildwood, Tuesday
(13) Riverside at (4) Maple Shade
(14) LEAP at (3) Haddon Twp.
(11) Pitman at (6) Pennsville
(10) Buena at (7) Glassboro, 2 p.m.
(15) Clayton at (2) Woodstown

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s First-Round Games
(16) Collingswood at (1) Haddonfield
(9) Manchester Twp. at (8) Middle Twp.
(12) Lower Cape May at (5) Seneca
(13) Gloucester at (4) Sterling
(14) Pleasantville at (3) Cedar Creek
(11) Medford Tech at (6) West Deptford
(10) Salem Tech at (7) Barnegat, 3:45 p.m.
(15) Mastery Camden at (2) Haddon Heights




Tuesday sports report

Here are scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar; detailed stories will be posted on the website soon

BASEBALL
Schalick 12, Pennsville 3: Mason Sanchez looked like another pitcher named Sanchez in Philly market with masterful complete game win.
Woodstown 8, Pitman 0: Blake Rodriguez and Stone Hassler combined seven-inning no-hitter, facing the minimum 21 batters. The only base runner they allowed was a third-inning walk and he was erased on a double play.
Clayton at Penns Grove
Gloucester at Salem Tech
Salem at Glassboro

SOFTBALL
Clayton 26, Penns Grove 8: The Clippers erased an early 7-0 Penns Grove lead with 17 runs in the second inning.
Woodstown 5, Pitman 3: Ellie Wygand collects her 100th career hit in her first at-bat.
Schalick 6, Pennsville 5: Paige Sparks, down to her team’s last strike, hits go-ahead three-run homer in seventh, drives in five runs.

GOLF
Schalick 180, Cumberland 186: One day after beating the Colts in a three-way card playoff for the Salem/Cumberland Challenge team title, the Cougars edge them in a match to claim a share of the TCC Diamond Division title (with Woodstown).

TENNIS
Clayton at Penns Grove

BOYS LACROSSE
Bishop Eustace 9, Woodstown 7: The Crusaders outscored three goals in the fourth quarter to win. Connor Haney and Bob Waddington each scored three goals for Woodstown. Bryce Downer made 15 saves, finishing his Woodstown career with 731.

VOLLEYBALL
Clearview at Salem Tech

Monday sports report

Here are scores and highlights from Monday’s Salem County sports calendar; this report will be updated

BASEBALL
Haddon Heights 13, Schalick 5
Pennsville 28, Penns Grove 8
Camden Academy Charter 10, Salem 8
SOFTBALL
Pennsville 17, Salem 0
Haddonfield 13, Salem Tech 2
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (27-25, 25-18)
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown 21, Haddon Heights 8
TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Penns Grove 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – A division title and the number one seed in the South Jersey Group I baseball playoffs may be firmly in Schalick’s back pocket, but the Cougars know there’s a lot more work to be done.

The Cougars have three games between now and the start of the playoffs – starting with Monday’s 13-5 loss to Haddon Heights – and while the games might not count for power points they still carry a lot of weight.

“These are games we need to try to get heading in that right direction, where we’re playing our best baseball heading into next week,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said. “There’s a week gap between the games so I think if we end on a positive note it just sets us up nicely for that first round. So, we’re trying to get playing good baseball before we start next week.:

It didn’t start the way they wanted. The Garnets (15-6), the No. 2 seed in the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs, led for the entirety of the 3-hour, 12-minute marathon. They reached Schalick starter Jamari Whitley for two runs in the first inning, extended the lead to 5-1 in the third and then broke it open with seven in the fifth to threaten to run-rule their hosts.

The Cougars (16-7) scored in the home half of every inning the Garnets did, but it was never enough. 

“The three aspects of the game – pitching, hitting and fielding – we didn’t do any of them well,” O’Brien said. “It’s hard to beat a good team when you don’t do those things well. They’re a scrappy team, they find ways to get runs, and we just didn’t do our job overall today. That’s what it came down to.”

The Cougars did manage to avoid the run rule by scoring just enough in the home fifth to keep the game going.

“I think offensively we’re too good to be held down for that long, so I knew we could still get some runs; it was just our mentality,” O’Brien said.

The Cougars just couldn’t get that timely hit to spark a big inning. They left the bases loaded in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings. The only production they got out of those situations was RBI singles by J.T. Fleming and Whitley in the fifth and Wyatt Cushane getting hit by a pitch in the sixth. They left 14 runners on base, 10 in scoring position.

“We’ve gotten better with less than two outs and bases loaded, but now with bases loaded with two outs it’s like a new challenge that we have to deal with,” O’Brien said. “We’re getting guys on, we’re just not getting them in, and you can’t do that against good team. You have to capitalize to stay in games and win games.”

Garnets leadoff man Ryan Govito had a big day. He singled in each of his first five at-bats and had a chance in the seventh to go 6-for-6, but Bo Schalick, the Cougars’ fourth pitcher, got the sophomore shortstop to line softly to second.

“Five is a lot, six would’ve been nice, but I did the job,” said Govito, who had a four-hit game earlier this season. “The last at-bat I was just trying to keep the approach simple, middle of the field, same thing as before. I was trying to get a fastball, but I didn’t; maybe swung at a bad pitch.”

Ricky Watt got the Cougars on the board with his eighth homer of the season in the first inning. 

“I saw five or six sliders before and then I finally got a fastball and got the barrel to it,” he said.

Watt had a double later in the game. He now has 97 career hits. 

“I want to get it before playoffs hit,” he said. “I hadn’t really thought about (100 career hits) a whole lot; it’s not the No. 1 thing on my mind. But I’m excited about it.”

PENNSVILLE 28, PENNS GROVE 8: Jeff Wagner hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, Mason O’Brien homered and Steve Fatcher and Logan Cowperthwait each had four RBIs. The Eagles scored 10 in the third to break it open and 11 in the fourth.

CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER10, SALEM 8; The Cougars answered Salem’s six-run fourth with five in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, then pushed across runs in the fifth and sixth to win. Andry Placencia scored the go-ahead run on a ball that got away at the plate and Lenox Angeles singled home the insurance run. Austin Davis had two hits and three RBIs for the Rams, Troy Carey had two RBIs.

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 17, SALEM 0: The Eagles scored 10 runs in the first inning and Savannah Guglielmo pitched a four-inning no-hitter.

HADDONFIELD 13, SAEM TECH 2: The Bulldogs pulled away from a 3-2 lead with seven runs in the fifth inning. Shelby Drummond had two hits for the Chargers and scored their first run on a steal of home.

TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey (P) def. Juan Ortiz, 6-0, 6-0
Carter Willis (P) def. Jesus Arredondo, 6-3, 6-0
Jacob Cheeseman-Coen Rinnier (P) def. Jordan Hernandez-Fernando Palacios Lima, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Thomas-Matthew Forino (P) def. Alan Lopez-Jeremy TeJada, 6-2, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 17-6, Penns Grove 5-8.

Haddon Heights’ Ryan Gavin had five hits in his first five at-bats Monday against Schalick. The Cougars finally got him out in the seventh. Top photo: Schalick’s Ricky Watt crosses the plate after hitting his eighth homer of the season in the first inning.

Playoff winner

Cumberland’s Tarquinio medalist of Salem/Cumberland Challenge after historic playoff with Schalick’s Nelson; Schalick wins team title in three-way scoreboard playoff with Woodstown, Cumberland

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CENTERTON — Nicole Tarquinio answered a lot of questions for herself Monday at Centerton Golf Club.

The Cumberland Regional senior won medalist honors after the longest playoff in the history of the Salem/Cumberland Challenge. It was a co-ed mash-up and anyone was open to win,

Tarquinio did it with a birdie on the fourth hole of a sudden death playoff, surviving a spirited battle with Schalick’s Mikey Nelson, who played what he called “definitely the best round of my life” to get there. Both players shot 7-over-par 78 in regulation.

Schalick won the team title, surviving a three-way match-of-cards with Woodstown and Cumberland. All three teams came in with 330 when the counting was done and the Cougars were declared the champions with the best aggregate on the most difficult hole.

For Tarquinio, winning the tournament showed she could hold up over 18 holes (and then some) when nine is the norm, she had the wherewithal to win a tournament and she could play with (and beat) the boys. She had been trying for four years to win this tournament and while she has been the low girl over the years and was in the hunt to the last few holes last year this was the first time she beat ’em all.

“It feels so good to beat the boys because a lot of boys try and show that they’re better than me, they don’t worry about girls being better than me, it’s like nice to finally show it,” the York College signee said. “I’m also happy for myself not just beating everybody else in the tournament, but shooting my personal best, because for a while, in the past couple tournaments, I’ve been struggling to shoot good and this feels like I finally was able to break that.

“This made me feel a lot better playing. Winning this tournament boosted my confidence a lot more, because the last couple tournaments  I just wasn’t playing well and I feel like this showed me I can do it, especially against boys, too. It shows me I can do it and gives me confidence as we go on.”

Tarquinio won the playoff with a 20-foot putt on the par-3 third, very similar to a putt she made for birdie on 12 to take her round to 2-over before a tough closing stretch brought her back to the field. She had the same putt on 3 in regulation that didn’t go in, but the feel gave her confidence in the playoff she could get it close.

Nelson had chances to win on each of the first three playoff holes, with putts of par or better on each green inside five feet, but couldn’t get them to drop. He hit a 56-degree wedge from 80 yards to four feet left of the pin on the second playoff hole – with Tarquinio looking at a 10-foot uphill putt for birdie – and ran it past the hole. He got in contention with a one-putt eagle on the 485-yard par-5 14th. 

“If I had taken more time, just concentrated on that putt, I would’ve had it,” Nelson said. “After the drive on the second playoff hole I just went back to my soccer roots playing in high intensity. Just keep it calm. I was chill about it. I kept getting calmer and calmer as it went on. Maybe I got too calm on Hole 3.”

Finally, on the fourth playoff hole, Tarquinio, playing from the red tees all round, hit a 6-iron on the green, while Nelson sliced his 7-iron off to the right. He had a firm bare lie and tried to coax his ball over the bunker onto the green, but he found the bunker instead. He got out with his third, but still wasn’t on the green.

Tarquinio had two putts for the win, but only needed one to become the tournament’s first female medalist.

“Credit to Nicole,” Schalick coach Sean Collins said. “She earned it today, but she really earned it over the last four years.”

The team playoff went to an aggregate match-of-cards on the 430-yard, par-4 16th, the No. 1 handicap hole of the course. Schalick played the hole in 3-over, Cumberland in 4-over and Woodstown in 5-over. Jaxon Weber and Anthony Sepers both parred the hole for the Cougars. Nelson bogeyed it and Seth Fisher made 6.

“We tied with Woodstown the last two years for the division, we still have to win a match this year to tie them again, we were at Carl Arena we tied, we beat them at states pretty good,” Collins said. “It’s a fun rivalry we’ve had with them the last couple and the kids all know each other, especially this group of kids, the four seniors who have been through a lot of battles with Woodstown in the county so I’m glad that they won. Albeit a match of cards in the end they’re the champs.”

BOYS GOLF
WOODSTOWN 166, DEPTFORD 168: Just a few hours after competing in the Salem/Cumberland Challenge, where they finished third in a three-way card playoff, the Wolverines were back on their home course, Town & Country, and took a tight match from the Spartans.

The Wolverines trailed by four after each team’s top three scorers were posted, but they had a choice of the 45s from Austin Wood or Blake Bialecki to overtake Deptford’s fourth score (51). Deptford’s Austin Tennyson was medalist (2-over 37), one shot ahead of Woodstown’s Lucas Fulmer, who played a clean round with the exception of a triple-bogey on the par-3 fourth at Town & Country.

The Wolverines will now keep a keen eye on Tuesday’s Schalick-Cumberland match at Running Deer Golf Club. If Schalick wins, the Cougars are TCC Diamond Division co-champions. If Cumberland wins, Woodstown wears the crown.

Salem/Cumberland Challenge

TEAM SCORES: x-Schalick 330, Woodstown 330, Cumberland 330, Vineland 425, Salem Tech 447. x-Declared winner on aggregate scorecard playoff.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
x-Nicole Tarquinio, Cumberland78
Mikey Nelson, Schalick78
Jaxon Weber, Schalick79
Nate Valente, Woodstown79
Joseph Nolan, Cumberland81
Logan Jones, Woodstown81
Maahishee Patel, Cumberland84
Alejandro Vazquez, Woodstown85
Jack Bucksar, Woodstown85
Seth Fisher, Schalick86
Manntram Patel, Cumberland87
Anthony Sepers, Schalick87
Anthony Kaskabas, Vineland88
Trevor Hann, Pennsville97
Sophia Conto, Salem Tech104
Artur Kovch, Vineland105
Makenna Minguez, Pennsville106
Hailey Hillegass, Vineland107
Abigail Bohn, Pennsville109
Hannah Kormann, Salem Tech110
Thomas Conto, Salem Tech115
Daniel Atanasio, Salem Tech118
Ava Caruso, Vineland125
x-wins on fourth hole of sudden-death playoff
Schalick survived a three-way scorecard playoff to win the Salem/Cumberland Challenge team title. Top photo: Playoff medalist Nicole Tarquinio is flanked by runners-up Mikey Nelson (L) and Jason Weber.