Schalick clinches

Pokrovsky sharp against Woodstown again, Cougars win Elmer Classic, clinch TCC Diamond Division crown

TUESDAY BASEBALL
Schalick 5, Woodstown 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

ELMER — It wasn’t a perfect game. Or a no-hitter. It wasn’t even a complete game. But in a lot of respects Schalick senior Luke Pokrovsky pitched better Tuesday night against Woodstown than he did in his perfect game against them in his first start of the season.

Pokrovsky faced the Wolverines for the second time this season in the 13th Elmer Classic. The first time he threw a five-inning perfect game. This time, he gave up one hit and struck out 13 in six innings of a 5-0 win at the Elmer LL complex.

“I feel like I threw better than opening day,” the senior southpaw said. “I don’t think they were ready to face me opening day and I feel like I had more competition at the plate (tonight). They were fouling off my stuff, I wanted to keep going and keep coming at them.”

**Schalick left-hander Luke Pokrovsky holds the Elmer Classic trophy after pitching the Cougars to a 5-0 victory with six innings of one-hit shutout baseball.**

Pokrovsky lost his bid for a second perfect game on a third-inning walk to Chase Harding; it ended a string of 21 consecutive Wolverines he retired over a seven-inning stretch. He lost the no-hitter in the fourth on Harding’s solid two-out single to left.

The only reason he didn’t finish was he threw 99 pitches and reached his five-day limit after throwing 13 pitches Monday to close out Overbrook.

“Woodstown was a little off (the first time) … they had an opportunity to make adjustments, so it made it more challenging (in his mind) to actually go out there and throw,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said. “It was more impressive and he was more effective because he had to work a lot harder, I think, this time around.”

The Wolverines (10-5) put eight balls in play in this game, twice as many as they did in the perfect game.

“Not every game I’m going to get a perfect game or a no-hitter,” Pokrovsky said. “It’s fine. I flushed it (giving up the hit) and kept going.”

Even when the Wolverines threatened it didn’t faze him. The Wolverines loaded the bases with one out in the third inning on a pair of walks and a failed fielder’s choice, but the Penn signee fanned Rocco String with high heat for the second out and got Ty Coblentz on a deep fly to left to end the inning.

The Wolverines put two on with two outs in the fourth, then grounded sharply to third to end the inning.

“I knew they were on my off-speed and I wanted to stick with the same fastball,” the pitcher said. “I’ve faced Rocco a bunch of times the past three years and he loves the high fastball. He’s a good hitter, but I had to go high fastball. I just wanted to see if he would chase and he got it (to swing at).”

“He didn’t let things frustrate him,” O’Brien said. “You could tell by his body language he was going to go after the guy and get him. It wasn’t like, oh it’s not going my way, he was like no I’m going to get out of that situation. That’s what his body language said to me in that moment.”

Pokrovsky had a lot of incentive to pitch well. It was Schalick’s Senior Night and the pitcher’s two older brothers, both of whom are/were Division I players, came to watch him play for the first time this season. Woodstown won the last two Elmer Classic games and last year the Wolverines roughed him up for six runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings.

“Our main goal before the season started was to beat Woodstown and sweep Woodstown due to them beating us the past three years,” he said. “That was our main goal every single time. We practiced right before we were like we’ve got to beat Woodstown. Stay up, stay positive, we have to come out on top.”

Just as they did in the first meeting, the Cougars took the early lead, just not as pronounced. They scored 10 in the first inning of the first game. On this night they led 3-0 after two innings.

They scored one in the first on Lucas D’Agostino’s RBI double and two in the second when Eli Cummings dropped a soft RBI single into right field and Pokrovsky stretched a similarly soft flare to right into a double to score Cummings.

It stayed 3-0 until the sixth when Ricky Watt launched a two-run homer to left. It was the sophomore catcher’s first homer of this regular season and second of his career.

“I was swinging a little out of my shoes all night, but I came up and tried to help out the team,” Watt said. “I was just trying to be aggressive, anything in the zone I was swinging.

“I played Little League on every field here and I’ve been watching the Elmer games that Schalick’s played for just as many years. It’s definitely special to be able to hit one for myself. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.”

Almost overlooked in Pokrovsky’s performance and raising the Classic trophy was the fact with the win the Cougars (12-1) clinched their first Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title since 2021. Before then it had been 25 years since they won a pennant. They have one more division game left, Wednesday at Penns Grove.

“I was thinking they had (clinched) a share and then was, wait a second, they (Woodstown) have two losses in the division, we beat them both times, we’ve got one (game) left, so yeah we definitely clinched,” O’Brien said. “We won it back in 2021 but before that I’m thinking it was since ‘96 we won it. It was an accomplishment these guys had from the start, so I’m glad that they’ve reached one of their goals.”

NOTES: Since the winning team started being engraved on the trophy in 2012, Schalick leads the series 8-5 … This was Schalick’s third shutout win in the Elmer game since 2012 … All five seniors started for the Cougars … Woodstown had won five in a row, outscoring its opponents 47-7 in the stretch … The Cougars return to Elmer Friday night to play Salem, then they’re to Cooperstown where they’ll tour the Baseball Hall of Fame and play Bridgeton on Doubleday Field Monday .

Woodstown takes softball

TUESDAY SOFTBALL
Woodstown 13, Schalick 3
Salem 21, LEAP 6

On the softball side of the Classic, Woodstown cast all its pressure aside and played loose and it resulted in what Wolverines coach Rob Hildebrand called its “best game of the year” in a 13-3 win over the Cougars.

The Wolverines collected 12 hits and broke it open with a seven-run second inning. Hanna Hitchner highlighted the outburst with a three-run triple.

Ellie Wygand went 3-for-4 and like Hitchner had three RBIs. Shyann Higinbotham, whose dad Rick is Schalick’s head coach, had two hits and two RBIs, while Kendall Young had two hits and Talia Guardiscione had two RBIs.

“That’s a big win, huge win,” Hildebrand said. “Best game all year with hitting the ball. We have not hit the ball like that. We’re in midseason form now, waiting all year.”

Salem County Monday

Here are the results of Monday’s Salem County sports action

BASEBALL
Pennsville 14, Clayton 6: Luke Wood 5 RBIs; Jeff Wagner, Logan Streitz each 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Pennsville can claim a share of TCC Classic Division with win over Pitman Wednesday
Schalick 4, Overbrook 2: Lucas D’Agostino scattered six hits, fanned nine in six innings, Luke Pokrovsky fanned two in his closing inning, passed 300 career Ks; Ricky Watt, Pokrovsky 3 hits each; Schalick can claim TCC Diamond Division title with win over Woodstown Tuesday at Elmer LL
Glassboro 12, Penns Grove 1: The Bulldogs took a no-hitter into the fifth. Alex Paz drove in Penns Grove’s run.
Pitman 10, Salem 0: Two pitchers combined on one-hitter; Nick Watson HR, Hudson Rue 4 RBIs.

SOFTBALL
Pennsville 20, Clayton 4: Lily Edwards 4 hits, 4 RBIs; every starter had at least one hit in Eagles’ 21-hit attack.
Glassboro 24, Penns Grove 9: Scarlett Saicic 3 doubles, 6 RBIs. Penns Grove had a season-high runs
Pitman 14, Salem 1: Jess Bretz’ grand slam highlighted Panthers’ 14-run second inning; Isla Bohn 3 hits for Salem.
Schalick 12, Overbrook 8: Cougars erupt for nine runs in last two innings. Cloe Elliott 3×5, 5 RBIs; Maddie Brown 5×5, 3 RBIs.

GOLF
Schalick’s Jaxon Weber posted a 6-over-par 78 and finished tied for seventh in the South Jersey Group I sectional, but didn’t finish high enough to advance to the state group championship. The Cougars finished 12th as a team (365). Woodstown was 13th (375). Jack Bucksar and Erich Lipovsky had Woodstown’s low rounds (86).

Triton 194, Salem Tech 226

TENNIS
Deptford 3, Woodstown 2

LACROSSE
Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown

VOLLEYBALL
Highland 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-18, 25-18)

COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC 15, Atlantic Cape 4

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 5-11; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MAY 5
BASEBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Overbrook at Schalick
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Salem at Pitman
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Overbrook
GOLF
Salem Tech vs. Triton, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Burlington Twp., Green Acres Park
LACROSSE
Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown
VOLLEYBALL
Highland at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Atlantic Cape CC, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 6
BASEBALL
Pilgrim Academy at Salem
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
LEAP at Salem
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Gloucester Catholic, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Delsea, Centerton CC
Schalick girls in State Championship, Rutgers
TENNIS
Highland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Kingsway at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Wildwood at Schalick
TRACK
Woodstown at Penns Grove

MAY 7
BASEBALL
Pitman at Pennsville
Woodstown at Pennsauken Tech, 3:45 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Pitman
TENNIS
Vineland at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove
TRACK
Tri-County Conference Meet, Delsea, 3 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Clearview at Woodstown
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Riverside, 3:45 p.m.

MAY 8
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Wildwood, 3:45 p.m.
Salem at Clayton
Schalick at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Overbrook
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Woodstown
Pennsville at Wildwood
Penns Grove at Schalick
GOLF
Salem Tech vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Gloucester Catholic, Centerton CC
Schalick girls vs. Washington Twp. Centerton CC
Woodstown vs. Highland, Valley Brook CC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
GCIT at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Washington Twp.
Williamstown at Penns Grove

MAY 9
BASEBALL
Millville at Pennsville
South Hunterdon at Penns Grove, 4:15 p.m.
Salem vs. Schalick at Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Salem
Pennsville at Paulsboro
Schalick at Haddonfield
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Clearview
LACROSSE
Vineland at Woodstown
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Washington Twp.

MAY 10
BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown
Washington Twp. at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
Camden Catholic at Cherry Hill East, 10 a.m.
Consolation game, noon
Championship game, noon
SOFTBALL
Pennsville in Pitman Tournament
Woodstown in Williamstown Tournament
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddon Heights at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC in Region 19 Tournament, TBA

Tired and rushed

Schalick suffers first loss of season in Diamond Classic; in a span on 16 hours, seniors come back from class trip, play the game, then go to prom

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — Schalick was making its first appearance in the Diamond Classic in 29 years, but the circumstances of a senior year kept the Cougars from being their best.

It was a tired, rushed group of Cougars that suffered their first loss of the season, 10-4 to Haddonfield in the opening round of the 51st Classic Thursday. And there were reasons for it.

The team’s five seniors had gotten back in their South Jersey beds from the Senior Trip to Orlando at 3 a.m. Thursday morning. And they were back at school and the ballpark at 10 a.m. for the 3 p.m. game.

But that was only the half of it. The prom was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and most of the players, seniors or otherwise, were going. The game ended at 5:30 and they still had to clean up and slip into their tuxes, meaning a lot of prom dates were waiting at the door.

Senior Luke Pokrovsky drew the start for the Cougars (10-1) against Haddons’ ace Marty Foust.

Understandably, Pokrovsky wasn’t sharp. He came out with one out in the fourth inning, down 4-0 after giving up three hits and striking out seven, but walking four and hitting one. He wound up being charged with five runs.

“I’m really tired,” he said. “I came out trying to do something for the team but it was hard. Very hard.

“It’s been a long week, trying to get everything done and then having this game scheduled right on prom and getting home at 3 o’clock and having to be going into school early it’s hard to play as a team, especially for seniors, when half our team is seniors. Nobody was ready to play today.”

Pokrovsky’s first inning was very Luke-like, with the left-hander setting down Haddonfield in order on 12 pitches on a fly to left and two strikeouts. He worked through two runners in scoring position with one out and bases loaded with two in the second inning. It started to get away in the third and that’s when Cougars coach Sean O’Brien knew the effects of the schedule had kicked in.

The Haddons (10-4) scored three runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Their three runs in the third came with only one hit. Half of their runs were unearned.

“As much as you don’t want to make excuses you could see when we did I/O we were kind of flat, not doing things we usually do,’ Cougars coach Sean O’Brien said. “I knew it could go either way where they’d come out and maybe surprise me or we’d come out and look like we hadn’t played in a week. That’s the way we looked.”

Woodstown faced a similar scheduling squeeze against a smaller Diamond Classic field last year and decided not to play. If his seniors wouldn’t have been back in time to play O’Brien might have considered declining the invitation, but with three decades between appearance if at all possible he wanted his players to have the tournament experience.

“It does make it hard with the short window you can play, but I think it was more unfortunate of the scheduling with the school having prom and the senior trip back-to-back,” O’Brien said. “It’s too long of a layoff and there’s too much could go wrong in that situation where the kids just don’t have time to recuperate.

“I just wanted for these guys, the seniors, to have an opportunity to play in it because they’ve worked hard to get to this moment so they deserve it. If they couldn’t play I probably would’ve thought about it, but as long as the seniors were out here we’re going to give it a shot.”

Lucas D’Agostino, another senior, followed Pokrovsky to the mound and worked an inning and a third. He collected his 100th career strikeout during his stint, but didn’t realize it until he was in the outfield after being lifted in the fifth.

“The part of the seniors being away for the whole week wasn’t even so much the tiredness, it was just the team chemistry,” D’Agostino said. “They weren’t here to lead practices, weren’t here to make sure we were ready for this game and prepared. The tiredness does come into effect off little sleep, but … it was more mental than physical.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge, for sure. We tried to keep our head up as much as possible, but it was tough definitely to keep the mental strength to do that.”

The Cougars, the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, came to life in the fourth inning, finally getting on the board on Jamari Whitley’s RBI single. Whitley dropped a two-run single into right field in the seventh, too.

Photo by Brian Tortella

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 28-May 3; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

APRIL 28
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
LEAP at Salem
SOFTBALL
Paulsboro at Penns Grove
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Cumberland, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Glassboro
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Timber Creek, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Camden at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

APRIL 29
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Gateway
GOLF
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Wildwood at Penns Grove
TRACK
Glassboro at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.

APRIL 30
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Salem
Penns Grove at Pitman
SOFTBALL
Salem at Overbrook
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Cumberland, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Glassboro at Schalick
Woodstown at Penns Grove
TRACK
Pennsville at Overbrook
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Northampton at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 1
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Bridgeton
Wildwood at Salem
Diamond Classic
Haddonfield at Schalick, 3 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Lindenwold
Salem at Wildwood
GOLF
Carl Arena Tournament
TRACK
SJTCA at Delsea, 5 p.m.

MAY 2
BASEBALL
LEAP at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at LEAP
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Wildwood
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Ocean CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region 19 Tournament at Mercer
Salem CC vs. Delaware Tech, 10 a.m.
Lackawanna vs. Mercer, noon
Losers, 2 p.m.
Winners, 4 p.m.

MAY 3
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Millville, 11 a.m.
Salem at Mastery Charter, noon
TRACK
Schalick girls in SJTCA, Rancocas Valley, 1 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Ocean CC at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Region 19 Tournament at Mercer
Elimination game, 10 a.m.
Championship game, noon

Friday roundup

Woodstown baseball, girls lacrosse pick up wins; Schalick girls run at Penn Relays

BASEBALL

WOODSTOWN – Woodstown came out of the gate swinging, scored nine runs in the first inning and rolled over Gloucester Christian 11-0 Friday for its fifth win in a row. The big blows in the inning were Blake Rodriguez’ three-run double and a two-run double by Rocco String.

It was the fourth shutout delivered by the Wolverines’ pitchers this season.

GIRLS LACROSSE

WOODSTOWN 17, WEST DEPTFORD 12: Delaney Walker scored a career-tying eight goals for the Wolverines. Walker, who now has 117 career goals, scored eight times in a loss at Haddon Heights last season.

PENN RELAYS

PHILADELPHIA – Schalick’s girls 4×100 relay team of Gia Martellacci, Caileigh Schalick, Brooke Valentine and Phoebe Alward posted their best time of the season with a 51.65. The Cougars finished sixth in their heat and 71st in the elite field.

Their 4×400 relay team is scheduled to run Saturday.

Taking the fifth

Thursday roundup: Pennsville softball uses a five-run fifth inning to take down Gloucester Catholic; Woodstown 4×400 third in Penn Relays, includes baseball, tennis, golf, lacrosse and Salem CC softball

THURSDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 6, Gloucester Catholic 1
Woodstown 18, Penns Grove 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Savannah Brewer-Palverento is determined to throw her pitch when she’s in the circle. She approaches hitting the same way.

After falling behind 0-2 and fouling off two more pitches to the right side of the field, Brewer-Palverento straightened one out over the first baseman into right field for an opposite-field two-run single. It broke a 1-1 tie and sparked a five-run fifth inning that helped Pennsville take down Gloucester Catholic 6-1 for sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Classic Division.

“I think she put herself in hole 0-2, but that’s her call,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “Some (hitters) want to wait until they see that good pitch. I don’t know if she’s one of them, we don’t talk about it, but some want to see all their pitches, all the strikes they get. Some of them feel like they perform better when they have that stress on them.”

Interestingly, the Rams intentionally walked Kylie Harris, the state leader in hits, to load the bases for Brewer-Palverento. Jackson did the same thing to Madelyn McGinn with a runner on second in the fifth inning to set up a force and the Eagles got an inning-ending ground out on the next hitter.

The Eagles weren’t done after Brewer-Palverento’s tie-breaking hit, though. A walk to Sawyer Simmons reloaded the bases and Avery Watson followed with a bases-clearing, opposite-field triple to right make it 6-1.

“My dad kept telling the girls to hit it to right field, take the outside pitch because that’s where she was throwing most of the balls,” Jackson said. “He kept saying hit the ball to right field. Avery’s ball went out there and the girls wasn’t anywhere near it because she had shaded more towards right center. It fell in the right spot.”

The Rams scored the game’s first run in the first inning, but the Eagles tied it in the fourth on Watson’s RBI single. In the Eagles’ last eight games Watson is 14-for-23 with seven walks and 16 RBIs.

Brewer-Palverento pitched the first four innings giving up two hits, an unearned run and striking out six. Graillyn Weber threw two perfect innings of relief behind her.

After playing four games in four days for the second week in a row, the Eagles now have 10 days off. They did the same thing last year and when they returned won 10 in a row all the way into the South Jersey semifinals, so Jackson isn’t worried about rustiness when they come back.

“We did it last year, too,” she said. “I think we’ll be fine.”

WOODSTOWN 18, PENNS GROVE 0: The first six batters in the Wolverines’ lineup all had two hits and combined for 12 RBIs and pitchers Maddie Roback and Ava White combined on a four-inning no-hitter with five strikeouts.

The three Pennsville runners who scored ahead of Avery Watson’s triple applaud their benefactor at home plate. Top photo, Savannah Brewer-Palverento pushes her tie-breaking hit into right field. (Screen shots from Gamechanger video)

Track: Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA – Woodstown’s boys 4×400 relay team finished third in the South Jersey Small Schools race and just missed qualifying for the Philadelphia Area final at the Penn Relays.

The team of Joshua Crawford, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz and Karson Chew ran 3:22.25 and finished behind Camden (3:20.26) and Deptford (3:20.89). They were leading the race after usual anchor Crawford’s opening 400 meters (49.50).

Camden made the Philadelphia Area final as a flight champion and Deptford is one of three alternates.

The Schalick and Salem boys ran in the same flight of the High School Boys 4×100. The Schalick team of Michael Eberl, Kenai Simmons, Reggie Allen and David Stewart ran a 43.126 and finished second in their heat. Salem’s team of Jelani Beverly, Omarion Pierce, Terrance Smith and Anthony Parker ran a 43.7.
Schalick’s boys 4×400 team of Allen, Eberl, Stewart and Steve Chomo ran 3:39.99 and finished 13^th in its flight.

The Schalick and Salem girls 4×100 teams run Friday and the Schalick 4×400 runs Saturday.

Woodstown’s Kyle Reitz passes the baton to Karson Chew in the final exchange of their boys 4×400 New Jersey Small Schools race at the Penn Relays. The Wolverines placed third in their flight behind Camden and Deptford (Submitted photo)

Baseball

Woodstown 13, Penns Grove 2
Schalick 9, Glassboro 1

WOODSTOWN 13, PENNS GROVE 2: The Wolverines’ bats came alive in the fourth inning, erupting for seven runs to break it open. Blake Bialecki, Noah Williams and Walker Battavio had two-run singles in the inning and Tommy Tucci had an RBI triple.

SCHALICK 9, GLASSBORO 1: The Cougars broke open a close game with six runs in the sixth inning. J.T. Fleming had two hits and two RBIs, Luke Pokrovsky had a pair of doubles and Ricky Watt had two RBIs. Starting pitcher Jamari Whitley scattered six hits and gave up one run over five innings and struck out six.

Golf

Kingsway 153, Pennsville 222
Schalick vs. Cumberland
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown
Woodstown vs. Overbrook

KINGSWAY 153, PENNSVILLE 222: Kingsway’s Christopher Parris was low medalist with a 5-under-par 31 at RiverWinds GC.

Tennis

Pennsville 5, Clayton 0
Schalick 3, Haddon Heights 2

PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Chase Fronczkiewicz, 6-2, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Troy Hollis, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. James Mai, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Saywer Humphrey (P) def. Ian Johnson-Jacob Turpin, 6-0, 6-0
Jacob Cheeseman-Ian Peacock (P) def. Michael Tummings-Eliut Ramirez, 7-5, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 10-0, Clayton 1-5.

SCHALICK 3, HADDON HEIGHTS 2
Owen Peakes (H) def. George Gould, 6-7 (0-7), 6-3, 10-8
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Jackson Zalkind, 6-2, 6-0
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Mike Pender, 6-1, 6-3
David Santana-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Gavin Ewing-Milan Stocker, 6-2, 6-3
Aske Hammer-Nibal AlKhaltib El Baayni Abou (H) def. Kaden Barnes-Christian Negron, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11
Records: Schalick 8-4, Haddon Heights 6-3.

Lacrosse

Washington Twp. 14, Woodstown 3

College softball

REGION 19 SCORES
Lackawanna 11-8, Salem CC 2-7
Raritan Valley 10-7, Sussex 4-5
Middlesex 18-6, Bergen 6-4

SCRANTON, Pa. – Kizbelth Ortiz singled home Laniah Tasker with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give Lackawanna an 8-7 walk-off win over Salem CC and a sweep of their doubleheader.

The Mighty Oaks (17-23) are guaranteed a spot in the Region 19 Division II playoffs despite a losing record, but they’ll be limping into post-season play. Going into their final doubleheader of the season Saturday at Raritan Valley, the Mighty Oaks have lost nine of their last 10. They are 7-15 in April.

They led the nightcap 7-3 in the sixth inning, but Lackawanna tied it with four in the bottom of the sixth before winning it in the seventh.

Ella Hayes had four hits in the nightcap and six hits in the doubleheader for Salem. Callie Rozak three RBIs in the nightcap.

Lackawanna won the opener 11-2.

Finding a way

D’Agostino, Pokrovsky help Schalick baseball stay unbeaten with big win over Pitman; Schalick sweeps county track titles, all 3 county tennis winners sweep, and more

BASEBALL
Schalick 4, Pitman 2
Pennsville 14, Penns Grove 1
Woodstown 11, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – Lucas D’Agostino didn’t have a lot of pitches to play with when they handed him the ball Tuesday for one of his team’s biggest regular-season games of the year, so he knew he had to be efficient. Not perfect, but efficient.

The Schalick senior had only 66 pitches left on his weekly limit and he didn’t waste many. The RCSJ-Cumberland signee threw four innings of shutout ball to give his team a chance and his defense and Luke Pokrovsky did the rest as the Cougars beat Pitman 4-2 to remain undefeated through its battle of top five South Jersey Group I schools.

“I probably would’ve given him another day’s rest but he was willing to step up,” Cougars coach Sean O’Brien said. “If he would’ve had more pitches he might’ve gone longer.”

As it was, the RCSJ-Cumberland signee gave the Cougars all he had — and a little more. Because the rules allow him to finish a batter once he hits his threshold, he threw 69 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four.

“They eliminated us last year in the playoffs and that was pretty much in the back of everyone’s mind,” D’Agostino said. “I knew I only had 66 pitches left and couldn’t get too ahead of myself going for strikeouts. I had to let my defense work and they did a pretty danged good job.

“I had the same idea the whole time: Pitch to contact to get weak ground balls, weak fly outs, really rely on my defense. That’s important to me. I trust all seven guys behind me.”

The defense played a big part in helping him keep the Panthers (9-4) off the board. Jamari Whitley made a nice play at third on Jake Sharrow’s swinging bunt with runners at second and third to end the second inning and the Cougars turned a bases-loaded double play in the third.

“That (Whitley) play determined a lot,” D’Agostino said. “If they score two runs there you have the meat of the lineup coming up and maybe a tied game. That helped me lock it down.”

With 12 pitches left in his pocket, D’Agostino got through the fourth inning with little excitement then left it to the bullpen with a 4-0 lead. The Cougars got him three unearned runs in the second inning to grab the lead and then Pokrovsky led off the third with his fourth homer of the season and third in four games, tying his two brothers for the Schalick career home run lead (16).

Evan Glaspey came behind D’Agostino and gave up two runs in the fifth but Pokrovsky closed the door with two innings of one-hit shutout relief.

“Especially with us limited pitching wise, they dug deep and found a way to win,” O’Brien said.

The win solidified the Cougars’ hold on No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They are now 9-0 sending observers to scramble to find a better start. The loss dropped Pitman to fifth behind Pennsville, a team it had beaten earlier this season.

“The idea is hopefully to be the best team in Schalick history,” D’Agostino said. “I’m really excited to not have a loss under our belt going into May. You compare us to last year, the amount of improvement we’ve seen is awesome. I don’t know who the top Schalick team ever was, hopefully we’re inching pretty close if we’re not already there.”

PENNSVILLE 14, PENNS GROVE 1: Connor Starn and Mason O’Brien both had two hits and two RBIs and three pitchers struck out 15 while holding the Red Devils to one hit as the Eagles won their last varsity game of the month. Logan Cowperthwait pitched three no-hit innings behind starter Logan Streitz and struck out seven. Chase Burchfield hit a pair of rockets to left field that were misplayed into errors and will remain at 98 career RBIs at least until the Eagles return to varsity action May 5.

WOODSTOWN 11, SALEM 0: Walker Battavio had two hits and two RBIs and Ty Coblentz drove in a pair of runs as the Wolverines won for the second day in a row. Blake Rodriguez and Tommy Tucci combined on a five-inning two-hitter. Chase Davis had both of Salem’s hits.

TRACK: Schalick sweeps county crowns

PENNSVILLE – Schalick sprinter Gia Martellacci was named the most outstanding athlete among the girls while David Stewart and Salem’s Anthony Parker shared the boys award as Schalick swept team titles in the Salem County Track and Field Championships at Pennsville.

Martellacci won three individual events and ran a leg on the winning 4×400 relay to help the Schalick girls score 133 points. She tied for first in the 100 (12.83) with Salem’s Raniyah Parsons-Smith and won the 200 (26.41) and 400 (1:00.26). The relay team won in 4:15.44.

Teammate Jordan Hadfield also won three events (800, 1600, 3200) and ran a leg on the relay. She broke her own meet record in the 1600.

Stewart and Parker both won three events in the boys meet. Stewart won the 100 (11.22), 400 (49.19) and triple jump (43-1.5) to help the Cougars score 102 points for the team win. Parker won the 110 hurdles (14.32), 400 hurdles (56.35) and long jump (20-8.5).

Woodstown edged Salem by a point for second place in the boys meet. Jacob Marino won both distance races and the Wolverines’ 4×400 relay team that’s heading to the Penn Relays (Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz) broke the 10-year-old meet record.

SALEM COUNTY TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 102, Woodstown 72, Salem 71, Penns Grove 55, Pennsville 35
MVP: Anthony Parker, Salem; David Stewart, Schalick.
100: David Stewart, Schalick 11.22
110 hurdles: Anthony Parker, Salem 14.32200: Zaeshawn Mills, Schalick 22.41
400: David Stewart, Schalick 49.19
400 hurdles: Anthony Parker, Salem 56.35
800: Joshua Crawford, Woodstown 1:58.20
1600: Jacob Marino, Woodstown 4:46.83
3200: Jacob Marino, Woodstown 10:37.60
4×400: Woodstown (Joshua Crawford, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas, Kyle Reitz) 3:27.05 (meet record, old record 3:27.90, Schalick, 2015)
Discus: Ethan McLean, Schalick 138-3
High jump: Reggie Allen, Schalick 5-10
Javelin: Connor Ayars, Pennsville 171-1
Long jump: Anthony Parker, Salem 20-8.5
Pole vault: Gradin Buzby, Salem, 11-0
Shot put: Sheldon Goldsborogh, Schalick 45-2
Triple jump: David Stewart, Schalick 43-1.5

GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 133, Woodstown 70, Pennsville 58, Salem 54, Penns Grove 20
MVP: Gia Martellacci, Schalick
100: (tie) Gia Martellacci, Schalick; Raniyah Parsons-Smith, Salem 12.83
100 hurdles: Lia Covely, Woodstown 17.82
200: Gia Martellacci, Schalick 26.41
400: Gia Martellacci, Schalick 1:00.26
400 hurdles: Audrey Boggs, Salem 1:10.65
800: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2:21.84
1600: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 5:15.02 (meet record, old record 5:16.54, Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 2023)
3200: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 11:55.47
4×400: Schalick (Brooke Valentine, Sophia Harris, Jordan Hadfield, Gia Martellacci) 4:15.44
Discus: Tatiyonna Crawford, Pennsville 96-2
High jump: Kallie Morrison, Pennsville 4-10
Javelin: Allyson Green, Schalick 100-6
Long jump: Phoebe Alward, Schalick 15-10.25
Pole vault: Megan Morris, Pennsville 10-6
Shot put: Ava Rodgers, Salem 32-11
Triple jump: Jaelynn Jarmon, Schalick 32-9

TENNIS: Three 5-0 winners

TUESDAY’S SCORES
Pennsville 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 5, Pitman 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0

PENNSVILLE 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Rene Ruiz, 6-0, 6-0
Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Adan Gonzalez-Juan Ortiz, 6-1, 6-1
Matthew Forino-Carter Willis (P) def. Jesus Arredondo-Jayden Murga Santos, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 9-0, Penns Grove 1-4.

SCHALICK 5, PITMAN 0
George Gould (S) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-0, 6-1
Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Nolan Russell, 6-1, 6-1
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Jaron Scull, 6-4, 6-0
Cayden Brzozowski-David Santana (S) def. Jonah Raymer-Ben Williams, 6-1, 2-6, 10-4
Kaden Barnes-Christian Negron (S) def. Spencer Bianchini-Liam Etter, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
Records: Schalick 7-4, Pitman 1-9.

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0
Drew Stengel (WO) def. Connor Kustera, 6-2, 6-1
John Farrell (WO) def. Thomas Mason, 6-3, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis (WO) won by forfeit
Mason Shimp-Luke Shaw (WO) def. Alan Marcos-Gabe Martinez, 6-4, 7-5
Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Mohammed Shihab-Gerardo Trinidad-Palillero, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 8-2, Overbrook 1-7.

SOFTBALL: Pennsville, Woodstown win

TUESDAY’S SCORES
Pennsville 19, Penns Grove 0
Pitman at Schalick
Woodstown 11, Salem 4

WOODSTOWN 11, SALEM 4: Talia Guardascione hit a two-run inside-the-park homer in the second inning to give the Wolverines a 5-0 lead. Guardascione, Shyann Higinbotham, Hannah Hitchner and Sadie Moore all scored twice.

LACROSSE

KINGSWAY 15, WOODSTOWN 2: Keegan Borkowski scored five goals and Owen Dougherty had three for the undefeated Dragons (8-0).

GIRLS LACROSSE

WOODSTOWN 18, KINGSWAY 5: Delaney Walker and Jaime Deal each scored six goals and Emma Morgan had four for the Wolverines. Walker, a junior, now has 108 career goals.

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 21-27; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

APRIL 21
BASEBALL
Kings Christian at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
Salem at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
Delsea at Woodstown, 10:30 a.m.
GOLF
Woodstown vs. GCIT, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Triton at Schalick, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 22
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove
Schalick at Pitman
Woodstown at Salem
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove
Pitman at Schalick
Salem at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Cumberland, Running Deer CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Pinelands GC
Schalick girls vs. Delsea, White Oaks CC
TENNIS
Schalick vs. Pitman, Shertle Park 11 a.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Salem County Championships, Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 5:15 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at GCIT, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CC of Morris at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 23
BASEBALL
Collingswood at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Cumberland at Salem
Kingsway at Woodstown
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
GOLF
Pennsville vs. West Deptford, River Winds GC, 3:30 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Pitman, Pitman GC, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Pitman at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddonfield
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 24
BASEBALL
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown
GOLF
Pennsville vs. Kingsway, River Winds GC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Overbrook, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TENNIS
Clayton at Pennsville, 3 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Schalick
TRACK
Penn Relays
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Washington Twp.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Lackawanna, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 25
TENNIS
Schalick at Clayton
Williamstown at Penns Grove
TRACK
Penn Relays
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at West Deptford
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Union, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 26
BASEBALL
Gloucester County Christian at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
LACROSSE
Woodstown at Bishop Eustace, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Union at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Raritan Valley CC, noon

Schalick sweeps

Cougars use late rallies to beat Cherry Hill West, Haddon Twp. to remain undefeated; Woodstown falls to streaking Sterling

SATURDAY BASEBALL
Sterling 8, Woodstown 3

William G. Rohrer Tournament
at Haddon Twp.
Schalick 5, Cherry Hill West 4
Schalick 8, Haddon Twp. 2

By Riverview Sports News

WESTMONT – Tournament MVP Luke Pokrovsky’s two-run homer capped a run of three consecutive two-run hits that powered an eight-run sixth inning that catapulted Schalick over host Haddon Twp. 8-2 to win the William G. Rohrer Tournament and remain undefeated.

The Cougars (8-0) trailed 1-0 going into the inning. Lucas D’Agostino tied the game with a one-out double, then later in the inning Elijah Cummings delivered a two-run double, followed Evan Sepers’ two-run, followed by Pokrovsky’s homer. They added another run on Jamari Whitley’s bases-loaded walk.

The big inning made a winning pitcher of Cole Hartley, who scattered four hits over the first six innings and struck out two. Evan Glaspey shut the door in the seventh with two strikeouts.

The Cougars also rallied late to beat Cherry Hill West in their first game 5-4.

They trailed the Lions 4-3 going into the fifth inning. Sepers and Pokrvosky opened the inning with singles, then Ricky Watt drilled a triple to center to give the Cougars the lead.

The Cougars took a 3-1 lead in the second on RBI singles by J.T. Fleming, Glaspey and Sepers, but the Lions answered with three in the third to retake the lead. Pokrovsky then shut the Lions down with three innings of two-hit shutout relief.

The 8-0 start is Schalick’s best in more than 14 years and the Cougars’ longest winning streak since an 11-game run in 2021.

The Cougars, currently No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, face a big test Tuesday against No. 4 Pitman.

STERLING 8, WOODSTOWN 3: Gavin McCormick held the Wolverines to one hit over the first five innings as the Silver Knights (9-1) won their ninth in a row and matched last year’s win total (9-16).

The Wolverines’ only hit off McCormick was Walker Battavio’s second-inning triple. Battavio scored on a squeeze to make it 2-1. A couple Woodstown errors at the start of the fourth inning opened the door for Sterling to extend its lead to 5-1.