Rams hold slim lead in girls team standings after first day; 3 county girls win titles, 18 athletes and three relays qualify for states, meet concludes Saturday
By Riverview Sports News
PENNSAUKEN – Karima Davenport-White won the long jump, four of her Salem teammates and a relay qualified for the state meet in eight other events and the Rams grabbed a slim lead in the team standings Friday after the first day of the South Jersey Group I Sectional Track and Field Meet.
The Salem girls picked up 53 points in the nine events scored and hold a two-point lead over Audubon. Woodbury is third with 39 points. The meet wraps Saturday.
Davenport-White won the long jump by four inches with a personal best 17 feet, one-half inch.
Teammate Anna Buzby qualified for states in three individual events, finishing second in the 800 and 400 hurdles and fourth in the pole vault. Dominique Lewis finished second in the shot and sixth in the javelin.
Ava Rodgers and Rhionna Timmons qualified for state with fourth-place finishes in the shot and long jump, respectively. The Rams’ 4×100 relay team also advanced with a second-place finish.
“The girls did an amazing job,” Rams coach Spencer Jarrett said. “Their energy was unmatched. It was a team effort, everyone picking up each other’s slack — how a team should be.”
Davenport-White was one of three Salem County girls to win sectional championships Friday. Schalick junior Allyson Green won the javelin with a personal best 108-0 and Pennsville junior won the pole vault with a personal best 9-6.
Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield qualified for states in two events (3200, 800), while teammate Grace O’Neill (400 hurdles) and Penns Grove’s Meely Horace and Daivonnah Thomas both qualified in the 100. Schalick’s 4×100 relay team also qualified.
On the boys side, Woodstown’s Cole Lucas and Salem’s Pop Jackson were the highest Salem County finishers and the triple jump was clearly the best event.
Lucas finished second in the 800 (1:59.66) and Jackson finished second in the triple jump (45-0).
There were three Salem County athletes qualifying for state in the triple jump. In addition to Jackson, Penns Grove’s Khalim Smith was third (44-8) and Schalick’s David Stewart was fifth (44-4).
Woodstown’s Joshua Crawford (400) and Jacob Marino (3200) and Schalick’s Ethan McLean (discus) and 4×100 relay team also qualified for the state meet.
Glassboro leads the boys team standings with 64 points. Woodstown is sixth (13), Salem is T-10 (8), Penns Grove is T-12 (6) and Schalick is 14th (5).
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I SECTIONALS
(Salem County state qualifiers)
BOYS
Team scores: Glassboro 64, Gloucester 31, Woodbury 29, Riverside 24, Audubon 17, Woodstown 13, Paulsboro 12, Clayton 11, Burlington City 10, Salem 8, Gateway 8, Penns Grove 6, Palmyra 6, Schalick 5, Haddon Twp. 2, Buena 2.
4×100: 5. Schalick 43.59.
800: 2. Cole Lucas, Woodstown, 1:59.66; 4. Joshua Crawford, Woodstown, 2:01.59
3200: 6. Jacob Marino, Woodstown, 10:23.29
Discus: 6. Ethan McLean, Schalick, 136-2
Triple jump: 2. DaviYonn Jackson, Salem, 45-0; 3. Khalim Smith, Penns Grove, 44-8; 5. David Stewart, Schalick, 44-4
GIRLS
Team scores: Salem 53, Audubon 51, Woodbury 39, Schalick 30, Clayton 29, Haddon Twp. 19, Glassboro 12, Riverside 10, Pennsville 10, Maple Shade 9, Buena 6, Wildwood 6, Penns Grove 3, Gloucester City 2.
4×100: 3. Salem 50.85; 4. Schalick 51.70
800: 2. Anna Buzby, Salem, 2:20.17; 3. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 2:22.33
400 hurdles: 2. Anna Buzby, Salem, 1:06.15; 5. Grace O’Neill, Schalick, 1:08.36
100: 5. Meely Horace, Penns Grove, 12.65; 6. Daivonnah Thomas, Penns Grove, 12.68
3200: 2. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 11:10.90
Shot: 2. Dominique Lewis, Salem, 35-7.5; 4. Ava Rodgers, Salem, 33-2
Javelin: 1. Allyson Green, Schalick, 108-0; 6. Dominique Lewis, Salem, 100-8
Long jump: 1. Karima Davenport-White, Salem, 17-0.5; 4. Rhionna Timmons, Salem, 16-7.25
Pole vault: 1. Megan Morris, Pennsville, 9-6; 4. Anna Buzby, Salem, 8-6
Category: SCHALICK
Semis showdown set
Pennsville headed to another epic showdown with Pitman looking to finally solve the Panthers in the South Jersey Group I semifinals Friday; Woodstown, Schalick both fall in the quarterfinals.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BOYS TENNIS
Wednesday’s Quarterfinals
(1) Haddon Twp. 5, (8) Overbrook 0 (Tues.)
(4) Middle Twp. 5, (5) Woodstown 0
(3) Pennsville 5, (6) Buena 0
(2) Pitman 4, (7) Schalick 1
Friday’s Semifinals
Middle Twp. (14-7) at Haddon Twp. (15-5)
Pennsville (18-3) at Pitman (17-7)
MIDDLE TWP. 5, WOODSTOWN 0
Simon Hardin (M) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-1, 6-1
Justen Wen (M) def. Drew Stengel, 7-5, 6-2
Tommy Barber (M) def. Erich Lipovsky, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
Jack Morton-Jake King (M) def. Ben Stengel-Joseph Kurpis, 7-5, 6-3
Brandyn Acevedo-Miles Stafford (M) def. Luke Shaw-John Farrell, 7-5, 6-2
Records: Woodstown 13-7, Middle Twp. 14-7.
PENNSVILLE 5, BUENA 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Donimic Longona, 6-0, 6-2
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Stephen Pepper, 6-2, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Jonas Regnaert, 6-0, 6-0
Noah Flitcraft-Noah Bohn (P) def. Gabe Ridolfo-Matthew Lillia, 6-2, 6-2
Luke Chamberlain-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Michael Letushko-Joshua Sharpe, 6-3, 6-2
Records: Buena 18-4, Pennsville 18-3.
PITMAN 4, SCHALICK 1
Maddox Marker (P) def. George Gould, 7-5, 6-0
Chase Rollins (P) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-0, 6-3
Cole Kelly (P) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-3, 6-1
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. NA, 6-2, 4-6, 10-8
Michael Fisicaro-Max Pappalardo (P) def. Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Schalick 16-8, Pitman 17-7.
Stomping into the semis
Woodstown hits back-to-back jacks in first inning, slams door on Pennsville, advances to SJ Group I baseball semifinals; Schalick falls under weight of errors
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s Quarterfinals
(1) Audubon 11, (8) Haddon Twp. 1
(5) Woodstown 8, (4) Pennsville 3
(3) Pitman 6, (6) Schalick 2
(2) Gloucester 8, (7) Wildwood 4
Friday’s Semifinals
Woodstown (17-9) at Audubon (19-9)
Pitman (20-6) at Gloucester (20-7)
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The official height of home plate (not that anyone cares to measure it) is one inch and it is supposed to be planted level with the batter’s box.
After Andrew Pedrick and Rocco String stomped their big shoes on the dish to celebrate back-to-back homers in the first inning of their South Jersey Group I quarterfinal with Pennsville Wednesday, instead of dusting off the plate somebody probably needed to remeasure and replant it.
Pedrick and String went back-to-back to give the Wolverines a three-run lead right out of the gate and set the tone in an eventual 8-3 victory. Pedrick dropped his size 12 on it first and then, just as the plate was returning to its original shape, String put his size 15 right on top of it with flourish.
“I do it all the time, but here I just needed to do it because I needed to make a statement to these guys,” String said. “Losing to them (earlier in the season) I really wanted to beat them real bad, so I needed to make something.”
If the Wolverines wanted to “let ‘em know you’re here” as someone shouted from the dugout after String’s shot, call it mission accomplished. They probably heard it all the way to Elmer with the energy the home runs injected to an already electric atmosphere.
The homers came after Brent Williams brought Jack Knorr home from third with a sacrifice fly. Knorr opened the game with a double.
It was the second time in their careers Pedrick and String have homered in the same game – they did last year against Salem – but it was the first time they’ve gone back-to-back. String has now homered in back-to-back playoff games.
“I think that’s what really got us up,” Pedrick said. “We’re not really a home run-hitting team, so when we got three runs in the first inning, two off two bombs, it’s just crazy, especially back-to-back like that. I was going nuts. I was jumping up and down.
“I just think we wanted to let them know we were here early. We don’t usually come out firing like that, so getting those three runs in the first inning that really put them down and got us up.”
Woodstown coach Marc DeCastro didn’t read anything more into the back-to-back homers other than it gave his team a 3-0 and a little cushion to play with “a little more freedom so if they scored a run it wasn’t the end of the world.”
The Eagles (17-10) got that run in the second inning on Jacob Grant’s sacrifice bunt and it wasn’t the end of the world for the Wolverines. Grant’s shoulder injury kept him from swinging away, but nothing was going to keep the Eagles’ only senior from playing in the biggest game of the year.
After the initial energy from both teams, the game settled into the intensity of a typical game between rivals. That is, until Woodstown broke it open with five in the top of the top of the fifth.
The Wolverines sent eight men to the plate. Williams brought home a run with a single that got through the leftfielder, String brought two home with a single that got through the centerfielder and Ty Coblentz and Caiden Spinelli drove in runs with ground outs to the right side of the infield.
Pennsville got two in the bottom of the fifth on Cohen Petrutz’ two-run single, but it wasn’t nearly enough to catch up to the Wolverines.
“They came out and set the tone,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “They barreled up some balls. It’s a tough pill to swallow and it’s kind of indicative of how the rest of the game went. They set the tone and they tacked on, did the little things they needed to do.
“Like I told those guys, we got beat today. There was no one call. They hit better, they threw better and they won a baseball game and sometimes that happens.”
The fifth-seeded Wolverines (17-9) will now travel to top-seeded Audubon (19-9) Friday for one of the South Jersey Group I semifinals. They beat the Green Wave earlier this season, 8-3.
Knorr started the game on the mound for Woodstown Wednesday, but was lifted after walking two of the first three batters he faced. Aaron Foote stomped out that fire and pitched into the fifth to get the win. Michael Valente and Dante Holmes finished it up. Peyton O’Brien took the loss for Pennsville.
Knorr, Valente and Holmes all will be available “in some way, fashion or form” to pitch in the Audubon game. The starter, DeCastro said after the game, is to be determined.
PITMAN 6, SCHALICK 2: The Cougars picked the wrong time to have a difficult day in the field.
Pitman took advantage of six Schalick errors to either score runs or extend innings in their South Jersey Group I playoff game. The Panthers (20-6) advance to play at second-seeded Gloucester in Friday’s semifinals.
The Cougars (15-11) led twice in the game, but each time lost it under the weight of the miscues.
Luke Pokrovsky gave them a 1-0 lead with a homer in the first inning, but Pitman tied it in the home half on one of three errors in the inning.
Ricky Watt gave them a 2-1 lead with a RBI single in the third, but Pitman took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning when two runs scored on an infield error. Two more errors helped along a three-run sixth that put the game away.
Pokrovsky pitched the whole game for Schalick. The junior lefthander gave up six hits, three earned runs and struck out nine to finish the season with 122 strikeouts and a 1.09 ERA.
Love on the links
Kingsway’s Parrish, Kuminka, dating off the course, medalists in Tri-County Showcase; Williamstown boys, Kingsway girls win team titles
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITMAN – The next time Christopher Parrish and Carly Kuminka are in their favorite Italian restaurant together for a night out, they’ll have a little bit more to talk about than how things went at school that day.
The two Kingsway underclassmen won their respective medalist prizes Tuesday in the Tri-County Showcase at Pitman Golf Course. While it’s not the first time either of them have won, it’s the first time they’ve won on the same day since they’ve started dating.
Parrish, a sophomore, posted a 1-over-par 71 to win the boys title by a shot over Gloucester Tech’s Jamie Ciesielka and two over Justin Forman of Washington Twp. Kuminka, a junior, shot 83 and defended her girls title by five shots over two-time Salem/Cumberland girls champion Nicole Tarquinio of Cumberland Regional.
“It’s cool,” Parris said. “I was watching when we finished and she was like four ahead and I was like, Wow, we could actually both win this. It’s a great way to go into next year.”
“It’s really cool, it’s nice; I’m happy for him,” Kuminka said. “There’s not a lot of tournaments we both play in together.”
The two met through high school golf and have been an item now for about a year. They play “a lot” of golf together, which Carly says is “really fun.” She said Parrish usually gets the better of their competition “because he’s really consistent.”
Pulling off his win brought Parrish a measure of revenge after losing the Gloucester County Tournament here Thursday in a sudden-death playoff to Forman, one of his foursome partners Tuesday and one of the players he was battling with down the stretch.
Five days ago, Parrish and Forman both got around in regulation in 72. Forman was leading by two going to 18, but Parrish birdied and Forman three-putted for bogey to force the playoff. Forman won it when Parrish missed an 18-finch par putt on the second extra hole.
“After getting second Thursday in a playoff, to win today and beat Justin, who I love playing with because we play so close, felt great,” Parrish said. “I really wanted to get back at him today … I wanted to definitely make sure I won today. Shoot a good number and see if I win today.”
Parrish had no such misadventures on the greens this day. In fact, he made three mid-range birdies in a row at 12, 13 and 14 to climb into contention, but perhaps the biggest putt of his round was the one he made on 15 to save par.
“I think it’s only the second time in my life I made three birdies in a row,” he said. “It’s definitely not something I do often. But after I bogey 11, a hole I tripled on Thursday, it was like a win, but (with the holes coming up) if I can just hit greens and I can get my line and hit a good putt I can easily make birdies on these holes. That’s what I did.
“I knew I had to get something going because I was hitting the ball great, I was hitting a lot of greens, so I was like on the back if I could just get the putter going and keep hitting greens, get up and down a few times, I can definitely score pretty well on the back.”
On Tuesday, he ultimately was locked in a three-way battle down the stretch with Forman and Ciesielka, who was playing in the group ahead of him.
Forman was even through 12 holes, but fell back with a double-bogey on the par-3 on 14, the victim of some wicked backspin that brought his tee ball into the par-3 all the way back off the green. He bounced back with a birdie on 15, but bogeyed two of his last three holes.
Ciesielka was 2-under through his first seven holes and held a one-shot lead after No. 16, bur he bogeyed 17 and 18 and needed to make a 30-foot birdie on No. 1 to force a playoff. He finished second for the second year in a row. Forman finished third.
“I’m bummed I didn’t shoot where I thought I would, but all in all it’s a better score than Thursday (81 in the Gloucester County Tournament here); it’s really what I wanted,” Ciesielka said.
Pennsville’s Jacob Isaac posted the low round from a Salem County golfer. He posted a 10-over 80 on his first trip seeing the course that tied for sixth. His round featured a chip-in birdie on No. 17 and “six or seven” one-putts that kept him in the game.
Salem/Cumberland runner-up Jeffrey Covely of Woodstown also had a top 10 (T-9) with an 84 highlighted by birdies on 7 and 13.
Williamstown’s boys and the Kingsway girls (Kuminka and Ava Volpe) won the team titles. The Braves counted fourth-place Cole Gaetens’ 77 and three 84s. Woodstown finished third in the boys race, six shots ahead of fourth-place Schalick.
TRI-COUNTY SHOWCASE
At Pitman Golf Course
| BOYS TEAM | SCORE | GIRLS TEAM | SCORE |
| Williamstown | 329 | Kingsway | 180 |
| Triton | 351 | Clearview | 184 |
| Woodstown | 364 | Washington Twp. | 193 |
| Schalick | 370 | Cumberland | 206 |
| Gloucester Cath. | 391 | Schalick | 224 |
| Pitman | 411 | GCIT | 224 |
| Williamstown | 225 | ||
| Delsea | 255 | ||
| Wildwood | 273 |
| BOYS TOP 15 | SCHOOL | SCORE |
| Christopher Parrish | Kingsway | 37-34–71 |
| Jamie Ciesielka | GCIT | 34-38–72 |
| Justin Forman | Washington Twp. | 36-37–73 |
| Cole Geatens | Williamstown | 37-40–77 |
| Enrique Altmann | GCIT | 37-41–78 |
| Jacob Isaac | Pennsville | 39-41–80 |
| Luke Canino | Washington Twp. | 39-41–80 |
| Nick Renz | Gloucester Cath. | 40-43–83 |
| Bradyn Skokowski | Triton | 41-43–84 |
| Andrew Michalski | Williamstown | 44-40–84 |
| Brady Geatens | Williamstown | 43-41–84 |
| Julian Boyer | Deptford | 42-42–84 |
| Jeffrey Covely | Woodstown | 45-39–84 |
| Gavin McClaskey | Williamstown | 42-42–84 |
| Isaiah Garcia | Triton | 43-43–86 |
| GIRLS TOP 15 | SCHOOL | SCORE |
| Carly Kuminka | Kingsway | 41-42–83 |
| Nicole Tarquinio | Cumberland | 45-43–88 |
| Tessa Reilley | Washington Twp. | 46-45–91 |
| Lydia Bernardi | Clearview | 46-46–92 |
| Stella Bernardi | Clearview | 46-46–92 |
| Sarah Kaestner | Clearview | 45-49–94 |
| Ava Volpe | Kingsway | 48-49–97 |
| Delaney Schwartz | Washington Twp. | 52-49–101 |
| Alivia Wirtz | GCIT | 53-50–103 |
| Sienna Longo | Clearview | 52-52–104 |
| Kaci Adams | Williamstown | 49-56–105 |
| Sophia Stultz | OLMA | 53-57–110 |
| Julie Swierczynski | Woodstown | 54-57–111 |
| Casey Widdifield | Schalick | 53-58–111 |
| Hannah Widdifield | Schalick | 58-55–113 |
TCC pairings
Here are the pairings for Tuesday’s Tri-County Conference Showcase golf tournament at Pitman GC
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
At Pitman GC
8 a.m. shotgun
BOYS PAIRINGS
1: Christopher Parrish (Kingsway), Julian Boyer (Deptford), Justin Forman (Washington Twp.), Brady Geatens (Williamstown).
2: Lyle Petersen (Kingsway), Cole Geatens (Williamstown), Jamie Ciesielka (GCIT), Luke Canino (Washington Twp.).
3: Gavin McClaskey (Williamstown), Jacob Isaac (Pennsville), Lance Creighton (Schalick), Jacob Schermerhorn (Woodstown).
4: Andrew Michalski (Williamstown), Enrique Altmann (GCIT), Jaxon Weber (Schalick), Jackson DeAngelo (Clearview).
5: Isaiah Garcia (Triton), Ryan Johnson (Schalick), Kyle Brainard (Woodstown), Thomas Luu (Clearview).
6: Dylan Convery (Timber Creek), Bradyn Skokowski (Triton), Seth Fisher (Schalick), Jeffrey Covely (Woodstown).
7: Hunter Cannon (Delsea), Mac Weldon (Highland), Billy Stuski (Gloucester Catholic), Sean Costello (Deptford).
8: Daniele Sanzone (Wildwood), Gabriel Smith (Delsea), Connor Marvel (Highland), Nick Renz (Gloucester Catholic).
9: Joey Zubert (Pitman), Aidan Young (Timber Creek), Luke Venuto (Clayton), Mason Griffith (Salem Tech).
10: Luke Discoll (Pitman), Mikey Joyce (Triton), Stephen Wilchensky (Cumberland), Max Webb (Woodstown).
11: Owen Boulton (Pitman), Samuel Thompson (Cumberland), Dylan Waller (Pennsville), Billy Ginipro (Gloucester Catholic).
12: Logan Sharpnack (Pitman), Leo Impagliazzo (Triton), Jeffrey Boyd (Overbrook), T.J. Pisano (Gloucester Catholic).
13: Vance Elder (Overbrook), Austin Short (Salem Tech), John Shoemaker (Wildwood).
GIRLS PAIRINGS
14: Stella Bernardi (Clearview), Nicole Tarquinio (Cumberland), Carly Kuminka (Kingsway), Tessa Reilley (Washington Twp.).
15: Sarah Kaestner (Clearview), Hannah Widdifield (Schalick), Ava Volpe (Kingsway), Delaney Schwartz (Washington Twp.)
16: Lydia Bernardi (Clearview), Kaci Adams (Williamstown), Alivia Wirtz (GCIT), Maahishee Patel (Cumberland).
17: Sienna Longo (Clearview), Isabella Gordon (Williamstown), Julia Swierczynski (Woodstown), Lilianna Himstedt (OLMA).
18A: Casey Widdifield (Schalick), Lindsey Harris (GCIT), Jessica Johnson (Wildwood), Brooke Prager (Delsea).
18B: Leigh Ann Nage (Clayton), Cheyenne Cope (Wildwood), Sarah Mathiesen (Delsea), Sophia Stultz (OLMA).
Cover photo: Schalick’s Ryan Johnson (L) and Woodstown teammates Jeffrey Covely (C) and Jacob Schermerhorn on the green of the first hole of a sudden-death playoff in last week’s Salem/Cumberland county tournament. All three will be playing in Tuesday’s Tri-County Conference Showcase..
Tough time for tough inning
‘Tougher’ inning dashes Penns Grove’s hopes in baseball playoffs, all favorites win, also includes golf, SJ Group I tennis
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Audubon 14, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 3
No. 8 Haddon Twp. 8, No. 9 Buena 1
No. 5 Woodstown 3, No. 12 Maple Shade 1
No. 4 Pennsville 10, No. 13 Gateway 0
No. 6 Schalick 3, No. 11 Paulsboro 1
No. 3 Pitman 13, No. 14 Glassboro 0
No. 7 Wildwood 2, No. 10 Cape May Tech 1
No. 2 Gloucester 16, No. 15 Penns Grove 3
SECOND ROUND (May 29)
Haddon Twp. at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
Wildwood vs. Gloucester
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
GLOUCESTER CITY – After battling their way through the final week of the season just to make the field, Penns Grove was hoping to keep its first playoff game since 2021 close, but one big inning proved its undoing.
Gloucester scored a run in the first inning, then erupted for 10 in the second to set the stage for a 16-3 victory over the Red Devils Thursday in the first round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.
The Lions sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning. They collected six hits, including a two-run homer by Seth McCormick, and took advantage of three errors, a dropped third strike that would have been a second out, a hit batsman and a walk.
“The second inning has to be one of our … tougher innings of the year,” Penns Grove coach Chuck Weigle said. “We made a few mistakes, they capitalized on it and we ended up falling behind big.”
The Red Devils had one hit through the first three innings, but they avoided being shut out on Bristoll Scott’s RBI single in the fourth. They scored twice in the fifth after loading the bases with none out. Ryan Hyatt had an RBI single and Chase Wills scored on a passed ball.
Elijah Crespo and Hyatt had two hits apiece for the Red Devils.
“I don’t think it was what we were looking for,” Weigle said of the playoff experience. “We were hoping for a different result. We were hoping for it to be a little bit closer than it was. It just wasn’t the result we were looking for.
“Coming in as the 15th seed you’re not expected to necessarily win the game, but we were hoping to keep it close and just hoping to play a good game overall.”
TENNIS
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Thursday’s matches
No. 1 Haddon Twp. bye
No. 8 Overbrook 4, No. 9 Lindenwold 1
No. 5 Woodstown 5, No. 12 Wildwood 0
No. 4 Middle Twp. bye
No. 3 Pennsville bye
No. 6 Buena 5, No. 11 Penns Grove 0
No. 7 Schalick 3, No. 10 Palmyra 2
No. 2 Pitman bye
SECOND ROUND (May 29)
Overbrook at Haddon Twp.
Woodstown at Middle Twp.
Buena at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
WOODSTOWN 5, WILDWOOD 0
Tim Schwienbacher (Wo) def. Giorgio Palesano, 6-3, 6-1
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Christopher Olivera, 6-0, 6-1
Eric Lipovsky (Wo) def. Cristopher Hernandez, 6-1, 6-1
Joseph Kurpis-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Simon Palacias-Miguel Amendondo, 6-2, 6-1
John Farrell-Jake Lewis (Wo) def. Kevin Damian-Brian Damian, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 13-6, Wildwood 4-11.
BUENA 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Jake Harris (B) def. Alex Ramirez Martinez, 6-0, 6-0
Dominic Longona (B) def. Angel Perez Herrera, 6-1, 6-1
Stephen Pepper (B) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-1, 6-0
Matthew Lillia-Gabe Ridolfo (B) def. Anthony Pacheco-Ricardo Vichi, 6-0, 6-0
Joshua Sharpe-Michael Letushko (B) def. Adam Gonzalez-Rene Ruiz, 6-0, 6-2
Records: Buena 18-3, Penns Grove 4-10.
SCHALICK 3, PALMYRA 2
George Gould (S) def. Julian Carlino, 6-4, 6-3
Richie Butler (P) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-2, 6-1
Connor McCann (P) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-3, 6-1
David Santana-Rocky Monticolo (S) def. Jaden Jennings-Owen Jacobs, 6-4, 6-2
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Jack Timlin-Justin Smyth, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Records: Schalick 16-7, Palmyra 5-7.
GOLF
WOODSTOWN 156, HIGHLAND 169: Woodstown’s Salem/Cumberland runner-up Jeffrey Covely birdied the first hole and shot an even-par 36 and the Wolverines counted four of the five lowerst scores of the day to win at Town & Country CC.
The Wolverines also counted a 39 from Max Webb, a 40 from Kyle Brainard and a 41 from Salem/Cumberland medalist Jacob Schermerhorn.
Running the show
Schalick edges Paulsboro; Pokrovsky gives up one hit, fans 16, collects 100th strikeout of the season, 100th career hit
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Audubon 14, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 3
No. 8 Haddon Twp. 8, No. 9 Buena 1
No. 5 Woodstown 3, No. 12 Maple Shade 1
No. 4 Pennsville 10, No. 13 Gateway 0
No. 6 Schalick 3, No. 11 Paulsboro 1
No. 3 Pitman 13, No. 14 Glassboro 0
No. 7 Wildwood 2, No. 10 Cape May Tech 1
No. 2 Gloucester 16, No. 15 Penns Grove 3
Second Round (May 29)
Haddon Twp. at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Pitman
Wildwood vs. Gloucester
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – The Schalick Cougars won playoff game over a familiar playoff foe without playing their best baseball, but that kind of thing is a little easier to do when you have a pitcher like Luke Pokrovsky on the your side.
Pokrovsky had another milestone day Thursday in the sixth-seeded Cougars’ 3-1 win over No. 11 Paulsboro in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.
The junior left-hander allowed one soft single over 6 1/3 innings and matched his career-high of 16 strikeouts for the third time this season and second time in three outings to surpass 100 Ks for the season. He also singled in his first at-bat for the 100th hit of his career – then was intentionally walked his next three times up.
“I was going into the game knowing that I only needed one hit for my 100th and that’s all I was trying to do at the plate, stay simple and hit the ball hard,” Pokrovsky said. “I got the first pitch off-speed and I just tried to get the barrel to the ball and it ended up working out.
“I didn’t even realize about the Ks because after I got the school record I just haven’t tried for that stuff. I just tried to lead the team to a victory by throwing strikes and getting weak contract.”
That’s what he did Thursday. He threw 68 strikeouts among his 112 pitches and the only hit he allowed came with two outs in the fourth inning when Kayden Weber threw his bat at a pitch and knocked it into left field to plate the Red Raiders’ only run.
Pokrovsky struck out the first five batters he faced, including Matt Hill to end the first inning for his 100th strikeout of the season. He has 113 this year and 248 in his career.
The only reason he came out of the game in the seventh was because he reached his pitch limit. Lucas D’Agostino finished it off by striking out the only two batters he faced on seven pitches.
With six days between games, count on Pokrovsky starting the Cougars’ second-round game at Pitman Wednesday.
“He’s our guy,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said. “If we’re going to lose, we’re going to lose with him. If we’re gonna win, we’re gonna win with him. So he’s definitely a guy we have to rely on.
“I’m looking at his numbers, it’s crazy. It kind of blows you away, you’re like wow. It’s pretty awesome.”
The Cougars were playing Paulsboro in the playoff for the third time in the last four years. They knocked the Red Raiders out of the playoffs in the SJ Group I semifinals in 2021 and the Red Raiders knocked Cougars out in the 2022 semis.
Runs were hard to come by. The Cougars, who had only six hits themselves, pushed two across in the third on a wild pitch and Ricky Watt’s sacrifice fly and added an insurance run in the sixth on a bases-loaded hit batsman. Jake Siedlecki had two hits and Watt had two RBIs.
They left the bases loaded twice, but three runs was all they really needed with Pokrovsky dealing from the mound.
“We didn’t play our best, we didn’t do well offensively, but we found a way,” O’Brien said. “In other parts of the season they’re the type of games we didn’t win … we kind of folded and we ended up losing games. It felt good to kind of push through when you don’t play your best.
“It definitely showed a little bit of growth and that little bit of grit we have where we weren’t going to kind of give up because things weren’t going our way. It was good to have that moment where we struck up and found a way to get runs and having Luke on the mound is definitely a huge plus where we don’t have to do much behind him because he’s the one running the show.”
Wednesday roundup
Woodstown girls lose close one in SJ Group I lacrosse tournament, Salem County athletes show out at TCC Showcase, Schalick golf clinches share of division title
GIRLS LACROSSE
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 1 Glen Ridge 17, No. 16 Middle Twp. 1
No. 8 Delaware Valley 10, No. 9 West Deptford 8
No. 12 Haddon Twp. 9, No. 5 Woodstown 7
No. 4 Shore 18, No. 13 Haddon Heights 12
No. 3 Madison 16, No. 14 Sterling 2
No. 11 Lower Cape May 12, No. 6 Cinnaminson 9
No. 10 New Providence at No. 7 Bernards (Thursday)
No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven 18, No. 15 Dayton 2
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – A 5-12 tournament match-up always has the potential to be a trap game for the favorite and it turned out that way for the Woodstown girls lacrosse team Wednesday.
Haddon Twp., a No. 12 seed despite having twice as many wins and almost 100 more power points than the Wolverines, scored three straight goals in a little over 14 minutes in the second half to pull away from a tie game and eventually score a 9-7 upset in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I girls lacrosse playoffs.
Six players scored goals for the Hawks (15-3), with Sage Looram, Mady Maronski and Amelia Tomashek each scoring two. Loorem also had a pair of assists. The Hawks hadn’t won a first-round game since 2021, but they were one of two double-digit seeds to win Wednesday.
Delaney Walker scored three goals for Woodstown (7-9) – giving her 55 for the season – while Emma Morgan and Blair Baldi had two apiece. All three goal scorers are sophomores.
“I think we were feeling the pressure,” first-year Woodstown coach Erin Renshaw said. “They’re a good team, so I was expecting the game that we got. I just think a good team like that is going to capitalize on our little mistakes.”
The Wolverines had the Hawks on the run early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the game. Haddon Twp. fought back to tie it 3-3 and the teams traded goals to tie it at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6.
The Hawks took the lead with 5:14 left in the third quarter, then added goals with 11:16 and 6:09 left in the fourth quarter to go up 9-6.
“Yes, we are young, but I think it was just our little mistakes,” Renshaw said. “We’ve got to work more on getting the ball out of the defensive end. We had some trouble with that today.
“I think we were forcing some things and not taking our best shots, not taking our best options. I think that kind of killed us. If we can’t handle possession, get on the ball, we can’t score.”
The Wolverines did have three 8-meter opportunities in the final five minutes to potentially close the gap, but cashed in on only one with 3:07 to play. The missed second opportunity was particularly demoralizing.
“One thing I will say about my girls is they will play every minute,” Renshaw said. “I know we had some turnovers but they’re still going 100 percent to get the ball back.
“As a first-year coach I am completely happy with the how they played (this season). I think our growth is what I’m most proud of and how we are as a team. I will take the team I have over a team that is packed with elite girls who just think they can roll over another team. My team will fight and they will play with heart.”
TRACK
FRANKLINVILLE – Schalick junior Jordan Hadfield won two events and led a group of four Salem County athletes who won five events at the Tri-County Showcase at Delsea Wednesday.
Hadfield won the 800 in a personal best 2:18.61 and the 3200 in 11:30.95. She didn’t run the 1600, which opened the door for Woodstown’s Lillian Norman to win in a PR 5:29.46.
The county produced two winners on the boys side.
Penns Grove senior Khalim Smith won the triple jump with a PR and state top 25 jump of 44-9. He beat runnerup DaviYonn Jackson of Salem by eight inches.
“He was a sleeper coming into the year, but not anymore,” said Damian Ware, the Red Devils’ jumpers coach.
The triple jump was Salem County’s best event. In addition to Smith and Jackson going 1-2, freshmen David Stewart of Schalick and KaRon Ceaser were third and fourth, respectively.
Pennsville’s Connor Ayars completed the county’s champions group by winning the javelin with a PR of 159-6.
“This was the best I’ve seen Connor look,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “Not only did he PR, but he was consistently throwing in the 150s for all his throws, which was great to see.
“Between Connor and Cole (Campbell) finishing fourth, they’ve been our most consistent athletes and have been putting in a ton of work.”
The county also had four event runner-ups – Woodstown’s boys 4×800 relay and Salem’s Jackson, Anthony Parker (400 hurdles) and Rhionna Timmons (long jump) – and 25 top fives.
The meet was not team scored.
TCC SHOWCASE
BOYS WINNERS
4×100: Washington Twp. (Ajani Dwyer, Yashahya Brown, John Santos, Jack Schuck), 41.77.
4×800: Deptford (Abu Jabbie, Sean Nieves, Anthony Schilling, Lucius Davis), 8:15.04.
400 Hurdles: Alexander Osayemi, Clayton, 55.20.
1600: Ty Blackman, Glassboro, 4:33.91.
400: Dante McGrenehan, Delsea, 49.05.
100: Ajani Dwyer, Washington Twp., 10.45.
800: Daniel Torres, Washington Twp., 1:57.44.
110 Hurdles: Yashahya Brown, Washington Twp., 13.64 (USA Top 25).
200: Ajani Dwyer, Washington Twp., 21.29 (NJ Top 10).
3200: Aziz Muhammad-Kane, Highland, 9:56.04.
4×400: Williamstown (Alexander Hollimon, Kobinah Amissah, Sam Bruno, Gordon Pinnock), 3:27.39.
High jump: Jayden DeLeon, Highland, 6-7 (NJ Top 10).
Pole vault: Marcus Hood, Deptford, 14-6 (NJ Top 10).
Long jump: Benny Liles III, Kingsway, 22-6.50.
Triple jump: Khalim Smith, Penns Grove, 44-9 (PR, NJ Top 25).
Discus: Damere Lassiter, Glassboro, 171-2 (NJ Top 10).
Javelin: Connor Ayars, Pennsville, 159-6 (PR).
Shot put: Jonathan Harris, Delsea, 61-7.50 (NJ Top 10).
Top 5 finishers (Salem County)
4×800: 2. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Joshua Crawford, Cole Lucas, Jacob Marino) 8:19.91.
400 Hurdles: 2. Anthony Parker, Salem, 55.26 (PR, NJ Top 25).
1600: 4. Matthew Tozer, Schalick, 4:44.48 (PR); 5. Cole Lucas, Woodstown, 4:52.94.
800: 5. Steve Chomo, Schalick, 2:03.25 (PR).
110 Hurdles: 5. Anthony Parker, Salem, 15.25
4×400: 4. Penns Grove (Theus Berrios, Kylee Goodson, Bryan Garlic, Knowledge Young), 3:32.83.
High jump: 5. Reggie Allen, Schalick, 6-0.
Triple jump: 2. DaviYonn Jackson, Salem, 44-1; 3. David Stewart, Schalick, 43-7 (PR); 5. KaRon Ceaser, Penns Grove, 43-0.50.
Discus: 4. Jackson McFarland, Pennsville, 129-8 (PR).
Javelin: 4. Cole Campbell, Pennsville, 147-11.
GIRLS WINNERS
4×100: Kingsway (Jonnelle Lewis, Camryn Stanard, Kennedy Brathwaite, Naveya Hall), 49.57
4×800: Washington Twp. (Kaylee Russen, Taylor Stuart, Rachael Wilson, Hannah Saleh), 10:02.57.
400 Hurdles: Nyla Jones, Timber Creek, 1:01.87.
1600: Lillian Norman, Woodstown, 5:29.46 (PR).
400: Nayla Jones, Timber Creek, 56.36 (NJ Top 10).
100: Ryan Jennings, Timber Creek, 11.56.
800: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 2:18.61 (PR).
100 Hurdles: Nyla Jones, Timber Creek, 14.55 (NJ Top 10).
200: Ryan Jennings, Timber Creek, 24.36 (NJ Top 10).
3200: Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 11:30.95.
4×400: Timber Creek (Amaya Jones, Autumn Cato, Jordyn Cato, Taylor Gaines), 4:06.85.
High jump: Alanna Woolfolk, Clayton, 5-6 (NJ No. 1).
Pole vault: Cali Lacovara, Washington Twp., 10-6.
Long jump: Guerlande Pierre, Timber Creek, 17-0.
Triple jump: Riley Gramble, Washington Twp., 33-11.25.
Discus: Hannah Nuhfer, Delsea, 146-10 (NJ Top 10).
Javelin: Paige Franklin, Williamstown, 114-1.
Shot put: Hannah Nuhfer, Delsea, 38-5.75.
Top 5 finishers (Salem County)
4×100: 3. Schalick (Brooke Watt, Calleigh Schalick, Gia Martellacci, Zoe Jenkins), 51.65.
400 Hurdles: 4. Anna Buzby, Salem, 1:07.94; 5. Grace O’Neill, Schalick, 1:08.55.
1600: 4. Helen Lillia, Schalick, 5:49.02 (PR).
100: 5. Daivonnah Thomas, Penns Grove, 12.83 (PR).
Pole vault: 3. Megan Morris, Pennsville, 8-6.
Long jump: 2. Rhionna Timmons, Salem, 16-6.
Triple jump: 3. Brooke Watt, Schalick, 33-4.50; 5. Calista Hunt, Woodstown, 32-9.Javelin: 3. Allyson Green, Schalick, 99-0; 5. Alivia Klancic, Schalick, 91-11.
Shot put: 5. Ava Rodgers, Salem, 34-0.
GOLF
SCHALICK 162, DELSEA 174, OVERBROOK 224: Senior Ryan Johnson parred his final hole to shoot a 3-over-par 38 and win medalist honors as Schalick clinched a share of the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title.
As a co-champion (with Woodstown), the Cougars will send a full contingent of players to the Tri-County Championships Tuesday at Pitman GC. All five division winners will send full groups, while everyone else will send two players.
The Cougars also counted a 39 from Seth Fisher, a 42 from Anthony Sepers and a 43 from Lance Creighton.
KINGSWAY GIRLS 188, SCHALICK 200: Kingsway’s Carly Kuminka birdied her first hole, one-putted her first two and shot 5-over-par 40 to win medalist honors by seven strokes. Hannah Widdifield shot Schalick’s low round (48).
BOYS TENNIS
South Jersey Group I Tournament
BUENA 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Jake Harris (B) def. Alex Ramirez Martinez, 6-0, 6-0
Dominic Longona (B) def. Angel Perez Herrera, 6-1, 6-1
Stephen Pepper (B) def. Stuart Mondragon, 6-1, 6-0
Matthew Lillia-Gabe Ridolfo (B) def. Anthony Pacheco-Ricardo Vichi, 6-0, 6-0
Joshua Sharpe-Michael Letushko (B) def. Adam Gonzalez-Rene Ruiz, 6-0, 6-2
Records: Penns Grove 4-10, Buena 18-3.
Regular season
WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0
Tim Schwienbacher (Wo) def. Andrew Weaver, 6-2, 7-5
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Logan Milas, 6-1, 6-3
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. Colin Campbrell, 6-3, 6-0
Joseph Kurpis-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Connor Kustera-Alan Marcos, 6-4, 3-6, 10-3
John Farrell-Nichols DiTeodoro (Wo) def. Jose Paz-Gabe Martinez, 6-1, 6-2
Records: Overbrook 5-15, Woodstown 12-6.
Well-armed Wolverines
Woodstown’s pitching plan blanks Schalick to open South Jersey Group I softball tournament; Pennsville wins big, Salem faced big challenge
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Wednesday’s first-round games
No. 1 Audubon 13, No. 16 Camden Academy Charter 0
No. 9 Paulsboro 10, No. 8 Palmyra 3
No. 5 Maple Shade 11, No. 12 Cape May Tech 0
No. 4 Pennsville 17, No. 13 Glassboro 0
No. 3 Haddon Twp. 10, No. 14 Clayton 0
No. 6 Woodstown 10, No. 11 Schalick 0
No. 10 Gateway 5, No. 7 Pitman 3
No. 2 Buena 19, No. 15 Salem 0
SECOND ROUND (MAY 28)
Paulsboro at Audubon
Maple Shade at Pennsville
Woodstown at Haddon Twp.
Gateway at Buena
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – So much of a team’s success in the softball playoffs is predicated on pitching. A good one can give you an edge. Two can take you a long way.
Woodstown has two good ones capable of shutting down an opposing team’s lineup and put them both on display in Wednesday’s South Jersey Group I playoff opener. Get ready to see a lot more of them both for as long as the Wolverines stick around.
Liv Boultinghouse and Grace White combined on a three-hitter as the sixth-seeded Wolverines blanked county rival Schalick 10-0 in what may have been retiring coach Dave Wildermuth’s final home game. They now travel to third-seeded Haddon Twp. Tuesday for Round 2, with the 1, 2, 4 and 5 seeds all still alive.
Boultinghouse threw 41 pitches over the first four innings (33 for strikes) and gave up all three hits, but allowed two runners got past first base – both with two outs. White pitched the fifth, with an expectation of going more if needed, and needed only 17 pitches to get the four batters to close it out.
“That’s kind of our game plan,” Wildermuth said. “We’re probably going to split them, Liv to start and Grace to finish, three and three and then figure out the fourth inning. And that worked out today.
“When you have two really good pitchers and both are seniors and both have been in the playoffs before and won playoff games, I’m going to ride them. That’s the plan.”
The fielders and hitters supported them. Tulana Mingin made the defensive play of the game when she went deep to her backhand side to snare Alli Shimp’s grounder and threw her out from her knees.
The Wolverines led 3-0 after three innings, then broke it open with four in the fourth on six consecutive two-out hits or walks. Mingin went 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Ellie Wygand had two hits and three RBIs, including the walk-off single in the fifth. Kayla Brown and Aubrie Rennie had two hits apiece.
Schalick, meanwhile, just couldn’t solve the two Woodstown pitchers. Taylor Sparks, Alli Shimp and Ava Scurry had the Cougars’ hits, but almost everything else they put in play stayed in the infield.
“The pitching is good, we didn’t get hits when we needed to,” Cougars coach Rick Higinbotham said. “We were hitting the ball, they just weren’t falling for us. It’s tough. You get a good pitcher, two pitchers like theirs, it’s tough for a playoff game.
“I liked the fact we were hitting the ball. We were putting the ball in play, they weren’t falling for us.”
Wildermuth announced shortly before the season began he was retiring from teaching and coaching at the end of the season/school year. He deferred talking about any kind of farewell tour at the start of the season and he wasn’t thinking about it being close to the end now.
“All I asked them today was give me one more week with you guys, and they did,” he said. “They gave me one more week so I’m going to enjoy this next week with them.”
PENNSVILLE 17, GLASSBORO 0: Bella Farina homered and drove in six runs, Kylie Harris set the modern-era single-season school record for doubles and Savannah Palverento spun another no-hitter as the Eagles won their 14th in a row.
Farina went 4-for-4 and Bella Rappa was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and both were a double shy of the cycle. Sophomore Harris doubled on a fly ball to center field in the Eagles’ seven-run second inning. It was her 15th double of the season and 25th of her career.
Palverento’s no-hitter was far from perfect – she walked five, hit a batter and struck out four – but she faced four batters over the minimum in the five-inning game. She only had two runners reach third base and they were both in the fifth inning and catcher Harris picked off one of them.
It was her fourth no-hit appearance in her last five appearances and third complete-game no-hitter. She has given up four hits in her last 24 1/3 innings with no-hitters against Glassboro, Salem and Wildwood. She also pitched three no-hit innings in a combined one-hitter against Pitman in that stretch.
“I’m sure she was ‘oh, I could have done better,'” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “But she fought through and her team helped her out defensively when the ball was put in play.”
BUENA 19, SALEM 0: Anna Sheridan went 4-for-4, Layiah Collins went 3-for-4 with a homer and both drove in four runs. The Chiefs led 9-0 after two innings, then put it way out of reach with 10 in the third. Raegan Wilson had both of Salem’s hits.
Classical victory
Wagner’s first career homer powers Pennsville to third straight TCC Classic Division title; includes softball, golf, tennis updates
TUESDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 17, Wildwood 7
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Jeff Wagner will forever remember his first high school home run as the one that won Pennsville another division baseball championship.
It wasn’t one of those dramatic bottom-of-the-seventh bombs that has everyone pouring out of the dugout and the fans doing backflips in the aisles, but it was the shot that opened the gates for the Eagles to maul Wildwood 17-7 and claim a share of their third straight Tri-County Conference Classic Division crown with Pitman.
Pennsville and Pitman split their regular-season series and beat everyone else in the division twice. The Eagles (16-9) are the No. 4 seed in the South Jersey Group I playoffs, where they’ll host Gateway in the first round Thursday at 2 p.m.
“It’s a goal at the beginning of every year,” Pennsville coach Matt Karr said. “I told these guys today we don’t get to pick what division we play in or who we play, we just play the games and whenever you get a chance to win anything that says ‘championship’ you enjoy it and you go after it. They did the job today. Add another year to the banner.”
Wagner’s two-run blast to left center in the fifth inning broke it open, extending the Eagles’ lead to 9-6 after they had taken it for the second time in the game earlier in the inning. It came in his 65th at bat this season and 79th career plate appearance. The sophomore designated hitter had one-hopped or hit the fence three times this season, but this was the first one he hit that wasn’t coming back.
Buoyed by the bomb, the Eagles wound up scoring 12 runs over the final two innings, walking it off on Chase Burchfield’s fourth hit of the game with two outs in the sixth inning. They were down 3-0, 4-3 and 6-5 at various points before the eruption.
“It kind of got the momentum flowing,” Wagner said. “It felt good catching the barrel, kind of got back to my groove and got the boys going.
“I felt like my part to the plate was kind of sentimental to the team because it was close. We weren’t playing good in the first half of the game and after I hit that I kind of felt like it turned us around and got us going. I definitely felt a big part of the team there. It felt good.”
The final two innings are much more the way the Eagles want to be heading into the playoffs than the last three weeks of the season. After Monday’s tight win over Clayton, the Eagles were 5-6 since their walk-off win over Schalick on April 23. When they won Tuesday, it marked the first time they’d won back-to-back games since April 22-23.
Part of their struggles are rooted in missing two of their top players. Versatile junior Luke Wood has been out with a lower back injury and his status going forward is TBD. Jacob Grant, their lone senior, has been out with a shoulder injury, but he rehabbed Tuesday and the Eagles are hoping to have him back for Round 2 (May 29 and a potential matchup with Woodstown).
Instead of wallowing in what his team might not have available, Karr hopes the Eagles embrace the opportunities it creates and the next-man-up approach that presents.
In the meantime they have been trying all kinds of creative ways to get their swagger back. One of the more interesting efforts was a bonfire after a closer-than-necessary run-fest with Clayton in which they burned all kinds of equipment.
It was an idea Grant is said to have discovered surfing the ‘net. A college baseball team was going through a tough stretch, decided to burn a bunch of their stuff, posted the video on TikTok (of course) and then went on a home-run-hitting tear. Grant figured if it worked for them, it couldn’t hurt the Eagles to try it.
“With the way we’ve played in the past two weeks we’ve had bad mojo,” Wagner said. “We kind of got rid of the bad mojo. We were off and on and then today I felt like the team came together and got it done.”
Whatever works, right?
“You want to find something positive to build on whether it’s the last two innings, the last pitch, the last at-bat, whatever it is; take whatever positive you can get (and) build on them,” Karr said. “We didn’t even give them any speeches about anything in the outfield other than we need to have a great workout tomorrow and be ready to roll on Thursday.”
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Thursday’s first-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon, 4 p.m.
No. 9 Buena at No. 8 Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
No. 12 Maple Shade at No. 5 Woodstown, 3 p.m.
No. 13 Gateway at No. 4 Pennsville, 2 p.m.
No. 14 Glassboro at No. 3 Pitman, 3 p.m.
No. 11 Paulsboro at No. 6 Schalick, 4 p.m.
No. 10 Cape May Tech at No. 7 Wildwood, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Penns Grove at No. 2 Gloucester, 4 p.m.
SOFTBALL
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 17, SALEM 0: Madelyn McGinn hit three doubles and drove in five runs and Brooklyn Carcaci held Salem to two hits in the four-inning game. Julliana Love and Alexandrea Matias had the Rams’ two hits.
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Wednesday’s first-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon, 4 p.m.
No. 9 Paulsboro at No. 8 Palmyra, 3:45 p.m.
No. 12 Cape May Tech at No. 5 Maple Shade
No. 13 Glassboro at No. 4 Pennsville, 2 p.m.
No. 14 Clayton at No. 3 Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
No. 11 Schalick at No. 6 Woodstown, 4 p.m.
No. 10 Gateway at No. 7 Pitman, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Salem at No. 2 Buena, 4 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, SCHALICK 0
Gave Schneider (Pv) def. George Gould, 6-1, 6-1
Maddox Efelis (Pv) def. Jesus Espinoza, 6-0, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (Pv) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-1, 6-1
Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (Pv) def. Rocky Monticolo-David Santana, 6-1, 6-2
Saywer Humphrey-Luke Chamberlain (Pv) def. Cayden Brzozowski-Kaden Barnes, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
Records: Schalick 15-7, Pennsville 17-3.
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Thursday’s games
Lindenwold at Overbrook 1 p.m.
Wildwood at Woodstown, 2:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Buena
Palmyra at Schalick, 3 p.m.
May 29
Lindenwold-Overbrook winner at Haddon Twp.
Wildwood-Woodstown winner at Middle Twp.
Penns Grove-Buena winner at Pennsville
Palmyra-Schalick winner at Pitman
GOLF
SCHALICK 165, PENNSVILLE 176: Ryan Johnson and Lance Creighton, Schalick’s two representatives in Monday’s Salem-Cumberland county tournament, posted rounds of 39 and 40, respectively, at Sakima CC to move the Cougars a step closer to a share of the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title. A win over Overbrook Wednesday will seal it.
Pennsville senior Jacob Isaac was the match’s medalist with a 2-under-par 34. He had back-to-back birdies on 6 and 7.
WASHINGTON TWP. GIRLS 181, SCHALICK 212: Washington Twp. posted three rounds in the 40s at Centerton CC, led by medalist Tessa Reilley’s 42. Lena Virga posted Schalick’s low round (49).
Riverview Sports News 