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).

Monday roundup

Clinching time: Woodstown baseball, softball clinch TCC Diamond Division titles; Pennsville softball clinches share of Classic Division crown

BASEBALL
PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 2: Chase Burchfield pitched five solid innings and went 3-for-3 at the plate. He drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the first and the Eagles tacked on two more on a walk and a hit batsman both with bases loaded.

Burchfield has been itching to pitch and the Eagles gave him his chance at Salem on May 1. He has pitched a total of four games — twice each against Salem and Clayton — and has given up one earned run and struck out 10 in nine total innings. The hits he allowed Monday were his first of the year.

In addition, in the games he has pitched, he has gone 8-for-14 at the plate with eight RBIs.

The Clippers made it 3-2 in the fifth, but the Eagles answered with two in the bottom of the fifth on Jeff Wagner’s two-out RBI single and Birchfield’s steal of home.

The Eagles can claim a share of the Tri-County Conference Classic Division (with Pitman) by beating Wildwood Tuesday.

WOODSTOWN 10, PENNS GROVE 0: Thomas Tucci threw three strong innings and three relievers completed a one-hitter as the Wolverines clinched the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title.

Tucci pitched the first three innings and struck out five. Jack Knorr, Michael Valente and Dante Spina followed him to the hill and threw three no-hit innings of relief. All three of Spina’s outs were strikeouts.

Blake Bialecki had three of Woodstown’s eight hits. Andrew Pedrick had two hits with a double, drew two walks and scored three runs. Dylan Hyatt had Penns Grove’s only hit.

Both teams are headed to the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

SCHALICK 8, STERLING 1: Luke Pokrovsky struck out all six batters he faced in two innings on the mound and hit a grand slam in the second inning. Four Schalick pitchers combined to hold the Silver Knights to three singles. Jake Siedlecki put the Cougars on top with a two-run homer in the first.

Pokrovsky went 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Matt Lamazza and Evan Glaspey each had two hits for the Cougars.

Here are the first-round matchups for the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 23
Camden Academy Charter at Audubon
Buena at Haddon Twp.
Maple Shade at Woodstown
Gateway at Pennsville
Glassboro at Pitman
Paulsboro at Schalick
Cape May Tech at Wildwood
Penns Grove at Gloucester

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 11, CLAYTON 1: Kylie Harris drove in three runs with a double and a triple, Savannah Palverento had two RBIs and Bella Rappa and Lilly Birney had two hits apiece as the Eagles ran their winning streak to 13 games and clinched a tie for the Tri-County Classic Division title. They can win it outright if Gloucester Catholic falls to Salem Tuesday.

WOODSTOWN 19-16, PENNS GROVE 0-3: The Wolverines clinched the TCC Diamond Division title and extended their winning streak over in-county competition to 28 games. Hannah Hitchner’s three-run double highlighted a seven-run first in the opener. The Wolverines got eight in the first inning of the nightcap. Madison LaPalomento and Sara Weinstein both had three RBIs in that game. Woodstown’s pitchers gave up only two hits in each game.

SCHALICK 1, OLMA 0: Abby Willoughby raced home with the game’s only run when the Villagers mishandled Addi Shimp’s bunt back to the circle. Shimp kept the Villagers off the board, turning back threats in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. The Cougars cut down a runner at the plate in the second.

Shimp gave up three hits and struck out seven in spinning the complete-game shutout. Willoughby had two hits.

Here are the first-round matchups in the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 22
Camden Academy Charter at Audubon
Paulsboro at Palmyra
Cape May Tech at Maple Shade
Glassboro at Pennsville
Clayton at Haddon Twp.
Schalick at Woodstown
Gateway at Pitman
Salem at Buena

BOYS TENNIS
SCHALICK 3, PITMAN 2: The Cougars won dramatic tiebreakers at 2 singles (Jesus Espinoza) and 2 doubles (Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski) to stun the TCC Diamond Division leader and No. 2 South Jersey Group I seed. It was the Cougars’ first win over the Panthers since 2019.
Maddox Marker (P) def. George Gould, 6-2, 6-1
Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Cole Kelly, 7-5, 1-6, 10-7
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Chase Pogozelski, 6-0, 6-0
Michael Fisicaro-Max Pappalardo (P) def. Rocky Monticolo-David Santana, 6-4, 6-2
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Matthew Bauman-Dom Saffioti, 7-5, 3-6, 11-9
Records: Pitman 15-7, Schalick 15-6.

WOODSTOWN 5, DEPTFORD 0
Tim Schwienbacher (Wo) def. Ethan Bui, 6-1, 6-2
Drew Stengel (Wo) def. Xavier Dean, 6-2, 6-0
Erich Lipovsky (Wo) def. Bradyn Gee, 6-4, 6-0
Mason Shimp-Joseph Kurpis (Wo) def. Anmolpreet Singh-Tony Logan, 6-3, 6-1
John Farrell-Luke Shaw (Wo) def. Joseph Crowley-Olaoluwa Gureje, 6-0, 4-6, 10-8
Records: Deptford 4-13, Woodstown 11-5

Here are the pairings for the South Jersey Group I tennis tournament
May 23
No. 1 Haddon Twp. bye
No. 9 Lindenwold at No. 8 Overbrook
No. 12 Wildwood at No. 5 Woodstown
No. 4 Middle Twp. bye
No. 3 Pennsville bye
No. 11 Penns Grove at No. 6 Buena
No. 10 Palmyra at No. 7 Schalick
No. 2 Pitman bye
May 29
Lindenwold-Overbrook winner at Haddon Twp.
Wildwood-Woodstown winner at Middle Twp.
Penns Grove-Buena winner at Pennsville
Schalick-Palmyra winner at Pitman
May 31
Semifinals
June 4
Championship match

GIRLS LACROSSE
Here are the first round games for the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 22
Middle Twp. at Glen Ridge
Haddon Heights at Shore
May 25
West Deptford at Delaware Valley
Haddon Twp. at Woodstown
Sterling at Madison
Lower Cape May at Cinnaminson
New Providence at Bernards
Dayton at Rumson-Fair Haven

BOYS LACROSSE
Here are the first-round games for the South Jersey Group I tournament
May 22
Lower Cape May at Johnson
Point Pleasant Boro at New Providence
Dayton at Shore
Cinnaminson at Rumson-Fair Haven
May 25
Sterling at Bernards
Delaware Valley at Haddonfield
Verona at Glen Ridge
Woodstown at Madison

This week’s schedule

First round of South Jersey Group I baseball, softball tournaments, TCC track showcase and Salem-Cumberland golf championships highlight the Salem County sports schedule for the week of May 20-25. All events start 4 p.m. unless noted.

MONDAY, MAY 20
BASEBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown
Schalick at Sterling
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Middle Twp., OLMA at Schalick
Penns Grove at Woodstown (2)
Bridgeton at Salem
GOLF
Salem-Cumberland County Tournament, Centerton CC, 8 a.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Deptford Twp. at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Williamstown, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pitman at Schalick
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Clearview at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 21
BASEBALL
Wildwood at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
BOYS TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville
Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m.
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Washington Twp., Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick boys vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
SOFTBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
First-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon
No. 9 Paulsboro at No. 8 Palmyra
No. 12 Cape May Tech at No. 5 Maple Shade
No. 13 Glassboro at No. 4 Pennsville
No. 14 Clayton at No. 3 Haddon Twp.
No. 11 Schalick at No. 6 Woodstown
No. 10 Gateway at No. 7 Pitman
No. 15 Salem at No. 2 Buena
BOYS TENNIS
Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
TCC Showcase, Delsea, 3:30 p.m.
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Kingsway, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
Schalick boys vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 4:15 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 23
BASEBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
First-round games
No. 16 Camden Academy Charter at No. 1 Audubon
No. 9 Buena at No. 8 Haddon Twp.
No. 12 Maple Shade at No. 5 Woodstown
No. 13 Gateway at No. 4 Pennsville
No. 11 Paulsboro at No. 6 Schalick
No. 14 Glassboro at No. 3 Pitman
No. 10 Cape May Tech at No. 7 Wildwood
No. 15 Penns Grove at No. 2 Gloucester
GOLF
Woodstown vs. Highland, Town & Country, 3:45 p.m.
TRACK
Penns Grove at Woodstown

Eyeing the playoffs

UPDATED
Woodstown baseball falls in final game before cutoff, includes projected first-round South Jersey Group I playoff pairings for baseball and softball based on power points at the cutoff

BASEBALL
ABSEGAMI 6, WOODSTOWN 2: The Wolverines played one last game in an attempt to gain some power points before Saturday’s cutoff, but fell behind 5-0 and couldn’t recover. They are projected to be the fifth seed in the South Jersey Group I tournament that starts next week.

Adrian Rosario hit a two-run triple and scored on Joaquin Velez’ single to give the Braves a 3-0 lead in the first. An infield out with runners at second and third and an RBI single made it 5-0 in the second.

The Wolverines were held to two hits. Rocco String’s two-run double in the third made it 5-2. Ty Coblentz had the other hit.

Here are the projected first-round pairings in the South Jersey Group I tournament based on power points through Saturday night. The seeding meeting to formalize the bracket is Monday. The first round of the tournament is Thursday.

No. 16 Camden Academy Charter (8-6) at No. 1 Audubon (17-8)
No. 9 Buena (7-18) at No. 8 Haddon Twp. (8-13)
No. 12 Maple Shade (9-12) at No. 5 Woodstown (14-9)
No. 13 Gateway (8-14) at No. 4 Pennsville (14-9)
No. 11 Paulsboro (8-17) at No. 6 Schalick (13-10)
No. 14 Glassboro (6-13) at No. 3 Pitman (17-6)
No. 10 Cape May Tech (11-11) at No. 7 Wildwood (16-8)
No. 15 Penns Grove (5-13) at No. 2 Gloucester (17-6)
NOTE: Current No. 15 (Salem) and No. 17 (Clayton) in the standings reportedly are opting out, elevating the positions of Penns Grove and Camden Academy Charter.

Here are the projected South Jersey Group I softball pairings based on the power points through Saturday night. The seeding meeting to formalize the bracket is Monday. The first round of the tournament is Wednesday.

No. 16 Wildwood (2-13) at No. 1 Audubon (15-5)
No. 9 Paulsboro (10-10) at No. 8 Palmyra (10-9)
No. 12 Cape May Tech (9-12) at No. 5 Maple Shade (13-7)
No. 13 Glassboro (6-14) at No. 4 Pennsville (15-4)
No. 14 Clayton (7-11) at No. 3 Haddon Twp. (16-6)
No. 11 Schalick ( 8-8) at No. 6 Woodstown (11-7)
No. 10 Gateway (6-10) at No. 7 Pitman (10-8)
No. 15 Salem (4-12) at No. 2 Buena (16-5)

Friday roundup

Here are the results and details from Friday’s Salem County sports schedule

SOFTBALL
PENNSVILLE 3, HIGHLAND 0: Savannah Palverento may have had her string of consecutive hitless innings end at 12 1/3 with a leadoff single, but she extended her shutout streak to 16 1/3 consecutive innings with a seven-inning four-hitter.

The Eagles (15-4) have won 12 in a row. Half of the wins in the streak have been shutouts.

Mary Montagna singled home Sierra Stultz in the first inning. Avery Watson’s ground out brought home Montagna in the fourth. And Palverento singled home Kylie Harris in the fifth. Harris reached in the fifth on her 13th double of the season.

SCHALICK 7, CAPE MAY TECH 1: Abby Willoughby had a two-run single among her two hits and struck out 13 with no walks while spinning a complete-game four-hitter in the circle. Alexa Shimp and Rachael Irizarry had two hits apiece for the Cougars.

Willoughby’s two-run single came in the fourth inning and gave the Cougars a 4-0 lead. Irizarry singled home a run in the second, Lucy Virga singled home a run in the third and Shimp singled home a run in the fourth. Rachel Grandson had an RBI ground out in the fifth and Willoughby scored on a passed ball in the sixth.

BASEBALL
CUMBERLAND 7, PENNSVILLE 5: The Colts scored three runs on a pair of errors in the sixth inning and Luke Fithian turned the Eagles back over the final two innings to finish off a complete game. Fithian struck out 13.

Pennsville held leads of 2-0 and 5-4 in the game. Cohen Petrutz gave the Eagles their 5-4 lead in the fifth after Chase Burchfield and Peyton O’Brien delivered back-to-back RBI singles. O’Brien and Connor Starn singled runs home in the first inning.

Burchfield went 3-for-4, while O’Brien and Starn both went 2-for-4.

DELRAN 12, SCHALICK 2: The Cougars outhit Delran 9-4, but their pitchers issued 11 walks and hit four batters and six of them scored. Luke Pokrovsky, Ricky Watts and Jake Siedlecki – the heart of the Schalick order – had two hits apiece for the Cougars.

WOODSTOWN 3, GCIT 2: Blake Bialecki put the Wolverines ahead for good with a two-run single in the third inning and Rocco String helped his own cause with a RBI double in the fifth. String pitched two innings of relief and got the win. Jack Knorr set down the Cheetahs in order in the seventh for the save.

Pennsville (14-8), Woodstown (13-8) and Schalick (13-9) are projected as the 4, 5 and 6 seeds, respectively, in the upcoming South Jersey Group I playoffs. The cutoff date for power points is Saturday.

GOLF
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 187, PENNSVILLE 196, SALEM TECH 225: Pennsville’s Jacob Isaac and Gloucester Catholic’s Billy Stuski shared medalist honors after posting 6-over-par 42s at Sakima CC. Stuski birdied No. 9 to pull into the tie.

Gloucester Catholic posted three rounds in the 40s. Mason Griffith shot Salem Tech’s low round (48)

BOYS TENNIS
SCHALICK 5, CLAYTON 0
George Gould (S) def. Troy Hollis, 6-0, 6-0
Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Jayden Sanchez, 6-0, 6-0
Conor O’Toole (S) def. Dyshamir Miller, 6-1, 6-0
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. Guiseppe Wiltsey-Chase Murphy, 6-1, 6-0
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Briseis Hansen-Idris Stewart, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Clayton 4-7, Schalick 14-6.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-10, 25-16)

Hayes region’s best

Salem CC shortstop Region XIX Division II Player of the Year, three other Mighty Oaks players named to all-region team; will be updated

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Salem CC shortstop Ella Hayes was named Region XIX Division II Player of the Year and was among four Mighty Oaks softball players named to the all-region team.

Sophomore Karyn Trice was a first-team outfielder, while sophomore pitcher Morgan Mecham and sophomore catcher Vaye Savage were second-team picks.

“It’s very exciting,” Hayes said. “I am very honored and I’m just super glad I got to play with these girls and it gave me the opportunity to earn this award because without them there is no reward to be earned.”

Hayes, a freshman from Kansas City, “performed at the plate better than I thought I would.” She led all of Region XIX in batting (.595) – just missing her goal of hitting .600 for the season – was second in Division II slugging (1.000), tied for second in RBIs (61) – more than doubling her goal – and tied for third in homers (9). She was second nationally in Division II batting, second in on-base percentage (.646) and 12th in slugging.

During the Oaks’ school-record 19-game winning streak she batted .667 (36-for-54) with 43 RBIs. She struck out only once in 147 total plate appearances.

“I had a decent season but I personally think I could have performed better and helped out my team a little more,” she said. “There were a couple things that I should have been better at in my opinion, but overall I did what I could for the most part and I still had my team to back me up and everything when I wasn’t producing when I should have.”

Her consistency was the key. She was held hitless in only nine games. She had 22 multi-hit games, including 15 of three hits or more, had hitting streaks of 10 and six games (twice), and an RBI streak of seven straight games.

“She definitely had a tremendous year,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “She dominated offensively for sure; her numbers speak for themselves. She put in a lot of work. She definitely earned it. It was definitely nice to see … We definitely found a gem.”

Trice was the Mighty Oaks’ second-leading hitter (.460) and was a threat to turn any single or walk into a double. She was 20-for-20 stealing bases, tops in Region XIX Division II.

Savage hit .364 with eight homers and 45 RBIs. Mecham was 16-5 in the circle with 2.49 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 104 innings. At one stretch in the season she allowed just two earned runs over 34 2/3 innings with five shutouts.

“It talks to their hard work and the dedication they put in,” Rodriguez said. “The region is full of a lot of good talent, so to come up and be a part of it in their respective location is really good.

“Morgan had an incredible year this year and an incredible career, so it’s nice to see that recognition. The same with Vaye, seeing all the stuff she’s done and the hard work she’s put in, and Karyn as well. Karyn is a dual threat on the bases, hitting, covers a lot of ground in the outfield. They all earned their right and put in a lot of work just to be nominated for that, so it’s really nice to see.”

The year Hayes had attracted attention beyond South Jersey and Region XIX. She has a lot of interest from Division II schools back home, received an offer from Binghamton Wednesday, will continuing reaching out to Rutgers and will be visiting Emporia State when she gets home. She has a meeting set with Rodriguez Friday to discuss her future.

Rodriguez said Hayes “definitely has earned the lot of good eyeballs that are going to be looking her way,” but reiterated his desire to have her return.

“There’s no doubt we would love to have her back,” he said.

Making a (large) dent

Pennsville’s Harris hits two homers, one of which bangs off the family truck, drives in seven during Eagles’ rout of Pitman

TUESDAY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 18, Pitman 0
Woodstown 5, Glassboro 0
Overbrook 4, Schalick 3

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Most of the time when a child comes home with a ding in the family car dad is none too pleased.

Pennsville’s Kylie Harris doesn’t even drive yet, but she put a dent in her step-dad’s big ol’ truck Tuesday night and nobody seemed too upset about it.

Harris led off the Eagles’ first inning by parking a homer off the roof of her stepdad’s 2014 Dodge Ram that was parked just beyond the left-field fence at Watson Field, leaving a half-dollar sized welt that might could be explained away to some unsuspecting insurance man as hail damage. It was one of two homers the sophomore catcher hit in a career-best seven-RBI game in the Eagles’ 18-0 rout of Pitman.

“I’ve never seen him happier,” Harris said. “I didn’t know it was headed for the truck; I knew it was out though. I could tell that one right off the bat. It was a good feeling when I saw it hit the truck. As soon as I saw him come out the truck with his hands up it made me smile. I can’t wait to get out there and see it.”

Ironically, the shot might have caught her mom’s car in the windshield had she not moved it moments earlier to give stepdad a place to park.

Harris’ second homer – a three-run shot in the third inning to make it 18-0 – almost got another truck, but landed between two vehicles parked just beyond an access trail.

“I was like, ‘Dang, two?’” Harris said. “I don’t know that (other) truck so I’d have felt a little bad.”

Pennsville coach Beth Jackson said the first homer “brought a calm over everybody” after plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to the game. It was the Eagles’ Senior Night, but the rainy weather put a damper on the way they were going to recognize the upperclassmen and even whether they’d play the game. As it was, the early innings were played in the rain.

The Eagles batted around in each of the first two innings. They got nine hits out of the first six spots in the lineup and eight of the nine spots scored at least two runs. Harris had three hits, Savannah Palverento had two and senior Bella Rappa had two in one inning.

Harris’ homers weren’t the only ones the Eagles hit. Rappa hit her first high school homer in the eight-run second inning. She hit her first homer on any level last summer playing for the Pennsville LL Senior Softball World Series team.

“This one is more cooler just because it’s Senior Night,” Rappa said. “Just to watch their center fielder do this (turn and watch it go out) was really cool.”

While the Eagles’ hitters were having a field day, Palverento continued to literally be unhittable in the circle. She pitched the first three innings without allowing a hit – for the third consecutive game — extending her streak of hitless innings over her last four games to 12 1/3.

She did issue three one-out walks – one in each inning – but they never became a threat.

“I feel like this year I’ve been given more opportunities to pitch more and with more game time and reps at practice it’s just helped me become more consistent,” Palverento said. “The most impressive part is that I’m not even primarily a pitcher. I’m more a fielder, probably third base or outfield, but I’ve been used as a pitcher because our pitching staff is kind of low, so I feel like this stepping up is what’s impressing me the most.

“I don’t like to boast, but I’ve been feeling pretty good and hopefully I can continue this little streak towards next game against Clayton.”

She probably could have finished it and maybe recorded a third straight run-rule no-hitter, but because it was Senior Night senior Sierra Stultz came on to pitch the fourth. The Panthers got their only hit of the game off her, a two-out double that went nowhere.

“I just think she’s getting better,” Jackson said of Palverento. “I don’t know exactly when she started (pitching), but she hasn’t been pitching her whole life, so every single game she’s getting better. She threw a changeup for a strike today and we’ve been working with her to get comfortable with that. She’s put the work in and really come a long way.”

OVERBROOK 4, SCHALICK 3: Cecelia Mitchell singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to cap the Rams’ two-run rally. They scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly.

The Cougars built a 3-0 lead with single runs in the first (Cloe Elliott’s sacrifice fly), third and fifth (Cayla Sbrana’s RBI single). The Rams closed the game with single runs in the fifth and sixth.

Taylor Sparks and Lucianna Virga had two hits each for Schalick.

The win keeps Overbrook mathematically alive for a share of the division title with Woodstown, although Woodstown beat the Rams twice during the season.

WOODSTOWN 5, GLASSBORO 0: Tulana Mingin went 4-for-4 to set the program’s all-time hits record (132) and Liv Boultinghouse spun a four-hit shutout with eight strikeouts. Mingin broke the record with a slap double in the fifth inning. The Wolverines won their 26th straight Tri-County division game and clinched at least a share of the Diamond Division title.

The Wolverines are two games up on Overbrook in the loss column with two to play and have won both games with Overbrook during the season.

On the cover: Pennsville catcher Kylie Harris’ stepdad Jesse Brenneis (R) points to the spot on the roof of his truck where Kylie’ first homer of the game landed in the first inning Tuesday night.

Tuesday roundup

Here are the scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar; stories will be updated

BASEBALL
Penns Grove 11, Camden Eastside 2: Red Devils keeps marching towards a playoff spot.
Schalick 5, Overbrook 0: Luke Pokrovsky throws a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts.
Pitman 4, Pennsville 3: Pitman scores two in bottom of seventh, getting winning run on a two-out, two-strike wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Salem 10, Pleasantville 10: Andrew May homered for the Rams.
Woodstown 18, Glassboro 3: Andrew Pedrick collected his 100th career hit as the Wolverines clinched a share of the Diamond Division title.

SOFTBALL
Overbrook 4, Schalick 3: Cecelia Mitchell singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to cap the Rams’ two-run rally. Taylor Sparks and Lucianna Virga had two hits each for Schalick.
Pennsville 18, Pitman 0: Kylie Harris hits 2 homers and drives in seven runs, senior Bella Rappa hits her first high school homer on Senior Night and Savannah Palverento throws three more no-hit innings
Woodstown 5, Glassboro 0: Tulana Mingin goes 4-for-4, sets Woodstown all-time hits record (132). Wolverines score 26th straight Tri-County division win and clinch at least a share of the Diamond Division title.

BOYS TENNIS
SCHALICK 5, GLASSBORO 0
George Gould (S) def. Rowan Somdhal-Sands, 6-0, 6-0
Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Jesus Lopez, 6-0, 6-0
Connor O’Toole )S) def. Kileche Umbaofu, 6-0, 6-0
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) won by forfeit
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) won by forfeit
Records: Glassboro 0-13, Schalick 11-6.

PITMAN 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Maddox Marker (Pi) def. Alex Ramirez Martinez, 6-0, 6-0
Chase Rollins (Pi) def. Angel Perez Herrera, 6-0, 6-0
Cole Kelly (Pi) def. Adam Gonzalez, 6-0, 6-0
Charlie Duffield-Ethan Loudner (Pi) def. Anthony Pacheco-Jose Lima, 6-3, 6-2
Matthew Bauman-Dom Saffioti (Pi) def. Kevin Olivos-Edgar Ortega, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Penns Grove 3-8, Pitman 14-6.

GIRLS LACROSSE
Woodstown 14, Mainland 10

Push for the playoffs

Penns Grove baseball starts its run towards a playoff spot, Schalick’s Sparks collects 100th career hit, Pennsville’s Palverento spins second straight no-hitter and more

MONDAY BASEBALL
Penns Grove 13, LEAP 3
Pennsville 9, Salem 1
Cumberland 2, Schalick 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – Everyone knows the surest way to jinx a no-hitter is to talk about a no-hitter while a no-hitter is going on.

Penns Grove freshman Dylan Hyatt was cruising along with a no-no two outs into the third inning Monday against LEAP Academy. No sooner had somebody around the dugout slipped and said something about the gem then – BOOM – it was gone.

Hyatt gave up a solid double to Dwayne Perez and coach Chuck Weigle went to get him, not for any punishment but to save him to pitch later in what is a big week for the Red Devils’ playoff hopes. Luckily, they had a big lead at the time and went on to win 13-3 in five innings.

Hyatt threw 49 pitches, setting him up to be able to pitch against LEAP again Wednesday at Rutgers Camden. He struck out five and didn’t walk any, but hit three. He faced three hitters in the first thanks to a pickoff, walked the leadoff man in the second and then struck out the next three.

“I pulled him right after he gave up the hit to save his arm for the rest of the week,” Weigle said. “He’s got potential to be good., the potential’s there. He’s one of the better arms that I’ve seen as a freshman coming through this school in the past few years.”

It’s a big win for the Red Devils (3-12) to start a big week. They have eyes on a South Jersey Group I playoff spot and they’re currently No. 17 in power points – 11 behind cutline-riding Clayton – with three games to play before Saturday’s cutoff date: Group 3 Camden Eastside (2-6), LEAP (1-11) and Wildwood (10-8).

Their playoff push took a hit when they lost Friday’s game with Clayton to weather, but they have an opportunity to make a move this week. Clayton has three road games left before the cutoff at Wildwood, (10-8), Pennsville (13-7) and Glassboro (5-11).

Understandably, the Red Devils will be doing “a lot” (with emphasis) of scoreboard watching over the next four days.

They haven’t been in the playoffs since 2021.

“It would be awesome for these guys to make it,” Weigle said. “The last few seniors, get them another game in before they graduate, and for the handful of freshmen that we have, I think that’d be a great experience; get them in there, get them playing (and) impacting them wanting to come back and play.”

In addition to his pitching, Wyatt went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Chase Wills, the projected starter in Thursday’s game with Wildwood, went 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Ethan Brooks had two doubles and two RBIs and Elijah Crespo had a triple and drew three walks.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 POWER POINTS
(Top 16 teams qualify for playoffs)
1. Audubon (15-7) 486, 2. Gloucester (16-6) 449, 3. Pitman (16-5) 421, 4. Pennsville (13-7) 409, 5. Woodstown (12-8) 382, 6. Schalick (10-9) 312, 7. Cape May Tech (10-9) 311, 8. Haddon Twp. (7-12) 3-7, 9. Buena (6-16) 289, 10. Wildwood (10-8) 265; 11. Gateway (8-12) 244, 12. Paulsboro (6-15) 240, 13. Maple Shade (7-11) 234, 14. Glassboro (5-11) 189, 15. Salem (4-12) 166, 16. Clayton (3-12) 147, 17. Penns Grove (3-12) 136, 18. Camden Academy Charter (8-3) 128, 19. LEAP (1-11) 51.

PENNSVILLE 9, SALEM 1: Peyton O’Brien went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and four Pennsville pitchers combined to hold the Rams to four hits. Starting pitcher Jacob Grant also had three hits for the Eagles, which Chase Burchfield, the fourth of the Pennsville pitchers, drove in a pair of runs.

Chase Davis had three hits for Salem and drove in the Rams’ only run.

The Eagles (13-7, 5-0) travel to Pitman (16-5, 6-1) Tuesday for a game that should decide the Tri-County Classic Division title. Pennsville won the earlier meeting 11-1.

CUMBERLAND 2, SCHALICK 0: The Colts pushed across runs in the first and fifth innings and two pitchers kept the Cougars off the scoreboard on four hits.

Josh Bondine drove home both of the Colts’ runs, the first with a bases-loaded walk and the second on a two-out single. Kameron Fiorani scored both runs.

The Cougars (10-9) threatened a couple times in the game, but couldn’t get the timely hit. J.T. Fleming opened the game with a double, but was stranded after two hard line-outs to short and a fly to left. They also had runners in scoring position in the third and seventh.

SOFTBALL
Atlantic Tech 6, Schalick 3
Cinnaminson 2, Woodstown 1
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pennsville 19, Salem 0

PENNSVILLE 19, SALEM 0: Savannah Palverento homered and pitched a four-inning no-hitter, coming within a full-count walk with one out in the third inning of a perfect game. She threw 47 pitches, 30 for strikes.

It was Palverento’s second straight no-hitter, having blanked Wildwood over five innings in her last start. She has not allowed a hit in her last 9 1/3 innings.

“Savannah has done a great job working the last two games,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “She had one at-bat get away from her tonight and walked the girl, otherwise she’d have had a perfect game. She’s been working hard to improve her pitching game; she just started a couple years ago.”

Her homer was an inside-the-parker that scored three runs in the Eagles’ nine-run second inning.

Avery Watson had two hits and three RBIs; Cara Hoyt drove in three runs; Reagan Wariwanchik and Bella Farina had two hits apiece and Kylie Harris has two hits and two RBIs.

CINNAMINSON 2, WOODSTOWN 1: Kayla Meenan raced home from third on an infield grounder with one out in the bottom of the tenth to decide the game. Meenan was placed at second base as the ghost runner, was sacrificed to third and came home on Delaney Kroll’s grounder to third.

The Wolverines (10-7) loaded the bases with none out in the top of the tenth, but couldn’t get them home as the Pirates framed two strikeouts around a force out at the plate.

Cinnaminson (16-7) scored an unearned run in the fourth inning and the Wolverines tied it in the sixth when Tulana Mingin came around on Ellie Wygand’s sacrifice.

ATLANTIC TECH 6, SCHALICK 3: The Cougars took an early lead with three runs in the third inning, but the Redhawks scored five over the last three innings to get the win.

Schalick senior Taylor Sparks picked up her 100th career hit in the game with a single in the fourth inning. She is now 100-for-218 for her four-year career (.459). Abby Willoughby, Ally Shrimp, Cloe Elliott, Rachael Irizarry and Lucianna Virga also had hits for the Cougars.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 POWER POINTS
(Top 16 qualify for playoffs)
1. Audubon (11-4) 406, 2. Buena (14-5) 389, 3. Pennsville (13-4) 367, 4. Haddon Twp. (13-6) 351, 5. Woodstown (10-7) 310, 6. Pitman (10-7) 287, 7. Maple Shade (10-5) 286, 8. Palmyra (8-8) 229, 9. Paulsboro (9-7) 223, 10. Cape May Tech (8-10) 192, 11. Glassboro (5-13) 189, 12. Clayton (5-11) 186, 13. Schalick (7-7) 167, 14. Gateway (4-10) 156, 15. Salem (4-12) 145, 16. Wildwood (2-11) 114, 17. Camden Academy Charter (6-4-1) 110, 18. LEAP (5-11) 72, 19. Penns Grove (0-8) 52.

GOLF

BRIDGEWATER TWP. — Schalick sophomore Jaxon Weber shot 92 at Raritan Valley Country Club in his first experience in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.

The South Jersey Group I medalist, playing as an individual, got off to a slow start, making 8 on his first hole (No. 5), but he came right back with a par. He parred five of his last seven holes on the back nine, including three in a row (14-16), and six of his last 10 overall.

SCHALICK GIRLS 230, OLMA 230: Schalick’s Hannah Widdifield was the medalist at White Oaks CC (51), with the only birdie in the round on the 400-yard par-5 third. The Cougars won the team playoff by two shots (Cali Fisler 61 and Sarah Pagnanelli 61 to a 61-63 for OLMA.

BOYS TENNIS
CINNAMINSON 3, SCHALICK 2
Evan Kozuch (C) def. George Gould, 6-3, 6-3
Drew Harvey (C) def. Jesus Espinoza, 7-5, 4-6, 10-7
Davi De Brito Melo (C) def. Conor O’Toole, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. Nathan Costa-Colby Warwick, 6-2, 6-4
Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski (S) def. Michael Crandall-Daman McGee, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7
Records: Cinnaminson 9-4, Schalick 10-6.

WEST DEPTFORD 4, PENNSVILLE 1
Nate Bassett (WD) def. Gabe Schneider, 6-1, 6-3
Maddox Efelis (Pv) def. Carter Watson, 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 10-7
Andrew Eagle (WD) def. Brody Wiggins, 6-4, 6-3
Chase Struzynski-Aiden Bardon (WD) def. Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft, 6-2, 6-2
Carter Weber-Allen Eastlack (WD) def. Sawyer Humphrey-Luke Chamberlain, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Pennsville 14-3, West Deptford 14-3.

CLEARVIEW 5, WOODSTOWN 0
Andrew Crawford (C) def. Tim Schwienbacher, 6-2, 6-3
Nanda Guntupalli (C) def. Drew Stengel, 6-1, 6-1
Gabe Bruno (C) def. Erich Lipovsky, 6-0, 7-6 (7-1)
Travis Lyons-Joey Lindenbaum (C) def. Ben Stengel-Joseph Kurds, 6-3, 6-1
Tucker Chestnut-Jackson Dickler (C) def. Mason Shimp-Luke Shaw, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 10-4, Clearview 13-3.