Pennsville LL Senior Softball All-Stars open the defense of their Section 4 title Monday by sweeping past a pair of opponents into the championship round
By Riverview Sports News
CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE – The Pennsville Little League’s Senior Softball All-Stars’ weather-delayed bid for another sectional title and trip to the state tournament got off to a big start Monday when they beat each of the other two teams in the field to move into the championship round.
The defending East Region champions opened their defense with a 7-2 win over Middle Twp. and completed the night’s sweep with a 14-0 rout of Monroe. Jess Bretz homered in each game and threw a five-inning no-hitter with 15 strikeouts in the nightcap.
Pennsville will await the winner of Tuesday’s elimination game between Middle and Monroe game in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. championship game. A second game will follow if necessary at 8 p.m.
“I think we played to our potential today,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said. “Even the new girls made some good contact, bunted well and did their jobs in the field.”
Bretz gave Pennsville a 1-0 lead in the Middle Twp. game with a leadoff homer in the second inning. They added three more in the second on Avery Watson’s RBI double, an RBI single by Kylie Harris and a run-scoring error. Harris had a run-producing ground out in the fifth that made it 5-0.
Meanwhile, Savannah Palverento kept Middle off the board through the fifth inning, allowing only three hits in the stretch and getting some strong defense to allow her to face only one over the minimum. Middle scored its only two runs in the sixth.
“We had a couple incoming freshmen playing second all night,” Watson said. “Van (Savannah Guglielmo), for one, made a nice play to feed Avery with a double play ball and rifled a relay from right to catch a girl going for three.”
Bretz stole the show in the nightcap. She got all her outs via strikeout, faced six batters over the minimum and allowed only one runner past second base. Her grand slam in a seven-run fourth provided the exclamation point.
She threw three no-hitters through the state tournament during last year’s run to the World Series in Delaware..
“Our core returners led on the field and in the dugout,” Watson said. “Jess is a year older and it shows in how she carries herself. She was hearing a lot of noise from the opposing bleachers and she handled it like an adult. The grand slam was timely for that.”
Pennsville had only four hits in the nightcap – Bretz had two of them – but they had plenty of baserunners. They took advantage of five Monroe errors and 10 walks. Avery Watson drove in three runs in the game, two with a triple that made it 7-0 in the third inning.
SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL (At Middle Twp. LL) MONDAY’S GAMES G1: Pennsville 7, Middle/Dennis Twp. 2 G2: Pennsville 14, Monroe 0 TUESDAY’S GAME G3: Middle/Dennis vs. Monroe, 6 p.m. WEDNESDAY’S GAMES G4: Pennsville vs. Middle/Dennis-Monroe winner, 6 p.m. G5: If necessary, 8 p.m. (Winner to State Tournament at Dennis Twp. LL)
PENNSVILLE – What started off as a simple phone call just to gauge interest in coaching at the next level developed into an unexpected opportunity for Pennsville Little League softball coach Chris Watson.
Watson, the Pennsville LL president and head coach of the league’s 2023 Senior Softball World Series team, is joining Salem Community College coach Angel Rodriguez’ staff as an assistant coach.
“It kind of came as a surprise,” Watson said. “I never really thought about it before; I’m super thankful by wife was OK with it. I wasn’t expecting it to go over very well, but she’s actually kind of excited. I’m pretty pumped.”
Watson has developed this latest wave of Pennsville LL softball players into a state and regional summertime power. Last year’s team continued its progression through district, sectional and state titles, swept through the East Regional and finished seventh in the Little League Senior Softball World Series. Current Salem CC assistant Mackenzie Freas is one of Watson’s assistants.
It is about to embark on the defense of all those titles in a couple weeks.
The Mighty Oaks had an historic season in 2024. They won a school-record 31 games, enjoyed a school-record 19-game winning streak in the middle of the season and won a game in the Region XIX Tournament. Shortstop Ella Hayes was the Region XIX Player of the Year.
Assistant coach Chad Zearfoss has left the staff after three seasons to become the head softball coach at Cecil (Md.) College.
Rodriguez said adding Watson and Josie Bryszewski to the staff “will help tremendously.” He said specific coaching roles will start taking shape once off-season meetings begin, but Watson is eager to start. Bryszewski, a standout pitcher at Immaculata, was a Division III All-American at Moravian, where she most recently served as pitching coach.
“I want to learn all this stuff, all the recruiting and how colleges run practices and games,” he said. “I’m interested in all the little things they do differently.”
Earlier in the week, the Oaks announced several of their veterans have signed to play at four-year schools: Karyn Trice (Chestnut Hill), Haylee Pickrell (Chestnut Hill), Courtney Hoggard (Elizabeth City State), Morgan Mecham (Delaware Valley), Vaye Savage (Rider) and Caitlin LaGreca (Rosemont).
Among the signees they have landed to fill those spots include Pennsville’s Bella Rappa and Lilly Peverelle.
“We’re excited to get the incoming and returners on campus and begin rolling … should be a great squad we have ready to roll,” Rodriguez said. “Adding in Josie and Chris to our staff will help tremendously.”
Audubon scores nine unearned runs in fourth inning to put Pennsville out of South Jersey softball playoffs, snap Eagles’ 15-game winning streak
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS Thursday’s Semifinals (1) Audubon 12, (4) Pennsville 0 (3) Haddon Twp. 9, (2) Buena 1 Saturday’s Championship Game (3) Haddon Twp. (19-6) at No. 1 Audubon (18-5)
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
AUDUBON – It’s amazing how one play can change the course of an entire game, but when you have a lineup like Audubon’s sometimes that’s all it takes.
The Pennsville softball team was expecting a tight game in their South Jersey Group I semifinal with top-seeded Audubon Thursday, a game the Eagles knew they needed to be at the top of their game.
An error in the infield with two outs in the fourth inning opened the door to nine unearned runs that propelled the Green Wave to a 12-0 victory to snap the Eagles’ 15-game winning streak, deny them an undefeated May and end their season.
“You can’t make mistakes against teams like that; they’re a good team,” a tearful Pennsville coach Beth Jackson said after breaking the Eagles’ post-game huddle.
It was still anybody’s game going to the bottom of the fourth and the Eagles came thisclose to keeping it that way. But they also were that close from it getting away, too.
The Green Wave had a runner at third with two outs and the Eagles were effectively one pitch from getting out of it, but shortstop Avery Watson mishandled Peyton Marrone’s sharp grounder and then threw the ball past first baseman Bella Rappa when she recovered. It allowed the run to score and opened the floodgates.
The next seven Audubon batters all delivered hits and the next nine reached safely. Ava Grebel got the tidal wave rolling with an RBI double off the base of the short 182-foot left-field fence. Abigail Tole and Emma Speyerer both ripped two-run triples. The Eagles (18-5) also made three more errors that either allowed runs to score or runners to take an extra base.
“We tell the girls all the time just putting the pressure on the defense is key – putting balls in play, hitting balls hard,” Audubon coach Erin Small said. “It doesn’t always have to be a hit, just put the pressure on the defense, allow them to make a play or make a mistake.
“We were able to string some good hits together along with some mistakes and it’s contagious. Hitting is contagious. Fortunately, we were on the good side of it today.”
Aubudon reached Pennsville starter Savannah Palverento for three runs in the first inning before Jackson lifted her for Sierra Stultz with one out. Stultz stomped out that fire on seven pitches and got out of a second-and-third jam in the third inning to keep the Eagles in it.
“I was thinking I had to keep them from scoring and I had to do my job and hit my spots,” Stultz said.
“That’s been her whole (approach) all season; she’s done her job, she’s always ready to go,” Jackson said. “I know she’s ready, but I’m always asking her, but that just helps me give her a mental check. She’s done her job all year and always done it with a smile.”
The smile turned to frustration in the fourth. Stultz got two of the first three hitters on infield outs, but things were about to change – and quickly – as the Wave began making contact with the good pitches she was throwing.
Audubon ended up getting nine hits in the big inning and 14 in the game. Speyerer, Grebel and Tole had three apiece. Tole was a homer short of the cycle. The Green Wave have scored 40 runs in their three playoff games.
“We were hoping for a big inning, we just had to really sit back on her,” Small said of Stultz. “Her speed was a little slower than the first (pitcher). When she first came in we were popping up, we were reaching, so our timing was off.
“We just felt like after getting through her at least one time we felt confident we’d be able to put some hits together and we were fortunate enough to do that behind some of the mistakes they made as well.”
Pennsville’s bats, meanwhile, loud throughout the winning streak, were silenced by Audubon pitcher Emily Bobo. She held the Eagles to three hits over the first four innings, struck out eight – two in each inning – and turned back their two threats when it was still a game.
The Eagles put two on with one out in the first, but their next two hitters struck out. They loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Bobo got out of that with an infield fly and her final strikeout. Audubon has not allowed a run in the playoffs and has shut out four of its last five opponents.
“You have to hit the ball to get runs in,” Jackson said. “We knew we were going to see good pitching and tried to prepare for it as best as possible, but it was probably the best pitching we’ve seen all season from all 23 games.”
The Green Wave (18-5) will host third-seeded Haddon Twp. (19-6) Saturday in the South Jersey Group I championship game.
NOTES: It was the first time the Eagles had been shut out all season and the first time they’d been shutout since last year’s season opener (Clayton 8-0) … Bella Farina, Lilly Birney and Stultz had Pennsville’s three hits … The Green Wave held Rappa hitless in three plate appearances, denying her a 50th hit at Pennsville and 100th in her career. She finished with 97 career hits … The five losses are the fewest for a Pennsville softball team since it went 22-5 in 2014. The Eagles were trying to get to the SJ finals for the first time since 2019.
Streaking Pennsville rallies from two four-run deficits, beats Maple Shade in SJ Group I playoffs on Harris’ walk-off single
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS Tuesday’s quarterfinals (1) Audubon 15, (8) Paulsboro 0 (4) Pennsville 9, (5) Maple Shade 8 (3) Haddon Twp. 3, (6) Woodstown 1 (2) Buena 6, (10) Gateway 4 Thursday’s semifinals Pennsville (18-4) at Audubon (17-5), 4 p.m. Haddon Twp. (18-6) at Buena (18-6) Saturday’s game Championship game at higher seed
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The Pennsville softball team hasn’t been behind much since its last loss 45 days ago, but the Eagles trailed by four runs twice in Tuesday’s South Jersey Group I quarterfinals and just weren’t fazed by it.
They battled back both times to get back in the game and now they’re in the South Jersey Final Four for the first time since 2021.
Sophomore catcher Kylie Harris’ two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh scored Avery Watson from second and allowed the Eagles to walk off Maple Shade 9-8 for their 15th straight win.
“It felt really good to do that for my team,” Harris said. “They wanted that win super bad and you could just feel the energy in the dugout, so I knew what I needed to do.
“I left runners on my last at bat and I wanted to make my last at bat count.”
Now, a win at top-seeded Audubon (17-5) in Thursday’s 4 p.m. semifinal would send the Eagles (18-4) to the South Jersey finals for the first time since 2019, when they lost to Buena.
The Eagles have trailed a total of two innings since losing to West Deptford on April 13, but were down 5-1 and 8-4 against the Wildcats. The last time they trailed any opponent was 3-2 in the second inning against Pitman April 18.
They gave up three runs in the first inning Tuesday and trailed 5-1 in the third. They made it 5-4 in the third on Bella Rappa’s RBI single and Lilly Birney’s two-run double, but the Wildcats went back up 8-4 in the fourth.
The Eagles rallied for three in the fifth to bring it back to 8-7, then tied it on Bella Farina’s homer to center in the sixth – her ninth of the season – and won it in the seventh.
“I pulled them all together before we went out (for the seventh) and just said everybody take a deep breath, it’s a 0-0 game, we’re going back out, take a deep breath, you know what to do,” Eagles coach Beth Jackson said. “This is all stuff that you’ve done, nothing that you haven’t done all season. They were all fired up anyway in the dugout.”
The Eagles had multiple runners on base all inning in the seventh. They had runners at first and second with two outs when Harris delivered her game-winning hit. It was her 40th hit of the season. She is 31-of-56 (.554) during the winning streak.
“Kylie hit the some bullets right at them and they made some nice catches, so she came up big,” Jackson said. “It was good that she wasn’t frustrated from her at-bats earlier in the game. You keep at it you’re going to find a hole. There were a couple of nice things that happened that inning to lead up to that win.”
Savannah Palverento and Rappa both had three hits for the Eagles. Rappa and Birney each had three RBIs. Rappa is 6-for-8 with five RBIs in two playoff games and 26-of-47 (.553) during the winning streak. She is three hits shy of 100 for her Penns Grove/Pennsville career.
Wolverines fall to sharp pitcher in South Jersey Group I softball quarterfinals in Wildermuth’s final game
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS Tuesday’s quarterfinals (1) Audubon 15, (8) Paulsboro 0 (4) Pennsville 9, (5) Maple Shade 8 (3) Haddon Twp. 3, (6) Woodstown 1 (2) Buena 6, (10) Gateway 4 Thursday’s semifinals Pennsville at Audubon Haddon Twp. at Buena Saturday’s game Championship game at higher seed
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WESTMONT – Dave Wildermuth made it a point to hug every player in Woodstown’s post-game huddle. He saved the longest hug and kindest words for senior shortstop Tulana Mingin.
The best three-year run in Woodstown softball history and a longtime teaching and coaching tenure came to a mutual close Tuesday when Haddon Twp. scored two unearned runs in the sixth inning and ushered the Wolverines out of the South Jersey Group I softball quarterfinals, 3-1.
The Hawks broke a 1-1 tie on Mikayla Callahan’s two-run single. They will now travel to second-seeded Buena for one of Thursday’s semifinals.
Earlier this year Wildermuth announced his retirement from teaching and coaching effective at the end of the school year. He didn’t want to talk about any farewell tour while the season played out or even at the start of the playoffs, but coming up just short in a hard-fought game brought a sense of reality to the situation. If you listened real close, you could hear him getting emotional during his post-game interview.
Wildermuth coached Woodstown softball for the last three seasons, to a combined record of 49-20 and three straight division titles. He had never missed the playoffs and reached the South Jersey Group I semifinals each of his previous two years. Mingin was among his most decorated players, setting the program’s all-time hits record this season (137) and going out as a .523 career hitter.
“I just told the seniors I’ve coached a lot of different sports at Woodstown, all different levels, the last three years coaching softball – and I’ve only coached three years – has been the ride of my life with these girls,” he said. “Probably the greatest era of girls softball in Woodstown High School history and they’ve been a big part of it.
“It was unbelievable. The girls from day one took to me, everybody got in line and we just had three great seasons.”
The players felt the same way about their coach.
“It actually hurt me a lot (that today was the end) because I’m just so grateful he came in and stepped in to coach us,” second baseman Kayla Brown said. “He’s the best coach I could ask for. It’s just tough to see him leave, but I’m glad I got to experience my high school career with him.”
“I’m going to miss him – a lot,” Mingin said. “I’m going to miss high school softball a lot, so it meant a lot to me.”
The Wolverines made the first move to keep it going by striking first against Hawks pitcher Jordan Strauss, but the run they scored in the first inning was their only one of the game.
Mingin helped create it when she drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on Ellie Wygand’s infield out and scored on Brown’s two-out single up the middle. It was the 117th run of Mingin’s career.
“I felt pretty confident with (Strauss),” Brown said. “I was fouling off a lot of pitches, so I felt like hitting the ball was something I could do. I knew I had to make an adjustment because I kept fouling the ball off and I made the adjustment perfectly and it got through the gap and Tulana scored. It was a really exciting moment.”
The Hawks got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Strauss tripled into the right field corner and scored on an infield ground out.
Strauss and Woodstown pitchers Liv Boultinghouse and Grace White went head-to-head in the circle. Strauss held the Wolverines to two hits and struck out 13. Boultinghouse pitched the first four and gave up only two hits after the first.
The Hawks broke the tie against White in the sixth. White got the first two batters out, but the Hawks kept the inning alive when Jamie Kozarski reached on a low throw to first from Mingin and went all the way to second.
“It was a slow roller and a slow roller in the gap like that the throw is going to be a little rushed, so I threw it a little low,” Mingin said.
The Wolverines still had a chance to get out of the inning with no damage, but Abby Lyons followed with a bunt single to move Kozarski along and she kept moving to second. Callahan then delivered her two-run single to center.
The Hawks continued to load the bases but the inning ended when Strauss was out for interference for plowing through Mingin on a grounder to short.
Strauss put the Wolverines down in order in the seventh to close out the game.
“We ran into a really good pitcher today, so give them credit,” Wildermuth said. “I told (his players) at practice the other day at this point everybody’s a good team (and) it’s going to come down to the team that makes the less mistakes or gets that one key hit.
“That’s what happened today. We had the one defensive play that kept the inning alive and then they capitalized with a hit. That was the difference in the game.”
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.
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.
WAGNER
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.
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).
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.
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
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
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)
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