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 best four of five; girls two-player teams

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

End of two eras

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.”

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..

Making their pitch

Woodstown pitchers have been tough to reach in May, trio shuts down Maple Shade in South Jersey Group I playoff opener

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

WOODSTOWN – If there is one aspect of his team Woodstown baseball coach Marc DeCastro has been particularly proud of lately it would be the emergence of his pitchers.

They’ve gone from a bunch that had taken their lumps early in a season to becoming quite steady over this last month. Three pitchers combined to hold Maple Shade to three hits and one unearned run Thursday giving the Wolverines a chance to take a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

Michael Valente and Jack Knorr gave the Wolverines two innings of no-hit ball on the front and back ends, respectively. Dante Holmes worked the middle three, giving up three hits, a walk, the run and striking out four. Valente retired all six batters he faced to open the game.

The Wolverines have given up two runs or fewer six times in 10 games this month, including each of the last two, going 5-1 in those games. They allowed five runs or more in five of their first eight games of the season, including each of the last four, going 2-3.

“From where we started the season to play a playoff game and throw like we did is great,” DeCastro said. “Because we’ve been able to make some adjustments and become a lot better as a group on the mound as opposed to individually on the mound; that’s kind of how we had to approach some things.

“Early early in the year we were letting up eight plus runs in maybe three of the first five games we played, then we continued on to settle down slightly but we were still getting down early in game and having to come back and whole bunch. We had to alter the way we did things to solidify the ability to get some leads and hold some leads instead of trying to come back on leads.”

All of the game’s runs came in the fourth and fifth innings and the Wolverines never trailed.

They broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the fourth on Rocco String’s solo homer and Caden Spinelli’s two-out RBI single. Maple Shade scored its run in the top of the fifth on an infield error, but the Wolverines got it back on Andrew Pedrick’s sacrifice fly.

Spinelli and Ty Coblentz both had two hits for the Wolverines.

The win sets up a second-round matchup at Pennsville Wednesday.

“We’ve done it before; we played them a couple years ago at our place in the tournament,” DeCastro said. “They’re always one of the better teams in South Jersey, so for the most part if you want to get somewhere you probably have to go through them. That’s just the situation that we’re in. As long as we handle it with some calmness we’ll be fine.”

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 15^th 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.

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).

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

Friends in playoff

Schermerhorn edges Woodstown teammate Covely in sudden death in Salem/Cumberland county tournament; Cumberland’s Tarquinio girls medalist, Wolverines, Colts win team titles

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CENTERTON — Imagine if you will a sudden-death playoff the likes of Couples-Norman, JT-Speith, McIlroy-Lowry or Westwood-Clarke.

That’s the kind of flavor you got Monday when the Salem-Cumberland county golf championship came down to good friends and Woodstown teammates Jacob Schermerhorn and Jeffrey Covely playing for boys medalist honors at Centerton Country Club.

Schermerhorn, the defending champ, and Covely were the last golfers standing in an initial three-way sudden death before Schermerhorn took out his buddy with a two-putt par on the second extra hole.

“The entire time we were just excited to just hopefully get a chance to win 1 and 2, me and him,” Schermerhorn said. “That’s my guy. I can’t complain. I got to go with my best friend. Between me and him, as long as me or him got first or second neither of us would’ve complained. And fortunately I came out on top. So now I have something to brag about.”

“Going into the playoff with him our senior year is awesome; I couldn’t have written it up any better,” Covely said. “Of course, I want to win – everyone wants to win – but that’s my best friend. I’m happy for him. I’m not going to be jealous or mad or anything. That’s the best way of getting second, I guess you could say.”

The third golfer in the playoff was Schalick senior Ryan Johnson. He fell out after the first playoff hole when his wedge betrayed him from 70 yards after being the longest off the tee. All three players shot 4-over-par 75 in regulation.

Schermerhorn forced a three-way playoff when he bogeyed his 18th hole. He extended the playoff with a 25-foot par “putt of my life” on the first extra hole with Covely staring down a seven-inch kick in for the win.

The playoff started on No. 2 because course crews were working on 1 and 18 and for a brief time it looked like Johnson was going to come out of the playoff on top. All three players were inside 100 yards off the tee, but they all hit terrible second shots.

Covely went first and blocked his wedge off to the right about 15 yards from the green in deep rough. Schermerhorn wound up 15 yards behind the green. With the door open, all Johnson had to do was hit the green and he’d have the advantage. Instead, with a good lie but an awkward stance, he got underneath the ball and lit squirted off the clubface, landing about 15 yards short of the green. He wound up making bogey to end his day and leave the two friends to battle it out.

“The backswing felt good and then just messed it up,” he said. “I was between a 54 and 58. I wanted to go with the 58 and hit it well today. I should have gone with my gut. When you step up without confidence you’re not going to hit a good shot ever. That’s what happened there.”

Covely’s brilliant pitch settled a few inches from the hole and put the advantage clearly in his bag. Schermerhorn hit last and left his 60-degree wedge in the middle of the green.

“After the second shot on 2, I really thought Ryan was going to end up taking that hole and me and Jeffrey would be battling it out for second,” Schermerhorn said. “He (Covely) hit an amazing chip shot and I made the putt of my life.”

“The whole time (after the pitch) I thought I was going to win,” Covely said. “I thought that was it, but, nah, he always has those hero putts every now and then. I hadn’t seen one from him in a while, but he was due for one and that was it. I was happy for him.”

It all came down to the par-3 third.

Covely overswung a 6-iron off the tee and hit it in the right greenside bunker. Schermerhorn went with a 4-iron and put it on the right collar pin high about 15 feet from the hole.

Covely left his second shot in the bunker, then blasted out to seven feet. All Schermerhorn had to do was two-putt and the victory was his. His first putt didn’t make it to the hole, but he made the three-footer to end it.

“The first chip on the first playoff hole I blocked out, I knew I still had a chance because they still had to hit,” Covely said. “When I duffed that chip (in the bunker) and I saw him on the fringe I knew it was over. I knew he would two-putt from there. He doesn’t bang his long ones every time but he’s a consistent two-putter.”

Woodstown won the boys team title in a field reduced to five two-man teams by cost considerations and a scheduling conflict with the Cape Atlantic League. Because of the situation, both counties played for one prize in each gender instead of separate boys, girls and team titles for each county as they have in the past.

Cumberland Regional won the girls title behind a record-setting 84 by sophomore medalist Nicole Tarquinio. Her round was highlighted by back-to-back birdies for the first time in her career early in the back nine. She shot 91 in winning the Cumberland County girls medal last year as a freshman.

“That 84 is actually the best I’ve done, but I’ve been practicing really hard and every time I go out I’ve been shooting better and better,” she said. “I really see the improvement and I’m really happy I broke 90. I’m happy my hard work is paying off.”

Her birdie on 12 was a 9-iron off the tee to five feet. The one on 13 came with a hybrid from the right rough that bounced in front of the green and rolled up to 15 feet above the hole. She was hoping to make it three in a row on the par-5 and nearly chipped in for it from the back of the green.

“I think I was just more focused (on the back nine),” she said. “I just got too worried on the front nine. I was just in my head and I just relaxed.”

NOTES: Schalick’s Hannah Widdifield took second in the girls field by winning a playoff from Cumberland’s Emily Bruce. Widdifield parred the first extra hole. Both shot 95 in regulation … Schalick’s boys play for a share of the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division title Tuesday. If the Cougars defeat Pennsville at Sakima CC, they will share the division with Woodstown and both teams will send full teams to the TCC Championship next Tuesday at Pitman GC. The four division winners (five with a Schalick-Woodstown share) will send full teams, while everyone else will submit two entries each … The TCC Championship will be Johnson’s final high school tournament, but not the end of his golf. He will enter the PGM program at Coastal Carolina later this summer … If they played the tournament as a two-man best ball, Woodstown’s duo would have edged Schalick by a stroke thanks to birdies on 16 and 17

While the teams were taking their positions in the shotgun start, in a play unrelated to the tournament, Rowan University freshman quarterback Nate Maiers scored his first ever hole-in-one in front of the tournament field on No. 3. The Swedesboro native aced the 181-yard par-3 with a 7-iron. When the ball disappeared into the cup Maiers and his three playing partners – Roman Kuzmick, Dean Martin and Dylan Fuchs — all sprinted from the tee box to the green to check it out. “That was wild,” Maiers said.

SALEM/CUMBERLAND COUNTY TOURNAMENT
At Centerton CC

BOYS TEAM	SCORE	GIRLS TEAM	SCORE
Woodstown	150	Cumberland	179
Schalick	154	Schalick	206
Pennsville	186	Pennsville	238
Cumberland	199	Woodstown	240
Salem Tech	200

BOYS INDIVIDUAL	SCORE	GIRLS INDIVIDUAL	SCORE
Jacob Schermerhorn, Woodstown	36-36–75	Nicole Tarquinio, Cumberland	45-39–84
Jeffrey Covely, Woodstown	39-36–75	Hannah Widdifield, Schalick	45-50–95
Ryan Johnson, Schalick	39-36–75	Emily Bruce, Cumberland	45-50–95
Lance Creighton, Schalick	40-39–79	Julie Swierczynski, Woodstown	49-61–110
Jacob Isaac, Pennsville	43-39–82	Lena Virga, Schalick	57-54–111
Stephen Wilchensky, Cumberland	42-44–86	Maische Degamo, Pennsville	62-55–117
Mason Griffith, Salem Tech	48-42–90	Abigail Bohn, Pennsville	59-62–121
Nolan Dowell, Pennsville	50-54–104	Kathrine Lewis, Woodstown	63-67–130
Jacob Ferrell-Tomarchio, Salem Tech	58-52–110
Billy Cleaver, Cumberland	56-57–113

Schermerhorn won on second hole of sudden-death playoff; Widdifield got second in girls on first hole of sudden-death playoff