Salem CC’s record softball season ends in hard-fought Region XIX tournament loss to eventual runner-up Mercer

REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s games
Mercer CC 10, Salem CC 8
Mercer CC 13, Delaware Tech 6
Championship game
Delaware Tech 11, Mercer CC 9
NOTE: Delaware Tech plays at Region X runnerup Bryant & Stratton (Va.); Mercer CC plays at Region X champion Louisburg (N.C.).

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST WINDSOR – Midnight came to Cinderella a little before noon Saturday.

The Salem CC softball team literally gave host Mercer CC all it could handle for the second day in a row but it took a sixth-inning rally for the top-seeded Vikings to put the relentless Mighty Oaks away.

Mercer fired the last salvo in a back-and-forth game, scoring two runs in the sixth inning to hand Salem a 10-8 loss in the Region XIX semifinals and bring to an end a record-setting season for the Mighty Oaks.

The Mighty Oaks shut out Mercer in the opening game of the tournament and held leads of 1-0, in the first inning, 4-3 in the third and 8-5 in the fifth Saturday; in fact, they held leads in all three of their tournament games. But the Vikings, the eventual tournament runner-ups, answered every time before taking the lead for good in the sixth.

“We definitely fought hard, we definitely pushed until the end; we just fell short at the end,” freshman catcher Callie Rozak said. “We scored just as much or more runs than they did, but in the end just came up a little short.”

“They underestimated us throughout the whole season I wanted to prove a point,” centerfielder Karyn Trice said. “I know everyone wanted to prove a point. I hoped we would come out on top, but we played hard and I think we really made a name for ourselves.”

The Oaks’ first three batters of the game all singled with Courtney Hoggard giving them a 1-0 lead. In the third inning Vaye Savage doubled home a run and two more scored on Rozak’s liner that hit hard off pitcher Shea Krebs’ upper body, was fielded in the infield and then thrown into foul territory.

The took their 8-5 lead in the fifth on a pair of two-run homers by Savage and Rozak. It was Rozak’s third homer in three tournament games (10 at-bats). The freshman catcher had hit only one during the regular season.

“The biggest thing is my swing,” Rozak said. “This past week we broke it down, we really changed it, we really harnessed all the power that I had and we put it into one nice full swing. I definitely think this year was me finding my power towards the end of the year. I’ve had base hits, I’ve had one other home run this year, but never like, OK, I’m consistently hitting it, we’re getting the ball out.”

The three-run lead left them nine outs away from a trip to the region championship round and  a guaranteed berth in the Atlantic District playoffs next week at the Region X representatives.

But Mercer wanted a piece of that, too. The Vikings tied it with three in the bottom of the inning sixth on a two-run homer by Maya Patel and a throwing error trying to complete an inning-ending bases-loaded double play. 

Hoggard made another nice stop at the third base bag on a hot shot, but instead of stepping on the base and firing home for a tag, she went home with the throw. Rozak took a short hop for the force, then fired on to first, but her throw sailed past Savage and into right field allowing the tying run to score.

“I definitely knew it was coming forward,” Rozak said. “We just had a time out about it and everybody was saying ‘4 then 1 (home then first base). That throw definitely was a throw I got nervous about because it was bouncy, the turf is hard and it bounced right before my glove and I was like I’ve just got to catch this ball, that’s all I have to do, I have to make this out.

“I probably shouldn’t have made the throw (to first). In my head I was like ‘hold it, hold it,’ and in the back of my head hearing everyone yelling ‘1, 1, 1,’ I thought maybe I still had a chance.”

The Vikings scored their two go-ahead runs on an RBI double by Cierra Acevedo that fell squarely on the right-field foul line and a sacrifice fly by Patel after both hitters fouled off a pair of 0-2 pitches from Morgan Mecham.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We played our best yesterday and they (Mercer) were going to be hungry coming out and wanting to make a difference. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“They did everything that we asked. They came into a week where they were the true underdogs and they battled. It didn’t come out  our way – that’s softball – but they did everything we could ask.”

There were expectedly tears and hugs in the Mighty Oaks’ post-game huddle, but there also was a lot of pride in what the team showed this season in its second year back on the field and in the tournament.

The Mighty Oaks had a 30-win season, opened their new home at Pennsville’s Watson Field with a 14-game winning streak, went 18-2 at home, had a 19-game overall winning streak and won its first playoff game in school history.

“The biggest thing was how well we came together as a team,” Rozak said. “Coming from everywhere around the country, the world, and coming together as one and being there for each other, that’s a huge part of this game.”

“We had something to prove since Day One,” Trice said. “Since we’re a second-year program nobody thought we could do it and I’m just glad we put our name out there. We really showed what Salem’s all about. That’s what makes it so special to me, we’re a second-year program and doing all these things.”