Mighty Oaks overcome flat outing, hold off Union to extend winning streak to 9, get back to .500 for first time since mid-March
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – A month ago a .500 record looked like a bridge too far. The Salem CC baseball team was stuck in a losing streak that was sending it deeper and deeper into the abyss.
But the Mighty Oaks have caught fire. They’re back on level ground and hunting a spot in the region playoffs.
Cole Dawson’s two-run single in the eighth inning broke the tension of a tight game and the Oaks went on to beat a better-than-its-record-shows Union County CC team 8-3 Friday, extending their winning streak to nine games and getting back to .500 (20-20) for the first time since mid-March.
The Oaks were last at .500 on March 14 (6-6). They were 11 games below .500 (8-19) on April 9, but have won 12 of their last 13 to get even with nine games to play.
“It was a rough start, but we’re starting to pick to it up, we’re starting to get the hang of things now,” Dawson said. “Coming from the beginning it was looking real rough, but now that we’re back to .500 I feel like the team’s more confident again and we’ll be better.”
“One hundred percent I knew we had it,” outfielder Nick Ciesielka said. “We have too much talent to not be at .500 in the first place.”
Talent aside, the Mighty Oaks (20-20) were flat against a team that was only 3-30 entering the game. They never trailed, but they never shook the Owls until Dawson delivered in the eighth.
It was one of those games where you let a team hang around long enough they can eventually rise up to bite you. And the Owls put pressure on the Oaks throughout the game.
“We played today and we got the W and that’s probably what we’re taking out of it knowing we’ve got to play better,” Oaks coach John Holt said. “We could have lost that one; we can’t afford to have days like that. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to play aggressive baseball one through nine innings and we didn’t do that.”
Dawson’s hit, with Lee Rodriguez and J.D. Wilson at second and third, pushed the Oaks’ lead to 6-3 after Union drew to within 4-3 in the top of the inning. It also ignited a four-run outburst that included Ciesielka’s RBI triple and steal of home.
Dawson, a freshman second baseman who hits ninth in the batting order, went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the game. Ciesielka had an inside-the-park homer in addition to his triple and Angel Velez had two hits.
“There were runners on and I knew I had to score them; I had to get the job done,” Dawson said of his big hit. “The at bat I had before wasn’t the best, but I knew I had to make up for it. I’ve been watching him warm up and knew what he was throwing and I was ready for it.”
Dawson gave Salem a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. The Oaks added three in the third on Ciesielka’s leadoff race around the bases and back-to-back RBI doubles by Velez and Wilson. Velez is 15-for-27 in his last seven games.
“As soon as I saw it ended up in center field I knew I was scoring right off the back; just like Yen’s first game,” Ciesielka said, dropping a reference to Yen Rodriguez’ inside-the-parker in his first college at bat in the season opener. “(The triple in the eighth) I actually thought was over the fence. I seem to have more pop with a two-strike approach.”
Union scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to make it a one-run game.
Ben Foote gave the Oaks another deep outing from their starter in a stretch where the pitchers have little room for error. The sophomore right-hander pitched into the eighth inning, coming out after 94 pitches with one out and a runner on base. Inaki Hutchinson came on and although he allowed the inherited runner to score he finished the game without further damage for the save.
“They’re just going out there and doing their jobs, just throwing strikes, not worrying,” Foote said of the pitchers’ mindset. “They know the guys behind them can play defense, they know they’re going to swing the bats. They’re just going out there and not try to do everything themselves. I felt like I did OK. The defense played well behind me.”
The Mighty Oaks continue the series and their march towards a playoff spot Saturday with a doubleheader at Union.
They may now be on level land, but it’s no time to settle. They have go to 5-4 in their last nine game to make the playoffs.
“Our playoffs started two weeks ago,” Holt said. “We can’t look at it any other way. We can’t put the cart in front of the horse; we’ve got to win today. We can’t worry about what’s gping to happen next week. We can’t talk playoffs. We’re not there yet.”
The message is getting across.
“It feels good (to be back to. 500), but the job’s not finished,” Foote said, “We’re chipping away at what we need to do, but we still have a little bit of work to do.”
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