Salem, Schalick girls 4×400 teams rn well at Penn Relays; roundup includes scores from Thursday’s Salem County sports action
By Riverview Sports News
PHILADELPHIA – The girls 4×400 relay teams from Salem and Schalick both finished in the top 10 of their respective Friday races at the Penn Relays Thursday.
Schalick’s team of Gia Martellacci, Grace O’Neill, Gabriella Simonini and Jordan Hadfield placed eighth in the high school girls division with a time of 4:30.47. Southern (Harwood, Md.) led the field at 4:07.11.
Martellacci got the Cougars started with a leg of 1:04.69 that had them in the top five and Hadfield brought them home with a leg of 1:05.70.
Salem’s team of Anyzha Williams, Rhionna Timmons, Sairis Jimenez and Anna Buzby finished fourth in the South Jersey Small Schools race, running 4:11.34. It was the first team in school history to medal there in any event.
The Rams had been in the top nine all race, with Buzby bringing them home with a final leg 59.99. Willingboro won it at 4:02.97.
Their 4×100 team of Karima Davenport-White, Buzby, Timmons and Dayana Jones ran a season-best 50.63.
PENN RELAYS
GIRLS PRELIMS
4×100: 71. Salem (Karima Davenport-White, Anna Buzby, RhiOnna Timmons, Dayana Jones) 50.63; 92. Schalick (Caileigh Schalick, Zoe Jenkins, Gia Marellacci, Brooke Watt) 55.83
4×400: 8. Schalick (Gia Martellacci, Grace O’Neill, Gabriella Simonini, Jordan Hadfield) 4:30.47
4×400 South Jersey Small: 4. Salem (Anyzha Williams, Rhionna Timmons, Sairis Jimenez, Anna Buzby) 4:11.34
BASEBALL
Delran 5, Woodstown 3
BOYS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 5, Bridgeton 0
BOYS LACROSSE
Woodstown 12, Sterling 5
GIRLS LACROSSE
Haddonfield 20, Woodstown 6
GOLF
Triton 177, Pennsville 225
Month: April 2024
Finish with flair
Salem CC softball wraps up first season at Watson Field with a sweep of Camden CC, wraps regular season Friday, UPDATED with region tournament schedule
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Caitlin LaGreca pitched a two-hit shutout in the first game, the offense produced throughout the lineup and the Salem CC softball team completed the home portion of its 2024 schedule with a doubleheader sweep of Camden CC Thursday, 8-0 and 13-1.
The Mighty Oaks (28-12) wrapped up their first season at the Pennsville Little League complex with an 18-2 record.
“We closed it out doing what we normally do, put the ball into play, backing up our pitchers, just enjoying the game,” Mighty Oaks coach Angel Rodriguez said. “So, we finally got back where we wanted to be to, so it’s good.
“We felt at home here. We did what we needed to do for a lot of those games and we kept it simple. I definitely think the atmosphere, the new energy, the positive vibes we were getting here from the start just kind of collected in for all the games.”
The Oaks played their first season back on the field in 2023 at the Carneys Point Rec Complex, but moved to Watson Field over the summer looking to give their players a more complete college softball experience. They won their first 14 games there and their last four.
“I love playing on this field,” sophomore centerfielder Karyn Trice said. “Last year our field wasn’t bad, but this one is just 10 times better.
“I love it here. The community, seeing all the Little League kids come out here, it’s amazing. I love being out here.”
The Oaks finished it off as strongly as they had played their all year.
In the circle, LaGreca allowed just two leadoff singles and five baserunners – none beyond second base – in the opener. Morgan Mecham gave up three hits, allowed five baserunners and struck out eight in the nightcap. Both pitchers faced only four batters over the minimum in the five-inning games because the Oaks turned a double play in the opener and cut down a runner on the bases in the nightcap..
For Mecham it was a return to form. She regular pitches one game of the doubleheader, but she was back in the circle Thursday for the first time since April 20 when she threw back-to-back games of 142 (Delaware Tech) and 107 pitches (Lackawanna) and looked like her midseason self. She breezed through this one in 69 pitches.
“It felt pretty good overall,” she said. “Kind of a little sketchy there in the beginning, but overall I was kind of zoned in pretty much.”
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At the plate, Ella Hayes hit her 11th home run of the season in the first game and Haylee Pickrell homered and drove in four runs in her final home game in Game 2. KiKi Beukman had three RBIs in the opener and Emilie Hamm had two hits and three RBIs in the nightcap.
Every spot in the line reached base at least once in both games and eight of the nine spots scored at least one run in both games.
“We saw (good) things from top to bottom,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of key players got some good at bats today, put the ball into play. We’re going to rely on that depth heading into next week. It’s all hands on deck, so that was good to see today, just knowing that people can come in and do a simple job.”
Hayes’ three-run homer in the first inning got the Oaks going in the opener. Beukman drove in a run in the second and Faith Penn plated a run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly. Kalila Pace brough a run home in the fifth with she was hit by a pitch with bases loaded and Beukman walked it off with a two-run single.
The Oaks scored three runs in the first inning of the nightcap, too. Hamm had an RBI single and Pickrell an RBI triple. They tacked on six in the second inning, highlighted by Hamm’s two-run double and RBI singles by Pickrell and KC Garcia. They added two more in the third and Pickrell’s two-run homer in the fourth made it 13-1.
They wrap up their regular season Friday at Bergen CC before heading to Mercer next Friday as the No. 4 seed in the four-team Region XIX Tournament. Delaware Tech and Lackawanna are the other two teams in the field.
REGION XIX TOURNAMENT
May 3-4 at Mercer CC
May 3
Game 1: No. 4 Salem vs. No. 1 Mercer, 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2/3 Delaware Tech vs. No. 2/3 Lackawanna, noon
Game 3: Salem-Mercer winner vs. Del Tech-Lackawanna winner, 2 p.m.
Game 4: Salem-Mercer loser vs. Del Tech-Lackawanna loser, 4 p.m. (loser eliminated)
May 4
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 10 a.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, noon
Game 7: If necessary, 2 p.m.
Wednesday roundup
Here are the scores and highlights from Wednesday’s high school action involving Salem County teams
BASEBALL
SCHALICK 9, LOWER CAPE MAY 3: Luke Pokrovsky gave up three hits and struck out 13 in a complete game and the Cougars (6-6) broke it open with a five-run second inning to bounce back from a tough loss the day before. J.T. Fleming and Ricky Watt both had three hits and a pair of RBIs. The 13 strikeouts give Pokrovsky, a junior, 185 for his career.
WOODSTOWN 8, AUDUBON 3: The Wolverines answered Audubon’s three-run rally to fourth to get close with three in the fifth to pull away. Brent Williams, Blake Bialecki and Dante Holmes all drove in a pair of runs. Holmes’ RBIs came on a two-run double in the fourth that made it 7-3.
GLASSBORO 9, PENNS GROVE 2: Gavin Dillard had two extra-base hits and two RBIs for the Bulldogs, who scored two in the first inning and never trailed. Elijah Crespo, Ryan Hunt, Ethan Brooks and Bristol Scott had hits for the Red Devils.
PITMAN 13, SALEM 1: Connor Sharkey drove in four runs and Hudson Rue and Jackson Austin each drove in three for the Panthers. Ethan McDonnell-Longo went 2-for-2 and drove in the Rams’ run in the fourth inning.
2 IN DIAMOND CLASSIC: Pennsville and Woodstown both are in the field for the 50th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.
Pennsville is the No. 24 seed in the 32-team field and will visit No. 9 Rancocas Valley on or before May 1 in a Top Bracket game. The Eagles would get the Camden Catholic-Eastern winner if successful.
Woodstown is seeded No. 26 and will play at No. 6 Delsea in its first-round game. The Wolverines would get the Bishop Eustace-Audubon winner if successful. Notice above they beat Audubon today.
The title game is May 16 at Alcyon Park in Pitman.
SOFTBALL
PITMAN 12, SALEM 3: The Panthers broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the third, then broke open the game with eight runs in the sixth. The teams matched single runs each of the first two innings until Pitman broke on top. Julliana Love had three hits and Raegan Wilson had two for the Rams. Love and Morgan Johnson had RBIs.
GLASSBORO 19, PENNS GROVE 2: The Red Devils scored both their runs in the top of the first, but the Bulldogs responded with 13 runs in the home half of the inning. Jarlene Vichi had the Red Devils’ only hit and RBI.
GOLF
WOODSTOWN 131, OVERBROOK 174: Jacob Schermerhorn and Jeffrey Covely both shot 32 to lead the Wolverines (10-3) at Kresson GC. Kyle Brainard came in with a 33 and Joey Olbrich posted a 34.
PITMAN 208, SALEM TECH 245: Pitman’s Owen Boulton was medalist at Sakima CC with a 49. Jack Bermann posted Salem Tech’s low score (59).
WASHINGTON TWP. 195, SCHALICK GIRLS 250: Washington Twp. Delaney Schwartz (46) edged teammate Ryli Zee by a stroke for medalist honors at Wedgewood CC. Casey Widdifield posted Schalick’s low score (61).
BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, TRITON 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Steve Schilder, 6-1, 6-2
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Tristyn Malone, 6-1, 6-0
Brody Wiggins (P) def. William Ahrens
Noah Bohn-Noah Flitcraft (P) def. Sean Gorsky-Cole Durham, 6-0, 6-0
Sawyer Humphrey-Luke Chamberlain (P) def. Tirth Patel-Brennan Zabala, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Pennsville 11-1, Triton 2-5.
Oaks getting closer
Silnik sharp as Mighty Oaks continue to advance on a playoff spot, kick Mustangs for eighth straight win
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT, N.J. – Ryan Silnik bounced off the mound after another strikeout ended the eighth inning. As soon as he crossed the first-base line he was greeted by Salem CC coach John Holt who lovingly patted the right-hander on the chest. The sophomore knew immediately what that meant.
There would be no ninth inning and complete game for the pitcher on this day. But he was OK with that.
Silnik gave his team eight strong innings in the longest outing of his college career and the Mighty Oaks moved another step closer to playoff qualification with a 7-1 victory over Montgomery County CC Wednesday.
The sophomore from Washington Twp. allowed four hits, eight base runners and struck out a career-high 12 before giving way to hard-throwing J.D. Wilson in the ninth. But he also threw 114 pitches.
“I knew it was done and I was totally fine with that; I totally understood what he was doing,” Silnik said. “It honestly didn’t feel like 114. The way my body feels right now I probably had one more (inning), but I’m not bummed. I knew J.D. was going to go out there and finish up the work for the day.”
Silnik had gone eight innings in travel ball before, but he had only gone longer than five innings for the Oaks three times and never longer than four this season. Holt has never had a pitcher throw a nine-inning complete game in his time with the Oaks. Silnik may have earned a shot at it, but he had just thrown too many pitches.
“His pitch count was just way too high,” Holt said. “Normally Ryan’s about a 70- to 80-pitch kind of kid, but he had good stuff today so we kept him going. If it wasn’t that high of a number we’d probably let him go, but at 114, that’s honestly we stretched him further than I was even comfortable with letting him go.
“I told him great job, you gave us what we needed today – length – and you did what you were able to do. Ryan works his tail off. He’s worked hard for two years. To see it come to fruition was good.”
Silnik gave up a run in the first inning, but the only real trouble he ran into was in the fifth when the Mustangs put runners at second and third with none out. But as he had done all game he got through it without without further damage. The next inning he had a runner at second with none out and then struck out the side.
“I do remember (the fifth),” he said. “There was a lot of emotion after that knowing I got out of a jam. I remember telling myself out there if I get through this it’s going to be a good day because if I didn’t get through that I think that inning could have ended my day.
“Starting off second and third with no outs is honestly a really scary situation for a pitcher. Even a fielder; I played infield in high school. I’m sure my guys behind me were nervous, but they had my back no matter what. Sielky (Nick Ciesielka) I remember made a good throw from left field and when he came in was like ‘actually I didn’t even know where my cut was, I just threw the ball in.’ I told him, ‘Dude, you made a great throw.’”
The win was the Oaks’ eighth straight win and moved them within one game of .500 (19-20). They have won 11 of their last 12. Teams .500 or better at the end of the season qualify for the Region XIX playoffs.
They get their first chance to get back .500 for the first time since March 14 Friday in a single game at home against Union.
“Even just coming here last year the playoffs is like everybody’s dream coming to the school,” Silnik said. “Just making the playoffs is what you work for all season. Just having this run and the fact we can talk about making the playoffs after the way our season started it brings up the whole mood in the dugout and locker room. It’s crazy to think about. We have a very good chance right now.”
But they can’t afford to relax. The Oaks have 10 games remaining, meaning they must go no worse than 6-4 down the stretch. They would prefer to build enough of a cushion to take their season-ending series with No. 2-ranked RCSJ-Gloucester out of the equation.
“We try not to talk about it,” Holt said, “but what I told them today is we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we can have the conversation but we’ve still got to approach it one game at a time and it doesn’t matter what their jersey says. We’ve got to play to our standard, not the scoreboard, not to who we’re playing. We’ve got to come out and play the way we’re capable of playing; it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We’ve just got to come out and win.”
It also was their second come-from-behind win in as many days. The Oaks answered the Mustangs’ run in the first with Demetrius DeRamus’ RBI single in the bottom of the inning. They took the lead for good in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by DeRamus and Matt Murphy and a sacrifice fly by Jared Vandersteur.
DeRamus, Murphy, Yen Rodriguez and Angel Velez all had two hits for the Salem. Vandersteur had two RBIs. Murphy is batting .478 with 12 RBIs over the last 12 games – a run that started with a 15-10 win over the Mustangs. DeRamus is hitting .429 with 17 RBIs over the same stretch.
The Oaks stretched their lead with Cole Dawson’s RBI triple in the fifth, added Nick Ciesielka’s RBI single in the seventh and got two runs in the eighth. Velez and Vandersteur opened the eighth with back-to-back doubles and Joe Fekete delivered a sacrifice fly.
“They’re coming together as a unit, they’re playing for each other and they’re really learning the college game,” Holt said. “it took us a little while to figure some things out as a unit, but we’re figuring it out.
“This is what I envisioned at the beginning of the year. It’s just starting to come together a little later than we hoped.”
A total turf experience
The Taliaferro Foundation’s Ginsburg Football Classic expanding to include youth flag football, moving to Total Turf, high school 7-on-7 field filling quickly
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
After three strong years playing at the high school complex of its foundation namesake, the Adam Taliaferro Foundation Larry Ginsburg Football Classic is expanding and moving.
This year’s fifth annual event, scheduled for June 29, is heading 15 miles down the road to the expansive Total Turf Experience in Pitman. It had been staged the last three years at Eastern High School in Voorhees, where Taliaferro played his high school ball before moving on to Penn State and living one of the most inspirational stories in sports of all time.
Most people recognize the Classic as a 7-on-7 showcase for South Jersey high school football teams, but this year the event is adding a flag football element for youth teams and needs more room for the demand with the potential for making Total Turf its permanent home.
“We started off with it at Rowan University, then we moved it to Eastern High School and now we’re trying something a little bit different,” executive director Gus Ostrum said. “The high school tournament is staying in place, but we’re also trying to start up a subsequent flag football tournament for the youth leagues.
“That’s why we moved it to Total Turf, because they do the flag football tournaments all the time. They do things for high schools all the time, so they’re very familiar with their facilities. They have great indoor and outdoor facilities over there. It’s an incredible facility.”
The move has gained some early support.
“Total Turf is a really nice facility,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “I’m excited mostly because it’s closer to us. Eastern was very nice. Total Turf has all sorts of stuff in it besides sports. It’s a cool place to watch sports.”
The field for the high school tournament is filling quickly and nearly halfway to its cap of 16 teams.
Four Salem County teams played in it last year – Healy’s Eagles, Penns Grove, Schalick and Woodstown. Of that group, only runner-up Penns Grove has yet to commit for this year, but former Penns Grove coach John Emel is bringing his new West Deptford team. Timber Creek and Mercer County’s Nottingham also are said to be committed.
With a guarantee of three games, the tournament is an early summer test for the teams’ passing games and secondaries. Woodbury won it last year.
“Last year we were competitive in our games,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “This year I’d like to take the next step and finish with a winning record. It is early in the summer so we will still be learning and working on some new things.”
Organizers hope to attract at least a dozen teams for each of its two flag football divisions – 9-10 and 11-12.
“With the first year it’ll be a little bit harder because they don’t really know us and we’re going in there introducing ourselves to those coaches and groups so it’ll take some time,” Ostrum said. “We hope at least for 12 teams in each division. If we can grab 16 that’d be wonderful, but we’ll see what happens and hopefully it will work out OK for us.
“I know over time it will. The event we had at Eastern with the high schools has a lot of acceptance now, but it took time to get there. It doesn’t just happen overnight.”
They also would be open in time to an offering for the fledgling high school girls flag football market.
Cover photo: Penns Grove coach John Emel accepts the runner-up trophy on behalf of his team at last year’s Taliaferro/Ginsburg 7-on-7 Football Classic at Eastern Regional High School.
Tuesday roundup
Here is a look at what happened Tuesday in Salem County high school sports
SOFTBALL
WEST DEPTFORD 12, WOODSTOWN 1: The Eagles broke open a scoreless game with nine runs in the fourth inning. Isabella Kwashek went 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs.
Tulana Mingin had two of Woodstown’s four hits and now has 120 for her career, 12 shy of the school’s all-time record. Cara Delia and Kayla Brown had their other hits. Brown drove in their run in the fifth inning.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 11, SALEM 1: Madelyn McGinn drove in three runs and Brooklyn Carcaci struck out 10 in five innings to lead Gloucester Catholic.
Julliana Love scored in the first inning to give Salem a 1-0 lead. Gloucester Catholic tied it in second, then took the lead with three in the third. Love had two of the Rams’ four hits. Raegan Wilson and Morgan Johnson had the other two.
BOYS LACROSSE
Kingsway 7, Woodstown 5
BOYS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Gabe Schneider (P) def. Alex Ramirez Martinez, 6-0, 6-0
Maddox Efelis (P) def. Poyraz Erdonmez, 6-0, 6-1
Brody Wiggins (P) def. Ricardo Vichi, 6-0, 6-0
Noah Flitcraft-Noah Bohn (P) def. Angel Perez Herrera-Stuart Mondragon, 6-0, 6-0
Luke Chamberlain-Sawyer Humphrey (P) def. Pablo Sanchez Correa-Adan Gonzalez, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 10-1, Penns Grove 2-4.
TRACK
Gloucester Catholic, Wildwood at Salem
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Woodstown at Pennsville
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Camden Tech 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-13, 25-11)
Salem CC Tuesday
Mighty Oaks baseball routs Luzerne to move within two games of .500, softball swept at Mercer
By Riverview Sports News
NANTICOKE, Pa. – The Salem CC baseball team moved another step closer to .500 and a playoff berth with a 23-1 rout of Luzerne County CC Tuesday.
The Mighty Owls, 18-20 with 11 games remaining, trailed 1-0 after two innings, then took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the third. They pulled away with six in the fourth and didn’t slow down.
They have won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11
They return to action Wednesday at home against Montgomery County CC and could get back to .500 for the first time since March 14 (6-6) in a Friday home game with Union.
Softball swept at Mercer
WEST WINDSOR – The Salem CC softball team had a tough day at one of the best teams in the region. The Mighty Oaks were swept by Mercer CC 10-0 and 8-0. They were one-hit in the opener and no-hit in the nightcap.
Haylee Pickrell had Salem’s only hit in the doubleheader, a two-out single in the fourth inning of the first game. The Oaks (26-12) loaded the bases in the inning, but left them loaded.
The Mighty Oaks had only three base runners in the nightcap against Shea Krebs. Mercer improved to 35-5.
The Oaks have four games remaining in the regular season – a home doubleheader Thursday against Camden CC and a Friday doubleheader at Bergen.
It’s never over
Burchfield’s first-ever game-winning walk-off hit caps seventh-inning Pennsville rally to sting Schalick
TUESDAY BASEBALL
Pennsville 11, Schalick 10
Woodstown 14, Penns Grove 2
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Whether it’s two outs, two strikes or three runs down in the bottom of the seventh, Pennsville coach Matt Karr preaches to his players to never give up.
The Eagles didn’t give up Tuesday and were rewarded for it with a come-from-behind victory over a county rival.
Faced with a three-run deficit entering the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles rallied for four runs and escaped with an 11-10 victory over Schalick, breaking the heart of a team coached by a Pennsville alum.
Chase Burchfield got the game-winner on a one-out, two-run double to left center right after Peyton O’Brien’s two-run bases-loaded single got the Eagles close the hitter before. Burchfield said it was his first-ever game-winning walk-off hit on any level of baseball.
“First one, my whole life, honestly; I’ve hit a 10-run-rule walk-off, but nothing like that,” he said. “That’s just how we’ve been trying to play all year. In the past years we probably wouldn’t have won that game, so I feel like this team has more fight than last year’s.”
The Eagles’ rally started from the bottom of the lineup with pinch-hitter Mason O’Brien drawing a leadoff walk and 9-hole hitter Logan Streitz delivering a single. Luke Wood then walked to load the base.
A visit to the mound netted the Cougars a strikeout, but Peyton O’Brien came through with his two-run single to right to make it 10-9 and Burchfield followed him with his game-winner.
“One of our big team mantras is give the guy behind you a shot,” Karr said. “Our guys at the top are really good. We trust those guys and we gave them shots with guys on to cash in and they did.
“We’re still trying to work through those type of things. We’re still a young ballclub – we’ve got one senior – and we’re trying to learn there are ups and downs in this sport that when things aren’t going well or things don’t seem to be going right for you, you have to find a way to keep it together, stay level headed and push through to the other side and we were able to do that today.
“It’s been a challenge for us. When we find ourselves in a tight situation we’re learning to push through that and come out on the other side. I keep preaching to these guys that’s what playoff baseball is gonna be. If we want to make a deep run, we have to be able to compete in those kind of games because the teams we play are going to be good. Today was a good test and a great game for us to get that experience.”
Before Burchfield’s heroics sent the Pennsville players pouring out of the dugout the game belonged Jake Siedlecki. The Schalick senior parked a three-run homer on a two-out 0-2 pitch in the fourth inning to give the Cougars an 8-7 lead and then pitched three innings of no-hit relief until the Eagles figured him out in the seventh.
His teammates gave him an even bigger cushion by scoring two more in the top of the seventh.
Of the homer, which capped a seven-run Cougars rally, Siedlecki said, “when I go up to bat I just try to have fun. I think that pitch looked good to me. I haven’t been able to hit a high fastball all year and finally my barrel got to it.”
As a pitcher he had only gone longer than 2 2/3 innings once in his career and that was his first career appearance as a freshman (four innings and 96 pitches against Pitman). But the Cougars were running short on arms and they needed to get as much out of him as they could.
He wound up throwing 73 pitches, two more than he had in his previous four appearances this season combined. But he was fresh. He only threw 18 pitches last week, 10 in getting the final out of Luke Pokrovsky’s 16-strikeout Friday gem against Gloucester and eight in two innings the next day against Eastern.
He was on top of it early. Over his first three innings he allowed only two walks, neither runner past first base, and struck out five. He retired all the Pennsville hitters who got to him in the seventh the first time around.
“I’m not really a pitcher so I decided to have fun with it; they couldn’t hit my slider,” he said. “Then in the last inning I’ve never pitched that long and my arm never really felt that tired before, so my slider started being more of a hanger. I was still pitching strikes, but they finally got a hit and made good contact on it.”
Under the circumstances, Schalick coach Sean O’Brien thought his regular short reliever/closer “did a great job.”
“I said to the guys I would still go with him in that situation because I trust him,” O’Brien said.
Overall, the Cougars’ coach was happy with the way his team fought to get back in the game after being down 6-0 and 7-1 to give it a chance to win, but lamented a lack of execution in certain situations that could’ve put them over the top. Still, they should leave the ballpark feeling they can play with the top teams in South Jersey Group I, he said.
Schalick leadoff man J.T. Fleming had two hits and two RBIs. Ricky Watt also had two hits, including a two-run single to chase Pennsville starter Peyton O’Brien right before Siedlecki hit his homer.
WOODSTOWN 14, PENNS GROVE 2: Andrew Pedrick and Blake Bialecki both had a pair of hits and Pedrick drove in three runs to lead the Wolverines (7-5). Woodstown pulled away from a 1-1 game with three runs in the second inning, then after Penns Grove (0-7) closed within 4-2 it scored four in the fourth.
Thomas Boyles, the first reliever behind winning pitcher Cole Begley, struck out all five batters he faced. Seven of the eight outs Boyles has recorded in two appearances this season have come on strikeouts.
Coaching carousel
Here is a recent history of coach changes in Salem County high school football since 2003; with three new coaches this coming season, 2024 marks the most turnover in the county since 2009
| PENNSVILLE | PENNS GROVE | SALEM | SCHALICK | WOODSTOWN | |
| 2024 | Mike Healy | Mark Maccarone | Kemp Carr | Mike Wilson | Frank Trautz |
| 2023 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Danny Mendoza | Mike Wilson | John Adams |
| 2022 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Mike Wilson | John Adams |
| 2021 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Mike Wilson | John Adams |
| 2020 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Mike Wilson | John Adams |
| 2019 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2018 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2017 | Mike Healy | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2016 | Ryan Wood | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2015 | Ryan Wood | John Emel | Montrey Wright | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2014 | Ryan Wood | John Emel | Dennis Thomas | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2013 | Ryan Wood | Kemp Carr | Dennis Thomas | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2012 | Ryan Wood | Kemp Carr | Randy Johnson | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2011 | Ryan Wood | Kemp Carr | Randy Johnson | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2010 | Ryan Wood | Kemp Carr | Randy Johnson | Seth Brown | John Adams |
| 2009 | Ryan Wood | Kemp Carr | Randy Johnson | Seth Brown | Frank LaRubbio |
| 2008 | John Cooksey | Kemp Carr | Steve Sheffield | Seth Brown | Frank LaRubbio |
| 2007 | John Cooksey | Kemp Carr | Steve Sheffiield | Seth Brown | Frank LaRubbio |
| 2006 | John Cooksey | Kemp Carr | Steve Sheffield | Seth Brown | Frank LaRubbio |
| 2005 | John Cooksey | Kemp Carr | Rob Hinson | Seth Brown | Michael Powers |
| 2004 | John Cooksey | Kemp Carr | David Lindenmuth | Josh Hedgman | Michael Powers |
| 2003 | John Cooksey | Dennis Orlando | David Lindemuth | Josh Hedgman | Michael Powers |
Getting to know …
Schalick’s Luke Pokrovsky
EDITORS NOTE: This is the latest in a recurring series of in-depth interviews with athletes in Salem County. Coaches, if there is a player in your program with an interesting background or backstory the community would be interested in “Getting to Know …” forward details in an email to Riverview Sports News at al.muskewitz@gmail.com.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Along the back wall of the Schalick baseball dugout there is a row of poster boards where each Cougar player can apply award stickers similar to helmet stickers the Cougars wear in football.
Everybody player on the team has a poster and every player has at least one of the rewards on their card – except the player you’d expect would have the most. But there’s a story to that.
Luke Pokrovsky’s poster is as empty as those that don’t carry a player’s name, but that’s because he just hasn’t gotten around to putting them on. Of course, that time will come.
The junior left-handed pitcher and right-handed hitting DH/1B/OF is one of the top players in South Jersey. He’s also the last of three brothers who have donned the Schalick uniform and has a real chance to surpass all their records by the time he graduates next spring.
He’s currently the Cougars’ ace pitcher (0.89 ERA/36K/15.2IP) and one of their best hitters (.400/7 RBIs).
He sat down with Riverview Sports News to talk about growing up with two baseball-playing brothers, committing to a baseball-only existence and all things that shape a young baseball player with a big upside.
At some point he’s going to get around to putting those stickers on his poster. And when he does, he’s probably going to need a bigger poster.
RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: Well, since we’ve seen it, let’s start with this: What’s the story with the blank sticker card? I’d have thought with the year you’re having there would be stickers all over it.
LUKE POKROVSKY: One day we were practicing and it just got done raining and the field was destroyed with all the rain, so I hand-raked the whole entire field by myself – one of the drag-behind rakes – and everybody was doing stickers, so I still have to get all my stickers up there. It’ll end up getting a lot because of all the pitching ones and I have some hitting ones, too.
RSN: I’ve only been here for about a year, just about the end of the whole cycle of an athletic calendar, but I don’t think I’ve seen you in other sports here. Are you just a baseball guy or do you play other sports?
LP: I just play baseball here.
RSN: There’s always been a debate about diversifying or specializing in one particular sport. Why are you only a baseball guy and what are the advantages and benefits to being locked into one sport?
LP: I used to play basketball in middle school and I always wanted to play basketball in high school. We got to high school and I played with my brother Jarrett here. He always gets in the weight room and I wanted to get in the weight room, so in the off-season (going into his freshman year) I decided to not play basketball and get stronger, get in the weight room and try to get stronger to throw pitches faster.
I want to play other sports and I was thinking about playing basketball, but getting stronger and staying in shape, I’d rather do that. Playing basketball will keep you in shape, but you won’t have time for the weight room.
RSN: You come from a family of baseball guys – one brother’s at Penn and another’s at Seton Hall. Are there any more like you at home or others in the family who play or have played?
LP: No. My dad played (at Schalick) and my uncle played (at Schalick and Drexel).
RSN: How has your brothers’ success influenced your baseball? You could’ve played a mini-game at your house with a pitcher (Luke), catcher (Staus) and infielder (Jarrett) if you all got together at the same time.
LP: When Staus got committed to college, I was still very young, so I didn’t really understand anything, so he really wasn’t a big impact on my baseball. I played with Jarrett for my Little League and I started really enjoying it and he kept getting harder on me because I’m a lefty and he wants me to be strong as a pitcher.
I got to play freshman year with him for high school and it was fantastic. He kept being hard on me, trying to get me to be better, stronger, get in the weight room with him every single day, help me with my swing, all that.
When I got to watch Penn play I just realize how the pitchers are bigger and stronger they are compared to me. I just want to be able to play that next level and get stronger and be able to throw 90, 90-plus. I know I’m (currently) like low- to mid-80s fastball and trying to get my off-speed to go good.
RSN: Have you ever faced them in a game?
LP: I never got the chance to go against them and I really didn’t want to because they can both swing the bats good. I’d get smoked.
RSN: You’ve got a couple milestones coming up – 100 hits, 100 RBIs, 200 strikeouts (he’s currently at 73 hits, 64 RBIs, 172 strikeouts) – maybe even get them this season. Do they mean anything to you? Is one more important than the other? Will you eventually overtake your brothers’ numbers, and how sweet is that going to be? (Jarrett had 118 career hits and 139 strikeouts; Staus had 105 hits and 100 RBIs).
LP: All my brothers have most of the records here at school and I want to end up getting my name on it, so I was looking at the record for strikeouts and I realize I wasn’t that far away; it’s like 234 or 5. So then I was like I just have to try to strike them out and get all my pitches going. After I had that Gloucester game (Friday, 16 Ks in 6 2/3 innings) I was really excited because I only had 28 more strikeouts to 200 and I still have a whole ’nother year to go. That’s what my main goal is right now, 200 strikeouts.
I’ll always remember the Gloucester game because that was probably the best time I ever threw, the longest I ever went, the lowest walks and highest Ks. I don’t know what it was. It just comes.
RSN: And what about the 100-hit part?
LP: It’s kind of hard because everybody knows my name. Obviously I’m not going to get any fastballs. It’s harder and harder because I keep seeing curveballs, off-speed pitches. I’m trying to work in practice trying to get the off-speed pitches down to try to get my hits up trying to get to the 100 hits just like my brothers did.
RSN: Another thing I’ve always been curious about with pitchers is you’ve no doubt had managers come out to you on the mound either to get on your or get you going. What are some of the funniest or oddest things they’ve said to you either to break the tension or you’re your attention?
LP: Most of the time they come out, if it’s in the middle of an inning or an at bat, just to breathe and calm down and try to focus on the batter, not worry about any runners. I don’t remember any funny ones. There were definitely some, but I don’t remember any real funny ones. We joke around after, but not so much while the game is going on.
RSN: What do you do away from the field to relax and decompress. The other Luke – Pennsville’s Luke Wood – for example, likes Legos and Harry Potter. What do you do to get away from it all?
LP: I like to hang out with friends. I like to fish and hunt. During the offseason, in the fall, I love to go hunting with people from the team, just to be together with somebody else. I don’t like to do anything by myself, it’s just so boring. I got my first buck last year. I prefer duck hunting over anything. It’s so much fun.
RSN: It’s hard not to notice the tattoo running down the inside of your right forearm. It’s reads ‘Pokrovsky’ in script. What’s that all about?
LP: It was actually Jarrett’s idea. He wanted to get me, Staus, Jarrett, my dad all the same matching tattoo, so we all have it down our forearms. We just all wanted to match. It kind of hurt a little bit, but it has a good meaning.
RSN: What’s happening with you on the recruiting front? Is there a commitment? Where’s the most interest?
LP: I haven’t really gotten into looking at a school yet or really thought about it because I was thinking about going into a trade and try to do something with that, just go straight to work, so I don’t have to pay for all that schooling and stuff.
Both of my brothers keep saying that I’d just be wasting my talent, especially given I’m a left-handed pitcher, all I need to throw is like upper 80s and I’ll be good to go. I told them I’ll keep working. If the opportunity comes I want to take it, obviously. I was looking forward to summer, try to get in some more high-end showcases, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.
RSN: Lastly, are you pitching Tuesday against Pennsville and do you get any more amped pitching against a county opponent? I think you drew the start against Woodstown in the opener. In eight career appearances against Salem County teams (25.1 innings) he has a 3.03 ERA (his career mark over 103 innings is 2.98).
LP: I’m not pitching (against Pennsville). I’m pitching Wednesday against Lower Cape May. I’m one of the top pitchers on the team and (Coach Sean O’Brien) is going to give me the best teams to go against and I’m excited to go against real talent and I’ll be challenged a little bit. I like seeing our bounce back. We’ve already played some of the teams before this season and we lost and I wanted to bounce back and try to help the team out more, especially on the mound.
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