By Al Muskewitz

Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT, N.J. – The Salem Community College baseball team and two pitchers trying to find their way all took big steps forward Saturday afternoon.

Starting pitchers Sean Kelby and Aiden Ewe both historically pitched into the seventh inning of their games and behind them the Mighty Oaks scored their first doubleheader sweep since February 2022 beating Bergen Community College 12-3 and 4-2.

The Mighty Oaks had won two games in one day during their March trip to Myrtle Beach, but their sweep of the Bulldogs was their first true twinbill takedown since sweeping Rockingham (N.C.) CC on Feb. 20, 2022. They have won three in a row.

"It's a step forward," Oaks coach John Holt said. "These guys are growing up as a team. We've got a lot of young guys here and they're buying in. They're buying into playing like a team. It's a good time to start coming together."

Kelby, a freshman left-hander, pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in six years in the opener. His teammates supported him by batting around in the fifth and sixth innings to break open the game.

Ewe, a hard-throwing sophomore right-hander and converted catcher, worked the longest outing of his career. He had a no-hitter with 10 of his 11 strikeouts over the first 4 2/3 innings. His previous longest outing was 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision at Lehigh Carbon CC on March 26.

"We needed those guys to step up and they did," Holt said. "They both wanted the ball today. There's something to be said when guys want to put the team on their back and they did.

"With what we've got this week, we needed to get length out of our guys and they gave us that length today."

Kelby gave up a home run in the first inning, but beyond that he and Bergen starter Luixander Polanco were locked in a pitcher's duel for four innings.

Polanco's first time through the Salem order was easy with a pickoff and double play allowing him to face the minimum. The second time through wasn't so kind. Demetrius DeRamus' RBI single tied the game in the fourth 1-1, then the Mighty Oaks (11-19) erupted for five in the fifth and six in the sixth.

Matt Murphy and Cole Dawson had two-run singles in the fifth inning. Yen Rodriguez highlighted the sixth when he cleared the bases with a bases-loaded triple to right field and scored when the relay throw to third got away. DeRemus and Murphy both had two hits in the game.

The second game was close throughout, but the Mighty Oaks used the long ball to prevail.

Rodriguez hit a leadoff homer in the first and it stayed 1-0 until DeRamus' two-run homer in the fifth. Bergen made it 3-1 in the sixth, but the Mighty Oaks got the run back in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back doubles by Lee Rodriguez and Dane Thomas.

 

The Oaks travel to Bergen Monday to complete the series.