Posted: May 12, 2024
By Al Muskewitz
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second time in three games the Salem Community College baseball team gave the No. 2 in the country all it could handle, but a late rally by Northampton CC brought an end to the Mighty Oaks' historic season.
The seventh-seeded Mighty Oaks held a six-run lead in the sixth inning Sunday, but No. 2 Northampton erupted for 10 runs over the next three innings to win Game 3 of the best-of-3 series 16-12 and advance in the Region XIX playoffs.
"We played hard," Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. "We made a couple mistakes and when you're playing good baseball teams, they usually capitalize on those mistakes.
"Our guys left it all out there. That's just baseball. We're a young team. Nine inning ballgames are a grind and it was a long day. They have an opportunity to learn from this."
The Mighty Oaks scored 28 runs and pounded 36 hits in the three-game series. They split the series-opening doubleheader, winning the first game 14-11 and dropping the second 14-2 to set up Sunday's decisive game.
Freshman outfielder Demetrius DeRamus went 5-for-6 with four RBIs in Game 3 and had eight hits, two home runs and eight RBIs in the series. Freshman catcher Angel Velez, the Oaks' hottest hitter in the second half of the season, was 4-for-5 with four RBIs and had eight hits and seven RBIs in the series.
The Oaks led 2-0 after DeRamus' two-run homer in the top of the first, but the Spartans answered with three in the bottom of the inning and went ahead 6-2 in the second. But Salem starter J.D. Wilson kept Northampton off the scoreboard over the next three innings to give the Mighty Oaks a chance to get back in it.
The Oaks tied the game in the third on Yen Rodriguez' homer, an RBI single by Velez and RBI doubles by Matt Murphy and Jared Vandersteur. They took a 9-6 lead in the fourth on DeRamus' two-run single and Angel Velez' ground out. They extended the lead to 12-6 in sixth on Velez' two-run single and Lee Rodriguez' sacrifice fly.
But Northampton, one of the top scoring teams in the nation, came back with five in the bottom of the inning to make it a game again. Gabe Caso's two-run single with one out in the seventh gave the Spartans in front for good and they stretched it to the final margin with three in the eighth.
"We played a good series," Holt said. "We were the only team in the regionals to extend their series to a third game and we were the seventh seed playing against a 2 seed. Most people wouldn't have expected that out of us except for us."
It may hurt a lot now, but when the sting of Sunday's setback wears off, the Oaks will be able to reflect on a lot of good things they did during the season. This team was 11 games under .500 on April 9. The next day they started on an 18-1 tear that included a 15-game winning streak that earned them their first playoff berth since 2011 and guaranteed their first winning since reviving the program.
"They were a resilient group," Holt said. "A lot of teams being down 10 under .500 could've folded. Instead, those guys bought into what we were trying to teach them and they battled all the way through. To qualify for the playoffs and play as well as we did down the stretch, there's a lot to be real pleased with this season and with the future."
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second time in three games the Salem Community College baseball team gave the No. 2 in the country all it could handle, but a late rally by Northampton CC brought an end to the Mighty Oaks' historic season.
The seventh-seeded Mighty Oaks held a six-run lead in the sixth inning Sunday, but No. 2 Northampton erupted for 10 runs over the next three innings to win Game 3 of the best-of-3 series 16-12 and advance in the Region XIX playoffs.
"We played hard," Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. "We made a couple mistakes and when you're playing good baseball teams, they usually capitalize on those mistakes.
"Our guys left it all out there. That's just baseball. We're a young team. Nine inning ballgames are a grind and it was a long day. They have an opportunity to learn from this."
The Mighty Oaks scored 28 runs and pounded 36 hits in the three-game series. They split the series-opening doubleheader, winning the first game 14-11 and dropping the second 14-2 to set up Sunday's decisive game.
Freshman outfielder Demetrius DeRamus went 5-for-6 with four RBIs in Game 3 and had eight hits, two home runs and eight RBIs in the series. Freshman catcher Angel Velez, the Oaks' hottest hitter in the second half of the season, was 4-for-5 with four RBIs and had eight hits and seven RBIs in the series.
The Oaks led 2-0 after DeRamus' two-run homer in the top of the first, but the Spartans answered with three in the bottom of the inning and went ahead 6-2 in the second. But Salem starter J.D. Wilson kept Northampton off the scoreboard over the next three innings to give the Mighty Oaks a chance to get back in it.
The Oaks tied the game in the third on Yen Rodriguez' homer, an RBI single by Velez and RBI doubles by Matt Murphy and Jared Vandersteur. They took a 9-6 lead in the fourth on DeRamus' two-run single and Angel Velez' ground out. They extended the lead to 12-6 in sixth on Velez' two-run single and Lee Rodriguez' sacrifice fly.
But Northampton, one of the top scoring teams in the nation, came back with five in the bottom of the inning to make it a game again. Gabe Caso's two-run single with one out in the seventh gave the Spartans in front for good and they stretched it to the final margin with three in the eighth.
"We played a good series," Holt said. "We were the only team in the regionals to extend their series to a third game and we were the seventh seed playing against a 2 seed. Most people wouldn't have expected that out of us except for us."
It may hurt a lot now, but when the sting of Sunday's setback wears off, the Oaks will be able to reflect on a lot of good things they did during the season. This team was 11 games under .500 on April 9. The next day they started on an 18-1 tear that included a 15-game winning streak that earned them their first playoff berth since 2011 and guaranteed their first winning since reviving the program.
"They were a resilient group," Holt said. "A lot of teams being down 10 under .500 could've folded. Instead, those guys bought into what we were trying to teach them and they battled all the way through. To qualify for the playoffs and play as well as we did down the stretch, there's a lot to be real pleased with this season and with the future."
