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ABOUT THE COVER
Keith Gorman has been a baseball guy through and through for his entire life, which is why eight years ago he left a very good job as the athletic director and head baseball coach at Holy Spirit High School to become the coach at Cumberland County College, a junior college program that had struggled for about a decade before Gorman’s arrival. He knew the challenge that was ahead and got right to work to rebuild the Dukes program, and eight years later Cumberland is in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series for the third time. Gorman has amassed more than 300 career victories and continues to get players to the next level, as many of his current and former players have earned their way onto NCAA DI, DII and DIII rosters. He’s also produced some professional talent throughout the years, including Oakcrest graduate Cody Stashak, who is one step away from the majors in the Minnesota Twins organization. Junior college baseball can be a great launching pad for a wide variety of baseball players. In this edition, we take a look at the overall Cumberland County College program, as well as two players — Donnie Stone of Oakcrest and Dylan Scaranda of Absegami — who will be playing Division I baseball next year. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE General contact: 609-788-4294/advertising@acglorydays.com Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher: sully@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDsullysays Giuseppe Ungaro, Managing Editor: gungaro@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDgisepu Amy D’Adamo, Graphic Design: advertising@acglorydays.com Bill Lynskey, Director of Advertising: bill@acglorydays.com STORY IDEAS/ADVERTISING: Have a story you’d like to see told in Glory Days Magazine? Want to get your business noticed with a marketing campaign in our digital or specialty print platforms? Call us anytime at 609-788-4294. Volume: 6 Issue: 23 Overall Issue Number: 130. Cover Photography: Dave O’Sullivan. 2019 Glory Days Magazine. All rights reserved.
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MAKING HEADLINES Sully takes a closer look at the athletes, coaches and teams who are generating news and highlights in the Cape-Atlantic League and throughout South Jersey.
u 4 in a row!: In the beginning of her high school career, Oakcrest’s
Brielle Smith was most known for being a standout goalie in soccer and guard on the Falcons’ girls basketball team. Then she picked up a javelin during the spring of her freshman year, and the rest is history. Smith has been one of the most dominant javelin throwers in the country throughout her four years at Oakcrest, even winning a national title as a junior. Recently, she picked up her fourth straight South Jersey Group 2 championship with another tremendous throw of more than 150 feet. u Racking up the Ks: The high school baseball playoffs are all about pitching, and a couple of Cape-Atlantic League aces are helping their teams advance through the sectionals. Jayson Hoopes, a senior at St. Augustine Prep, piled up 14 strikeouts in a 5-4 win over St. John Vianney, and Cedar Creek junior Luke Vaks matched that effort with 14 of his own as the Pirates beat Delran on May 23 to advance to the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals for the first time.
glory days digital Want the best high school sports coverage every day of the week? Visit glorydaysonline.com for game coverage, features and more! You can also like us at facebook.com/acglorydays, and follow Sully on Twitter @GDsullysays. Get the best. Every day.
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SOFTBALL
Ocean City sends coach Bruno off in style Red Raiders make unexpected run to sectional semifinals By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer eading into the 2019 season, Ocean City softball coach John Bruno had 19 years under his belt during two stints as skipper of the Red Raiders. He’s also the school’s boys basketball coach, and while he’s enjoyed tremendous success on the hardwood, Ocean City’s softball teams struggled to win games throughout much of his career. Before this season began, Bruno had 93 wins and 270 losses. The Red Raiders have had outstanding players throughout the years, such as Rachael Zeides, Arianna Segich, Jackie Haynes and Cory Picketts, but not a lot of overall team success. Through the first 12 years of his coaching career, the Red Raiders failed to qualify for the state playoffs, and while they’ve qualified in seven of the last eight seasons, each year they lost their opening-round game and the season was over. A few weeks ago, coach Bruno let it be known that this, his 20th season, would be his last on the softball diamond. His team gave him a sendoff any
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Ocean City coach John Bruno, who recently announced he’s retiring from coaching softball, led the Red Raiders into the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals this season. coach would be proud of. Ocean City came into the South Jersey Group 3 tournament as an unheralded No. 7 seed, and even if the Red Raiders could get past No. 10 Highland in the opening round, second-seeded Hammonton likely would have been waiting in the second round. The Red Raiders also were on the same side of the bracket as No. 3 Mainland and No. 6 Moorestown, two quality teams with outstanding pitchers. So, coach Bruno figured he’d be the one texting fellow coaches to tell them good luck as the
playoffs wore on. Then, all of a sudden, his phone started blowing up. Ocean City squeaked past Highland, 4-3, in the opening round, then went on the road and scored a huge 3-1 win over Hammonton — not only giving Bruno the first two postseason wins of his career, but also putting itself in position to be one win away from playing for a South Jersey championship. The dream came to a heartbreaking end with a 4-2 loss to Moorestown in the sectional semifinals on May 23, but oh what a ride it was. “We had one home playoff game
a couple years ago and lost to Triton, 6-5. Other than that, we’ve been on the road. We did play Moorestown one year as the No. 14 seed and only lost 1-0, so it is interesting how things work,” Bruno said following the win over Hammonton. “Our first playoff win was against Highland and that was kind of a weird feeling. It’s weird because now I’m getting text messages from other coaches when usually, at this time of year, all my equipment is put away and I’m going to watch them play.” Bruno had to wait a while to put all the softball equipment away, as a team led by five seniors simply refused to give up. Ocean City’s entire starting infield — third baseman Savanna Holt, shortstop Lindsay Konick, second baseman Alex Vitola and first baseman Jackie Nesi — all were seniors, as was Ashley Vitiello, and the Red Raiders rode their leadership and the hot pitching of Hailey Neville all the way to the “Final Four” of South Jersey Group 3. “I always think it’s great when a team makes it to the South Jersey semifinals. The final four has a lot of merit because now you’re one game away from the final. You just have to relax, stay loose, have some fun and enjoy it. Savanna Holt came to us her
See Bruno, page 7
May 28, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 7 Bruno, from page 6 sophomore year from Holy Spirit, but my shortstop, Konick, second baseman Vitola and Nesi have all been with me since they were freshman, so it’s neat to see the reward of four years of hard work. That’s what’s enjoyable. I’m so happy for the kids to see what they can do. A lot of times when you lose in the first round of the playoffs nobody notices, now, all of a sudden, people will stand up and take notice,” Bruno said. “I’m really happy for them because they’ve kind of taken a back seat (to the other girls sports teams). We’ve had phenomenal girls teams with lacrosse, track, field hockey, basketball — and softball has always been kind of an afterthought. But now, at least for the moment, they are in the headlines along with those other kids.” As the last out was being made by Moorestown in the Quakers’ semifinal win, the rain began to fall, and perhaps it was a fitting sign. It washed away all the past playoff struggles and wiped the slate clean, and maybe this group of players will set a new foundation for a more successful program in the future.
Bruno, the last person in the dugout after the rain stopped, reflected on his career — which is by no means over, as he said he’ll continue to coach boys basketball. “This was a season that came totally unexpected. I knew we had some good kids and some senior leadership, but I never dreamed the pieces would all fall together,” Bruno said. “We had some games where we pitched well but didn’t hit well, we had some where we didn’t pitch so great but we hit well. As the season progressed we started to hit well, pitch well and play good defense. I thought our defense really picked up at the end of the season. We didn’t make very many errors, and that was one of our real stumbling blocks in the past. We were giving teams extra outs, but then we turned about four double plays in the past two weeks between Lindsay and Alex, which is something you don’t see very often in softball. We were really good defensively late in the season and got some timely hitting.” After shedding a few tears following the loss, Bruno was beaming with pride when talking about his team this year. “I couldn’t be more proud of these
kids, to put me where I was in my final season. It was a neat ride. This was by far my best season ever. I always tell the kids, in basketball, too, when you get to the last four teams in the South Jersey tournament, you’re in the Final Four. We were one pitch away from being in the South Jersey championship. If we strike that girl out instead of her hitting a home run, maybe we’re in the finals,” he said. “In softball, we’ve always been an afterthought. I had never won a softball playoff game, let alone being in the South Jersey semifinals, so it was kind of neat just to be in that situation where the kids could think about playing in a South Jersey final. People knew softball was a sport in Ocean City these past few weeks. The kids saw what we did, everybody is getting text messages, which is cool because a lot of times these girls get overshadowed by lacrosse, track and things like that. So, it was neat for these girls to get the attention.” Just before exiting the dugout, the finality that his softball coaching career was over hit coach Bruno. He finished his career with 109 wins, as Ocean City won 16 games this spring, but the last
two will always have a special place in his heart. “It’s something that you think about, you wait for it, but when it comes — I used to always say you hate to see the season end but you’re glad when it’s over because it’s a long grind. I’ve said that in basketball for years, but there was always next year. Whether we made the playoffs or not, there was always next year. But now there’s a finality to it,” Bruno said. “I think you learn that it is time (to step away). The March weather has gotten to me, I’m not going to lie. Other than that, it’s very rewarding to be able to pursue something as long as I have. Nowadays, if you don’t win coaches don’t stay with it, and we didn’t win very much in my 20 seasons. Toward the end we did, and that was enjoyable, but I enjoy coaching now as much as I did when we were winning one game. I’ve always enjoyed the sport, but it’s time to kick it over to somebody younger and give them a chance to experience that.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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GREATE PERFORMANCES
SPONSORED BY GREATE BAY RACQUET & FITNESS
‘V’ is for Vaks, and victory Cedar Creek came into the South Jersey Group 2 tournament as a No. 6 seed, and the Pirates haven’t had a lot of state playoff experience prior to this spring. But they have made South Jersey baseball fans stand up and take notice of the rise of their program, making a run to the sectional semifinals behind some outstanding pitching. When you’re trying to score a few upsets and make it to the “Final Four” of the South Jersey sectionals, you need your ace to step up in a big spot. That’s exactly what junior Luke Vaks did last week when, despite a nearly one-hour rain delay, Vaks went out and dominated No. 3 Delran in an 8-3 Pirates victory. Vaks (pictured) threw 109 pitches and struck out 14 batters, finally giving way to Steven Kaenzig to get the final two outs just before reaching the 110-pitch single game limit. The effort helped Cedar Creek notch its 16th win of the season, but more importantly put the Pirates just one win away from playing for a championship. u Lindsay Konick, Ocean City softball: Konick has been one of the top shortstops in the Cape-Atlantic League for years, and she came up huge defensively in the playoffs, helping the Red Raiders reach the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals for the first time under longtime coach John Bruno. u Brandon Lashley, Ocean City baseball: Lashley, a senior right-hander, did everything he could to help his team advance in the state playoffs, but Toms River East upset the Red Raiders, winning 3-2 in 10 innings. Lashley pitched into the 10th, striking out 12 and allowing just two hits and two walks before reaching the pitch limit. u Sam Daggers, Absegami baseball: Daggers, a senior and the Braves’ ace, threw a tremendous game in the opening round of the state playoffs against Mainland. He tossed a complete-game shutout in the Braves’ 1-0 win, and wiggled out of a second-and-third, nobody out situation in the bottom of the sixth inning to preserve the lead.
u Garrett Smith, Egg Harbor Township baseball: The No. 16 Eagles shocked top-seeded Shawnee in the opening round of the state playoffs as Smith belted a two-run homer in the fourth inning that put EHT on top for good. EHT then scored another upset, beating Vineland 8-1, to punch its ticket to the South Jersey Group 4 semifinals. u Jayson Hoopes, St. Augustine Prep baseball: Hoopes struck out 13 batters during the Hermits’ 5-4 sectional quarterfinal win over St. John Vianney, went 1-for-1 with an RBI at the dish and also made a game-saving catch in left field in the seventh inning after being relieved on the mound by Kenny Levari. u Mubeen Momodu, Egg Harbor Township track and field: Momodu, a senior, beat a meet record and finished second in the triple jump at the recent South Jersey Group 4 Championships, helping the Eagles win the sectional team title.
u Gobi Thurairajah, Egg Harbor Township track and field: Gobi came into the sectional mile event as the No. 6 seed, but shocked the field by winning the title, clocking in at 4 minutes, 20 seconds. u Casey McLees, Ocean City track and field: The junior distance runner won the sectional 3,200 meters championship and also placed second in the mile. u Devin Anderson, Mainland Regional track and field: Anderson, known as a very good cornerback on the football team, showed off his speed at the South Jersey Group 3 Championships, clocking a blistering 10.9 seconds in the 100-meter dash to win gold. u De-Quawn Johnson, Holy Spirit track and field: Johnson, a junior, clocked in at 11.49 seconds to win the 100, and also took second in the 200 meters, at the Non-Public B sectional championships.
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
Cultivating a vision When Keith Gorman took over as baseball coach at Cumberland County College, the program was an afterthought on the South Jersey baseball landscape. After 300 wins and several trips to the NJCAA Division III World Series, however, the Dukes are now a juggernaut By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ight years ago, life was pretty good for Keith Gorman. He was the head baseball coach and athletic director at Holy Spirit High School and had built the Spartans into one of the top programs in the CapeAtlantic League. There wasn’t any discernable reason to go and upset the apple cart. But Gorman did a lot more than just upset the apple cart, he sent it careening down an embankment and watched all its contents fly out. His dad, Dennis, said he was crazy for thinking about taking over the Cumberland County College baseball team, a program that rarely made any headlines or attracted top tier talent. “Everybody was really supportive of me once I made the decision, and make no mistake, my father, as soon as I told him I was going to do it, he was very supportive. I’m the man I am today because of him and all the other great leaders who have been in my life. But, it was a little risky. Cumberland County College, athletically, I don’t think too many people knew about it and the baseball program had been in trouble for about 10 years. The thing that drew me there was they had a great young athletic director who was serious about turning the place around. They had just built a brand new facility, it was an area I thought I could recruit to, and I was looking to make the move to college at some point. But, it was tough leaving Holy Spirit, I was the athletic director there, and one of my great friends — Bill Walsh — he had turned the football program around
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
In eight seasons as head coach of the Cumberland County College baseball program, former Holy Spirit skipper Keith Gorman has racked up more than 300 wins and three trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series, including this spring. there, and we had won back-to-backto back Cape-Atlantic League championships in baseball and were really pushing for a state run. It was tough to leave, but ultimately I’m glad I made the move, even though I loved my time at Holy Spirit,” Gorman said recently, before his team qualified for another National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series. “It was a tough decision because it was
late. We were already into September. We were already in the weight room (at Holy Spirit) and that was the toughest part, knowing I was going to have to tell those guys at some point. I remember when I got the call from the (CCC) athletic director, it was on a weekend, and I told him I would get back to him. I went home and talked to my wife, but I knew that as soon as I got off the phone with him I was going to accept
the position. I just had that feeling in my gut that it was the right thing. I was excited for the challenge.” Gorman certainly has been up to the challenge, as he’s averaged more than 35 wins per season and in less than a decade had racked up more than 300 career victories. Most high school
See Vision, page 11
May 28, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 11 Vision, from page 10 players have dreams of playing NCAA Division I baseball, and some might think of junior college baseball as a step backward — a place where guys go who aren’t good enough to make a Division I roster, or who maybe had bad grades in high school. And, while juco baseball can be a great option for a player who has struggled academically and whose report card doesn’t match up to the level of his scouting report, there are plenty of high academic players who are using junior colleges in South Jersey as a spring board to an NCAA scholarship offer. Cumberland County College has several players on this year’s team who have earned scholarships, and other jucos around the area — such as Atlantic Cape and Rowan at Gloucester County (RCGC), have some very talented players. The Roadrunners also earned a berth in the NJCAA World Series and feature players like Anthony Capasso of Mainland — who helped the Northfield Cardinals win an Atlantic County Baseball League title last summer — Joe Mari-
no of St. Joseph-Hammonton, and Matt Stil, an outstanding pitcher at Cherokee High last spring. Atlantic Cape features guys like Nick Atohi of Mainland and Jacob Brennan of St. Joseph, who went 6-2 with a 2.95 ERA this spring for the Buccaneers. “You have to get good players, I don’t think that’s any secret. And once we get them in here, we have to develop them. The best ways to develop them are through the weight room, which is a staple of our program, and then on the practice field. I’ve always said that if they are doing their job in the classroom, the field becomes a little bit easier. The wins and losses take care of themselves if you’re doing those things right,” Gorman said. “It is a great stepping stone and I think people would be surprised at how good the baseball is. We have three arms right now who are potential draft guys (this year), one probably for sure, and we’re not the only juco around like that.” Many times, Gorman said, a kid coming out of high school simply isn’t
See Vision, page 13
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Players like JoJo Rodriguez of Vineland High School have used Cumberland County College as a way to develop their skills in the hopes of earning a scholarship to a four-year school.
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May 28, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Vision, from page 11 ready for college baseball, even with vast experience on travel teams and in summer leagues. College baseball is a different animal, and when a player chooses a four-year school right away, sometimes he has to sit the bench for a year or two behind an older, proven player. Playing junior college baseball right after graduating from high school gives a player valuable experience and can make a player ready to step into a four-year college program ready to contribute right away. “I think one of the biggest things for high school guys getting into college baseball — and one of the reasons they might sit the bench for a couple years — one of the biggest things that high school kids struggle with is the speed of the college game. People don’t always understand how much faster the game is. Guys run faster, they throw harder, just all around it’s a major adjustment for high school players to make,” Gorman said. “The speed of the game is double what it was in high school, and not everybody can catch up right away. So, getting some extra practice time in the fall that junior colleges allow is a great way to kind of bridge that gap.” The biggest drawback to coaching at the junior college level is the staff has to continuously recruit. A player is only eligible to play for two seasons, so Gorman and his staff have to always be on the lookout for guys who can fill positions immediately. “We are in the business of recruitment, so we need to put ourselves out there and show the value we bring to any high school or college transfer student-athlete. We have a good reputation now, so it’s a little bit easier to get them on campus now than it was seven or eight years ago, but we have a nice brochure that shows where all these guys are going. We have a ton of guys out there who are playing at all different levels, including professional baseball,” Gorman said. “Those are the stories we want to share with our potential recruits, ‘look at where these guys are now, that’s going to be you someday if you come in, buy in, change your body through the weight room and develop, that’s going to be you someday.’ That’s
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
The ability to attract players like Mike Miles, a sophomore from Vineland who attended St. Augustine Prep, is a big reason why Cumberland County College has been so successful under coach Gorman. Miles is 11-0 this sason with a 1.51 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 83 2/3 innings. our biggest selling tool. Not everybody has the kind of success we’ve had in moving players on to great four-year universities and pro ball.” Make no mistake, for guys like Gorman, assistant coach Mike Freund and the other assistants, big-time success at the junior college level doesn’t lead to an extravagant lifestyle. It’s a grind every day for a modest salary, and sometimes coaches are asking a lot of their families to understand their passion for the game and why they love spending so much time at the ballpark. “He puts all his time and effort into it. He’s from Absecon, so he has about a 45-minute drive every day and he’s there from the time we get there for
school until the time we leave practice, and sometimes even later. He puts all his time and effort in,” said sophomore Dylan Scaranda, an Absegami graduate who is committed to play at Campbell University in North Carolina next year. “The big thing that a lot of us focus on is getting our grades up. Out of high school your grades might not be the best, but that’s where a lot of the (scholarship) money is at. These schools aren’t giving huge athletic scholarship because there isn’t that much money for baseball, so a big thing with coach Gorman is helping us get our grades up.” “I think baseball guys are a little nuts. They are unique people, and the
game is most the frustrating game in the world at times, but also the most rewarding. You have to really do it because you love it,” Gorman said. “Mike Freund’s wife gave my wife (Emily) a sign that is hung up prominently in our living room that says, ‘please pardon this marriage for baseball season.’ That is exactly what goes on. We have three young kids at home who are a handful and she is pretty much raising them on her own during baseball season. I love her so much and am so thankful for her. I can’t do what I do out here without her.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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BASEBALL
stepping stone For guys like Donnie Stone of Oakcrest and Absegami’s Dylan Scaranda, honing their skills at Cumberland County College has led to Division I scholarships By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer onnie Stone thought he was a pretty good baseball player his senior year at Oakcrest in 2017. He figured he was big, strong and fast enough to get a Division I scholarship off, but none came. A few Division II and DIII schools had shown some interest, but Stone said when the types of offers he wanted didn’t come in he had to do some soul searching. Was he really as good as he thought he’d been for all those years growing up? More importantly, what was he willing to do to make his dream of playing Division I baseball a reality? Was he willing to take a different route, one that he hadn’t really considered before? Stone decided his best option was to go to junior college and he chose to attend Cumberland County College, one of the premier Division III juco programs in the nation. And, after two highly successful seasons with the Dukes, Stone will be fulfilling his dream next year as a scholarship player at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “It wasn’t on my radar at all. I had never even thought of going to a junior college. It didn’t happen until real late in the recruiting process. It wasn’t until after my senior season that I decided to come to Cumberland,” said Stone, who is hitting .287 with five home runs and 45 RBIs this year for the Dukes, who are making their third trip in the past eight years to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series. “I had some interest from some DIII schools and one or two division II schools, but I thought I could do better, so I kind of bet on myself and decided to go the juco route. Thankfully, it paid off. I just wanted to go to the best, and Cumberland had a great reputation of being ranked in the top five every year (nationally), if not No. 1, so I figured if I was going to go play for a junior college I might as well go to one that can compete for a national championship every year. That’s kind of what it came down to for me. “Something that kind of caught my eye right away was last year, after some of the first practices, there were always guys staying around after to do more stuff,” Stone added. “It’s a great atmosphere to be around, and it makes it easy to go out and do extra
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Donnie Stone, a 2017 Oakcrest graduate, turned himself into a Division I scholarship player by performing well at Cumberland County College the past two seasons. work because you have guys who have that same attitude.” Going to a junior college to start a college baseball career is an option more players are taking a hard look at these days, for a variety of reasons. The competition is as good as it has ever been, especially in the northeast, it’s drastically less expensive, and — perhaps most importantly — a high school player can come in and potentially get two years of playing time instead of having to sit the bench behind a junior or senior at a four-year college. “Donnie Stone is a great example, he’s a young man who had some interest from some Division III and a couple of Division II colleges, but he really wanted to give it a shot and see what kind of options he had out there. I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s going to be paying a very minimal amount of tuition at Marist, and you just don’t get that kind of offer out
of high school, typically,” said Cumberland coach Keith Gorman, who has been at the helm for the past eight years. “The thing that Donnie has going for him — like all junior college players — is that he is a proven college player. Marist knows they are getting a player they can stick into the lineup right away and get production out of. You don’t always know that from a 17-year-old you’re getting out of high school. That’s a risky investment for some of these colleges. Junior college baseball is a great option for everyone, not just someone who has struggle academically, but also high academic students as well.” “The fact that it’s reasonably priced makes it an obvious choice, when you really think about it, but a lot of players, especially younger players, don’t really
See Stone, page 16
Page 16 w Glory Days Magazine w May 28, 2019 Stone, from page 14 think about those things and think everything will just work itself out. In reality, you’re the one who ends up with the debt when you get out of college. So, it’s something more players should think about before they decide which college they are going to go to,” Stone said. “It’s been huge, instead of sitting the bench, this has provided me the opportunity to play. At the junior college level, you play close to 60 games plus a full fall schedule, so that was a big thing that Marist liked. I already have two college seasons under my belt and that will make the transition a lot easier, instead of just coming out of high school.” Cumberland County College currently has four players at the professional level, including players in the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals systems, and has more than 30 alumni currently playing at four-year colleges. Gorman has also tapped the Cape-Atlantic League for its talent more and more the past couple of years. “We have a very good reputation in South Jersey and the evidence is there, our guys are doing well and moving on. We have a very good network in the Philadelphia area. We’re very proud of the Cape-Atlantic League guys. I think this is the most guys we’ve had from the CAL. There’s a lot of talent
in the CAL, and sometimes it’s hidden. Dylan Scaranda is a great example of that. I don’t know that anybody was recruiting him. His former coach, Brian Wastell, gave me a call, and we came out and loved him. He’s a lot more athletic than people give him credit for, and he’s committed to Campbell University, a great Division I program in the Big South Conference. He’ll do a tremendous job down there. He’s got power and is a very good defensive third baseman. We’re excited for him,” Gorman said. “Another guy is JoJo Rodriguez out of Vineland High School, he wasn’t really recruited by anybody, and he’s going to have to pay less than $5,000 a year to go to St. John’s, which is obviously a top-50 program in the country. JoJo will do a fantastic job for St. John’s next year. There’s a lot of great players in South Jersey that we’re fortunate enough to coach, and see go on to bigger and better things.” Scaranda has become sort of the poster boy for what junior college baseball can do for a player. During his years at Absegami, he was a good player but not the kind of guy who would wow college recruiters. He was batting sixth in the Braves’ lineup and not exactly lighting the world on fire offensively. Two years of juco baseball, however, have turned him into
See Stone, page 17
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Absegami graduate Dylan Scaranda is hitting better than .400 this season at Cumberland County College.
May 28, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 17 Stone, from page 16 a threat at the plate. This season, he’s leading the Dukes with a .425 average and 63 RBIs, and is third on the team in home runs with six. He’s also tied for the team lead with 76 hits, and has smacked 21 doubles. “Out of high school, I didn’t have any offers, wasn’t talking to any schools. My summer coach, Ed Hayes, told me about Cumberland, and toward the end of my senior season I figured I’d give it a shot. So I called coach Gorman, he picked up the phone and invited me for a visit, and I really liked it there. I had to call him a couple times to get him to answer, finally got in touch with him and he sent one of his assistant coaches out to watch a couple of my high school games. I was batting sixth and wasn’t anything special, but they gave me the chance I needed, and it’s worked out,” said Scaranda, who
has parlayed his success at Cumberland into a scholarship offer to play at Campbell University in North Carolina. “It was exciting. My family was really excited for me. Sometimes you think you’re good, or much better than you are, and it was humbling coming out of high school without any offers. I got told about Cumberland, and they gave me a great opportunity. It’s very focused in practice, in BP you have set rounds, move the runner over — it really helps you develop as a hitter. A big thing we work on is letting the ball get deep. A lot of young hitters like to pull everything, so a big thing for me was to let the ball get deeper. A lot of pitchers like to pound the outside of the zone, and being able to hit the outside pitch is very important as a hitter. I hit .360 with 10 home runs last year, and that really lit a spark in me because it made me come back this year even more focused. I’ve put up some pretty good numbers this year.”
This year’s roster is filled with guys from the Cape-Atlantic League, such as Tyler Knox of Holy Spirit, Nick Lonetto and Mike Miles of St. Augustine Prep, Nick and Ryan Hillesheim of Absegami, Ja’Ques Colon of Vineland, Nick Milhan of EHT and Ryan McIsaac of Millville, among others. Stone says he has come a long way since his high school days at Oakcrest, and credits the coaching staff and atmosphere at Cumberland for helping him become the Division I player he always thought he could be. “It’s taken a lot. It happened two years later than I thought it would, but this is something I’ve been working toward since I was 6 years old. Playing Division I baseball was always the goal, but coming out of high school without any Division I offers, it was time for me to look myself in the mirror and ask myself why I’m doing this,” Stone said. “Cumberland really gave me the opportunity to play for two years and
find myself as a hitter and become a better defensive player. It made the recruiting process for a Division I school to be interested in me a lot easier. At the junior college level, you really do eat, sleep and breathe baseball, so if it’s something (a high school player) is passionate about, junior college is the place to be.” Added Scaranda, “You get a lot of at-bats in, and it’s a lot cheaper. My financial aid covered all the tuition costs, so I came here with nothing to pay, then I get an offer to go play Division I baseball, which is the ultimate goal. I’m coming out of here with no debt and going to play Division I ball, so you can’t really beat that. I’m getting a 50 percent academic scholarship (to Campbell) and financial aid covers a lot of the rest, so I’ll only be paying a little bit each year.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
SHORE HARDWARE INSIDE LACROSSE
Ocean City programs continue to excel
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t almost sounds silly to say, considering how good the Ocean City boys and girls lacrosse teams have been the past few years, but each program continues to impress and get better seemingly every spring. Ocean City has long been one of the dominant teams in both boys and girls lacrosse in the CapeAtlantic League, but this year each program scored the highest number of wins it had under current coaches Joe LaTorre and Alyssa Morrison. The boys finished 19-3 with their only losses coming to Delaware powerhouse Salesianum as well as St. Augustine Prep in the regular season, and 8-7 to Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals. It’s hard to believe that this is a team that struggled to win a playoff game when the current seniors were freshman because of how good they have been the past couple of years, but this program has really come a long way. Coach LaTorre continues to schedule the toughest teams he can find, and his players have responded. Ocean City scored wins outside of the CapeAtlantic League over teams like West Deptford, Cherokee, Cape Henlopen (Del.), Holy Ghost (Pa.), and Bishop Eustace. They were battle tested coming into this year’s state playoffs, and it showed. In the opening round, No. 2 Ocean City crushed Toms River South, 18-2, then it beat West Windsor-Plainsboro North 13-3 in the quarterfinals. The Red Raiders were one step away from earning a berth into the sectional championship game for the first time in program history, but Shawnee was able to withstand Ocean City’s comeback and hang on for a one-goal victory. Following the heartbreaking loss, coach LaTorre spent a lot more time than he normally would with his departing seniors. This is a special group, after all. “I’ve never spoken this long to seniors, ever, after our last game. Usually, it’s, ‘hey, great season, thank you for everything.’ But this group, it really means a lot and they understand,” he said. “A lot of times we are pushing them to the limit and they do a great job of responding. We don’t have the season we had without these seniors. Those guys led by example and I’m going to miss those guys
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Marty Cattie is one of the seniors who helped elevate the Ocean City boys lacrosse program to its best season ever in 2019. He finished his career with 130 goals and 90 assists. more than anything. I said to them, ‘if you carry this mentality over into real life, outside of sports, you’re going to be successful.’ I have no complaints with the way our guys played. They gave the effort all season long.” “Everybody has been there for each other and everybody has had my back (throughout my career). It sucks walking off this field for the last time, but everyone having my back makes me feel better,” senior Billy Kroeger said. “We never focused on records, we all just played for each other. I couldn’t have done what I did (on faceoffs) without my wings, Anthony couldn’t have had all those assists without people scoring, Marty couldn’t have had the goals without the assists — everybody worked together, that’s how we went about it this year.” Morrison has been at the helm of the girls pro-
gram since the 2013 season, and in the past four years the Red Raiders have won at least 14 games, with a high of 18 in 2015. But this year topped them all, as Ocean City went 19-3 and lost to just one in-state team, mighty Moorestown, one of the top girls lacrosse teams in the entire country. The Quakers topped the Red Raiders in the season opener and then again in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. Like the boys program, the girls had several key seniors who helped build up the program and will be difficult to replace, players such as Danielle Donoghue, Reese Bloomstead, Shannon Decosta, Anna Devlin, Emily DiMarino and Delaney Gould. There is plenty of talent left behind, however, so expect more good things. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
bunting family pharmacy BASEBALL REPORT
AROUND THE HORN u Uncharted territory: Cedar Creek has made it as far as it has ever been in the state playoffs, and the Pirates will be going up against a seasoned West Deptford squad that is used to playing in big games. But, while the Pirates don’t have a lot of playoff experience, they do have tons of confidence. They blew out Pemberton, 10-0, in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 2 tournament, then dominated Delran, 8-3, behind 14 Ks from junior Luke Vaks. He’s the kind of pitcher who thrives on big-time competition, so don’t expect him to shy away from the moment.
GAMES TO WATCH u Tuesday, May 28, 3 p.m.: (16) EHT at (5) Cherry Hill East, SJG4 semifinals: Can the upstart Eagles pull off a third straight upset and reach the finals? If they can pitch like they have in the first two rounds, you’re darn right! u Tuesday, May 28, 4 p.m.: (5) Notre Dame at (1) St. Augustine Prep, Non-Public A South semifinals: The Hermits just barely got past No. 9 St. John Vianney, 5-4, in the quarterfinals, but with the four-day weekend should have standout righty Jayson Hoopes ready to go. The senior Virginia commit throws in the low 90s with a wicked slider. u Tuesday, May 28, 4 p.m.: (4) Holy Spirit at (1) Gloucester Catholic, Non-Public B South semifinals: With star senior Alec Sachais on the shelf with an arm injury, it will be interesting to see how Spirit coach Jason Downey handles his pitching staff. No matter who pitches, the Spartans will have to hit the ball in order to beat a very good Rams team that also features a potent, veteran lineup. u Tuesday, May 28, 5 p.m.: (6) Cedar Creek at (2) West Deptford, SJG2 semifinals: The Pirates have been riding high as they’ve gotten some great pitching and have been playing much better defense. Luke Vaks, who struck out 14 in a quarterfinal win against Delran, will be ready to roll.
Seeds mean nothing St. Augustine Prep skipper Mike Bylone, during a recent radio interview on 97.3 ESPN FM, called the state playoffs “a meat grinder.” Hard to find a more apt term for postseason baseball in South Jersey, as just about every section has teams that can get hot at the right time and make a run to a state championship game no matter what their seed is coming into the tournament. We’ve seen that again this year, particularly in South Jersey Group 4, where No. 16 Egg Harbor Township and No. 15 Cherokee both made their way into the semifinals. And, if you polled South Jersey coaches, most would not be that surprised if you said the Eagles and Chiefs would still be playing past Memorial Day. Both teams are that talented, but had some missteps during the regular season that pushed them down to a lower seed. EHT certainly has the talent to be a top-5 seed; the Eagles were ranked as high as No. 16 in the state in the preseason. But injuries and some bad losses started piling up, making the regular season a grind. Head coach Bryan Carmichael, however, just kept telling his guys all they needed to do was get in the tournament. Once you’re in, anything can happen, as EHT found out last year when it lost to a lower seed in the opening round. The Eagles headed into the final week of May needing just one more win to play for a South Jersey title, but they’d have to go through No. 5 Cherry Hill East to get to the title game. On the other side of the bracket, Cherokee was up against No. 3 Eastern. South Jersey Group 3 was another bracket where a double-digit seed made it to the semifinals, as No. 12 Toms River East outlasted No. 3 Ocean City in extra innings to earn a date against top-seeded Triton. Hammonton, the No. 6 seed, also made it into the semifinals. The seeds held a little more true in groups 2 and 1, but in SJG2, sixth-seeded Cedar Creek has made a run to the semis, and in Non-Public A South, top-seeded St. Augustine had to fight off a scare from No. 9 St. John Vianney in the quarterfinal round. When it gets down to the state playoffs, you can throw the seeds out the window because they don’t matter. What matters is pitching depth, playing good defense, and getting those timely hits. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Anthony Feinstein and Egg Harbor Township came into the South Jersey Group 4 tournament as the No. 16 seed, but scored a pair of upsets to reach the semifinal round.
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SOFTBALL
Building a better program Oakcrest getting a fresh start with new fencing, uniforms By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ow that the Oakcrest softball season is over, Falcons head coach Jason Hearn will probably have a lot more battery life on his phone. Then again, with as close as this team grew the past few months, perhaps not. Oakcrest finished 12-10, took fourth place in a very tough Cape-Atlantic League National Conference, and earned a berth in the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs. But, more important than any on-field success enjoyed this spring, Hearn is trying to change the entire culture around Oakcrest softball — and, by the looks of things, he’s beginning to succeed. “We’re trying to create that family atmosphere. We want the kids to know that we’re not just here for them from 2:30 to 5:30, we’re here for each other. We have a team group chat and it just never stops, I have to put the notifications on ‘do not disturb.’ They are always sending funny pictures, words of encouragement. And it’s not just one or two girls, it’s all of them, and that’s so good to see that these girls are invested in each other beyond softball,” said Hearn, who has been the Falcons’ skipper since 2012. “We have a really good core group of families that were so invested in getting our field where it needed to be. We had a family day where we were cleaning out the dugouts, cleaning the sheds, raking the field. We got together on a Saturday and had a barbecue. These families are invested in not only their child enjoying these things, but every child in the program.” During some recent seasons, oppos-
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Oakcrest center fielder Sarah Brosman makes a catch up against the outfield fence earlier this year during a game against Absegami. The Falcons fundraised for several years to come up with the money needed to install permanent fencing around the softball field. ing teams could look at Oakcrest on their schedule and pencil in a win, relatively confident they could handle the Falcons. But this year the Falcons were a tough out for anybody in the CAL. They played tough against state playoff squads like Ocean City and Hammon-
ton, scored big divisional wins against the likes of Absegami and Middle Township, and even beat Mainland, a team that won 20 games this season, in the season finale. Little changes have led to big things beginning to happen for Oakcrest soft-
ball. Instead of spending money on preseason trips to Florida or South Carolina, the Falcons decided to continue fundraising so they could build
See Program, page 24
PLAYERS EDGE
SOFTBALL REPORT DUGOUT CHATTER u Moorestown magic: The Quakers came into the South Jersey Group 3 tournament as the No. 6 seed, and after taking down Lacey Township in the opening round had to get through a pair of very good Cape-Atlantic League teams to reach the sectional final. Moorestown rode the right arm of Elysa Bohr to two straight victories, as the Quakers upset third-seeded Mainland with a 2-0 shutout in the second round, then beat suprising Ocean City, 4-2, in the semifinals. Shortstop Julianna LaRusso effectively ended the Red Raiders’ season with a third-inning grand slam that wiped out a 2-0 deficit, and Bohr did the rest, as the Quakers punched their ticket to the championship game and a date with No. 4 Delsea.
GAMES TO WATCH u Tuesday, May 28, 4 p.m.: No. 9 Pennsville at No. 2 Buena Regional, SJG1 championship: The host Chiefs are smoking hot right now, having won nine straight games, and will be looking to hoist another trophy for longtime coach Pam Pickett. u Tuesday, May 28, 4 p.m.: No. 4 Rutgers Prep at No. 1 St. Joseph, Non-Public B South semifinals: The Wildcats have been one f the top teams in South Jersey all year, having rolled up a 28-2 record, and will look to keep things rolling right into the sectional final.
Buena gets hot at right time
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t wasn’t easy for Buena Regional to keep pace with St. Joseph in the Cape-Atlantic League United Conference, as the Wildcats raced out to 18 straight wins to start the season. But the Chiefs were right there with them the entire way and ended up tying for the conference lead with St. Joseph, as each team finished with 11-1 records. And the Chiefs have been playing their best softball when it matters most, in May. Since a 5-1 loss to Rancocas Valley on May 4, Buena has ripped off nine straight wins and put itself in position to win another South Jersey Group 1 championship. The Chiefs, seeded No. 2, take on No. 9 Pennsville on May 28 in the sectional title game. That win streak included some big-time regular-season victories to go along with playoff wins over LEAP Academy, Paulsboro and Schalick. On May 14, Buena went on the road and beat Wildwood Catholic, 10-4, and that came just three days after the Chiefs scored a huge 2-0 road win at Vineland, the defending South Jersey Group 4 champion and a team that played in the state championship game a year ago. They also beat St. Joseph, 3-1, in between playoff victories. Buena has been riding the outstanding pitching of junior right-hander Natalie Ampole (pictured) and the offense has really started to crank. In the state playoffs, Buena has outscored its three opponents 37-0, and in the last seven games the Chiefs have a 50-1 margin over opponents, including six shutouts. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
Page 24 w Glory Days Magazine w May 28, 2019 Program, from page 22
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Things should continue to improve for Oakcrest, as the Falcons have a strong group returning next year, led by junior pitcher Emily Tunney.
up enough money to make some drastic improvements inside the program. This year, Oakcrest was able to put up permanent outfield fencing and the Falcons also got some nice new uniforms. These may sound like minimal upgrades, but the efforts have gone a long way, coach Hearn said. “It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to invest in the girls, so it was really nice to get the opportunity to make some purchases that would help motivate the girls. The booster club decided to not go on some trips for a few years and instead put some money into upgrading the field. And not only has that helped the varsity with the permanent fence, but the JV now has our old breakaway fence. It’s a matter of creating more of a team atmosphere for the entire program. We wanted the girls who are in the program now to be more invested and for younger kids to see that there is a great opportunity to play here, and that there are people here who care about you, and want you to be successful and have a good time while you’re working hard within the program,” he said. “We had an influx of girls coming out for the team this year. Last year, the JV struggled with numbers, but this year we had more than enough. We had some girls who didn’t play as freshmen and sophomores come out as juniors. It’s the mindset that if you look good, you feel good and you’ll play well. Last year we were scrambling for pants that matched, kids were sewing rips in pants because it had been a few years
since we had gotten uniforms. This year the girls were able to get some really sharp looking jerseys. We worked with Showcase Sports in Hammonton and they did a great favor by working us a wonderful deal that came in right where our budget allotted us to get us two sets of jerseys. The old jerseys were still in pretty good shape so we were able to give them to the JV players. Added Hearn, “We’re doing a lot of things to help create that family atmosphere within the program, along with providing the girls with better uniforms and fields.” “We have a great group of parents who are always willing to help, and a great booster club. We had a tournament in April and the weather was really bad. We had parents out there at 6:30 in the morning, bringing tarps, doing what they could to dry the field. We’ve been lucky with having great parents,” added assistant coach Lindsay Day, a former player for Hearn who graduated from Oakcrest in 2012. “We have a group of girls who play travel ball, and even the ones who don’t grew up playing softball. The bigger challenge has been getting everyone together as a whole team and learning how to play not just for yourself. In this day and age, with social media, it’s a lot about me, me, me, so getting the girls to want to play for the girl next to them, and the whole cliche of playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back, that’s been one of our biggest challenges. But, toward the
See Program, page 25
“When the jerseys came in, every one of the players lit up. When the guy from Showcase Sports pulled up and took the boxes out, I almost couldn’t get the jerseys out of the box before they were like, ‘where’s my number?’ They were so excited. And with the fence, we worked with Phencemen out of Egg Harbor City and in just over a week we were able to get it up, finalize it — when it all came down to it, when the fence was complete and we had our first home game, you could just see the excitement with the girls.”
Jason Hearn Oakcrest softball coach
May 28, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Program, from page 24 end of the season we really rallied. In our last game of the season, after we had gotten knocked out of the playoffs, we beat Mainland 2-1 on a go-ahead run in the seventh inning. So, at the end of the season they had really bought into the team ideal.” Hearn and the booster club have been working with local companies to help with the upgrades, including Phencemen of Egg Harbor City and Showcase Sports in Hammonton. “We were fortunate enough to have some businesses sponsor us and those banners will go up next year. We worked with a local company that provided us with banners at a great price, so that’s going to look great next year, and they’re going to work with families of players to come up with pictures of the players that we can put up on the outfield wall,” Hearn said. “They’ll be up for the whole season and then the families can take them, it’s just a way of promoting the girls who are playing.” Hearn said that when the boxes filled with new Falcons jerseys arrived, the players couldn’t wait to get their hands on them and see how they looked. And it’s not just the excitement of having new apparel, but the fact that the girls worked so hard to raise all the money needed to not only look like a better team, but become a better program all around. “When the jerseys came in, every one of the players lit up. When the guy from Showcase Sports pulled up and took the boxes out, I almost couldn’t get the jerseys out of the box before they were like, ‘where’s my number?’ They were so excited. And with the fence, we worked with Phencemen out of Egg Harbor City and in just over a week we were able to get it up, finalize it — when it all came down to it, when the fence was complete and we had our first home game, you could just see the excitement with the girls,” Hearn said. “Not only is it a permanent fence, but it gave the girls ownership of that little bit of land. In the past, you had other teams walking to their field, and when we had that breakaway
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Oakcrest softball coach Jason Hearn said that players like senior right fielder Monya Fuller were thrilled to be able to sport new uniforms this season. The Falcons worked with Showcase Sports in Hammonton to upgrade their look on the diamond. fence people would be walking through the outfield — the fact that we have a little chunk of land that is ours, you could tell the girls are proud of what they accomplished. It’s through their fundraising the last couple of years that we were able to do these types of things. It wouldn’t have been possible without their hard work, so it was an opportunity to see their ac-
tions come to life. To raise money is one thing, but to see your money in action, you could tell they took a little bit more pride in that field — hustling down to practices and games because it’s something they were able to accomplish.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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GMS Law Assistant Coach Profile LINDSAY DAY/OAKCREST SOFTBALL
A new Day dawning
Former Oakcrest star has returned to the field where she first made a name for herself By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer indsay Day respectfully declined to answer when asked which girl in the Day family is most athletic. She also took a pass when asked which of the four young ladies from Mays Landing is the most gifted academically. Although, to be fair, when you have that much talent in one family, it’s kind of like choosing a vacation to Hawaii, Italy, France or New Zealand — you really can’t go wrong with any choice. Day is the second daughter of Sean and Joan Day, and if that surname sounds familiar, it should, as Lauren, Lindsay, Logan and Lainey Day all left considerable legacies during their time at Oakcrest, which lasted nearly a decade from the time Lauren began her high school career in 2007 to Lainey’s graduation in 2016. Lauren (2011) was a swimmer who went on to attend Johns Hopkins University, Lindsay (2012) was a star softball and soccer player and is finishing up her math degree at Rutgers-Camden, Logan (2015) finished her career as one of the Falcons’ best softball players ever and recently graduated from Stockton University, and Lainey (2016) was talented in the arts and drama during her time at Oakcrest and now attends The College of New Jersey. While she continues her studies, Lindsay has been helping out the Oakcrest softball program as an assistant coach the past two years, and is bringing her knowledge as a high level high school, travel and college player to the bench. Head coach Jason Hearn said Day’s presence has made a huge impact on the program, as the Falcons are in the midst of a rebirth with a lot of facility upgrades, new uniforms and an overall attitude to be not only more together as teammates, but more competitive. This year, the Falcons went 12-10 and earned a berth in the South Jersey Group 2 tournament. “I had the opportunity to coach her in soccer and softball, and for her to be able to come back and give back to the program has been a welcome addition. I’ve had several former athletes come back and coach for a couple of years, bringing their knowledge of playing at the next level. It makes me proud to say they are my former athletes who are coming back
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Lindsay Day was an outstanding soccer and softball player during her time at Oakcrest, and she’s been an assistant softball coach working with head coach Jason Hearn the past two seasons. and giving back to the program, still believing in that mindset that I tried to instill in them when they were athletes,” Hearn said. “All those (Day) girls were blessed with different talents. Lindsay played college softball and works with different travel teams. She actually brought more energy to me, too. Every once in a while I need a different perspective, and she really encouraged me to grow as a coach. That youthfulness, her fiery competitiveness, and it’s nice to not be the only one in the trenches.” Day actually got her coaching start while she was a high school player, helping out a travel team that featured players who were just a few years younger than she. Even now, in her early 20s, some of the high school seniors are just a few years younger, but
Day said she likes that aspect of it because she can relate to what these girls are going through. She was just in their shoes not too long ago, after all. “My senior year in high school I coached a U14 travel team, so I got started with that, then I coached two more seasons of travel ball. Coach Hearn had reached out to me because they needed another coach and that’s always what I’ve wanted to do, and it was a great chance to give back to the program at the same school I went to. It was the perfect opportunity,” Day said. “That’s the part I liked most about it. When I was younger we usually had a coach who was some-
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Page 28 w Glory Days Magazine w May 28, 2019 Program, from page 26 body’s dad, who might have been 25 years older than you, so sometimes it’s nice to have a coach who is similar in age to you. I know what these girls are going through in softball and in school, so it’s helped me have a great relationship with a lot of the girls. My whole thing is, ‘no one cares, work harder.’ Meaning, everyone is experiencing the same things, so whatever work you put in, that’s what you’ll get out of it. I try to teach the girls to come to practice every day and work hard. You reap what you sow. That’s what we’re trying to instill in the whole program.” Like most young coaches, Day said she came into the job last year like a whirlwind, trying to make all kinds of changes right off the bat, but coach Hearn convinced her that being a coach is a whole lot different than being a player, and there were things she would need to learn along the way. “You come in so gung-ho, you’re ready to change the program, do this, this and that, but you need to have a bunch of girls buy into what you’re selling. In the beginning, it was kind of figuring out what was the best coaching style for them, and what my coaching style was going to be. I had to figure out what worked best for them and the program as a whole. It took a little bit of time to get to know the girls, their style of play and the competition, but I think we had a breakthrough in the middle of the season last year,” she said. “In the beginning, I came in with all kinds of ideas and (Hearn) was like, ‘OK, let’s pump the brakes a little bit.’ I thought I knew everything because I played in high school, I played in college, played up and down the East Coast, but he was like, ‘I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than you have.’ The good thing was he let me do everything and try new things at practice and in games. He allowed me to figure out what worked and what didn’t. He’s been great the whole time. He’s someone who I’m comfortable with and someone who I had a player-coach relationship with previously, so the whole thing was a smooth transition. It’s nice that we can talk about things and he’s someone I can go to if I have any questions about anything. He’s knows the game
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Lindsay, who is one of four Day sisters, said she has learned a lot about coaching the past two years, and hopes to one day coach at the college level. well because he’s been coaching for a number of years, so it’s been nice having someone who I feel comfortable around.” Day said she would eventually like to get her master’s degree and get into coaching at the college level, but for right now she’s enjoying bringing some new energy to the Oakcrest softball program and trying to build the Falcons up into a contender in the Cape-Atlantic League. “Hearn and I got together and made some decisions about the program. We wanted to change the whole image and how people thought about us. We got new uniforms, new fencing — we wanted everything to look sharp. If things look sharp, everything will follow suit with the girls,” Day said. “I love it. I’ve been so lucky to coach these girls. It’s a great group, girls come to practice every day eager and willing to learn. I’ve been really blessed to come into a program that has had some success in the past, and even though we’re losing some good seniors this year, I think our core group will lead to a good couple of years coming up.” Hearn said it’s also been great having Day on staff because she brings a female coach’s perspective to the pro-
gram, and sometimes it’s easier for a high school girl to talk to a female coach about something that might be bothering her on a particular day. “That’s the thing that we’ve tried to convey to the girls is that I’ve been where they are, I went to school here, played softball here, had the same problems they had whether it be with relationships, school work,” Day said. “Now, they are more comfortable around me. The first year you’re kind of walking on eggshells because you don’t know what to expect, they don’t know what to expect from you, but now I’ve developed a lot of strong relationships with the girls and we get along well. I think it’s definitely helpful having another female coach on staff.” “That’s always a bonus. I have a good relationship with most of the players in school, a lot of them do student council, a lot of them play other sports for me or participate in programs that I help run. But having that female presence definitely does help with that comfort level for the girls,” Hearn added. “She played for me and she understands that I am approachable and that I’m there for whatever the girls need, but sometimes it does take that little bridge that a female coach can provide.”
What Day thought coaching might be like is probably much different than the reality of the past two years, but she said she’s enjoying the opportunity to learn not only more about coaching, but about herself as well. “I remember when I was playing and thinking, man, I can’t wait until I’m a coach. Now, when I go home, sometimes I’m frustrated when I don’t see the same passion that I have. But when you’re coaching in high school, not every girl is focused on playing in college. Some people just play because they enjoy the sport and the camaraderie. Sometimes I just go home and have to take a deep breath and focus not on what they could have done better, but what I could have done better,” she said. “As a coach in just my second year, the most important thing I’ve learned is that I need to learn from others. I can’t come in here thinking I know everything there is to know about softball, especially coaching. There are things you don’t realize when you’re a player, so I’ve just been trying to adapt and reflect on things that I’ve done and always try to learn from what I’m doing.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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BASEBALL/SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
A quick look at how CAL teams fared in the postseason Still alive
Heading into the final week of May, there are a few Cape-Atlantic League teams still in action. BASEBALL u Egg Harbor Township: The No. 16 seed in South Jersey Group 4, the Eagles knocked off No. 1 Shawnee then No. 8 Vineland to earn a berth in the semifinals, where they’ll take on No. 5 Cherry Hill East. u Cedar Creek: The Pirates, No. 6 in SJG2, won a pair of games to set up a semifinals matchup with No. 2 West Deptford. u St. Augustine Prep: The top-seeded Hermits survived a scare from No. 9 St. John Vianney in the quarterfinals and now face No. 5 Notre Dame in the semis. u Holy Spirit: The Spartans rolled to a firstround win over Wardlaw-Hartridge, then beat Wildwood Catholic, 3-1, to earn a semifinals date against top-seeded Gloucester Catholic on May 28.
u St. Joseph: One of the top teams in South Jersey all year long, the Wildcats are into the Non-Public B South semifinals. They beat No. 16 Trenton Catholic in the first round, then No. 9 Trinity Hall in the quarterfinals to earn a date with No. 4 Rutgers Prep on May 28.
Season ended
SOFTBALL u Buena Regional: The No. 2 Chiefs scored wins over LEAP Academy, Paulsboro and Schalick, all via shutout, to earn a trip to the SJG1 championship game, where they’ll face No. 9 Pennsville.
Here’s a look at how other CAL teams did before their season’s came to an end. BASEBALL u Lost in Round 1: Millville, Mainland, Lower Cape May, Oakcrest, Cape May Tech u Lost in quarterfinals: Absegami, Ocean City, St. Joseph SOFTBALL u Lost in Round 1: Egg Harbor Township, Absegami, Middle Township, Holy Spirit u Lost in quarterfinals: Millville, Mainland, Cedar Creek, Oakcrest, OLMA u Lost in semifinals: Vineland, Ocean City
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COMMENTARY
It’s time to rethink CAL conferences N ow that I’ve been running Glory Days Magazine for six years and have seen countless games in the Cape-Atlantic League in a variety of different sports, I feel like it’s time to start changing the way the Cape-Atlantic League thinks about how it structures its conferences, particularly in spring sports. Typically, schools are grouped into conferences based mainly on school size, but schools have had varying degrees of success in certain sports throughout the years and — at least in my humble opinion, as someone who covers this league on a daily basis — there could be much more competitive divisions put in place that would eliminate a lot of the blowouts we see on a nearly weekly basis. Let’s take boys lacrosse, for example. For a good portion of the league, lacrosse is a relatively new sport and some of these programs don’t have established feeder programs put in place yet. A prime example is Vineland, a relatively new team that started its program a few years ago. The Fighting Clan are in the CAL American, which typically houses the larger schools, and Vineland is one of the largest schools in South Jersey in terms of student population. But Vineland, by virtue of being in the CAL American, has to face teams like Ocean City, Oakcrest and Lower Cape May — programs that have a much longer history — twice per year, and the Fighting Clan (1-13 this season) simply can’t compete with the likes of Ocean City. There really wasn’t much juice to the CAL boys lacrosse season this year because Ocean City and Mainland — the top two teams the past couple of years — were placed in different divisions. The Red Raiders and Mustangs did play once this year, with Ocean City winning, but it wasn’t anything like last year when they played for the league championship in front of a packed house during a night game at Mainland. Now that game had some juice! And in a sport like baseball, Bridgeton is grouped in with teams like St. Augustine Prep, EHT and Vineland in the CAL American, and as great a job as Mike Valella does with that program, the Bulldogs don’t have a lot of depth in their program and struggle to stay in games against the Hermits, Eagles and Fighting Clan. By the same token, you have a team like
Dave O’Sullivan
Glory Days Magazine file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
A few years ago, the West Jersey Football League starting implementing more balanced scheduling, and that has allowed Pleasantville football to rebuild its program and begin to thrive. Sully believes the same philosophy can help some spring sports teams in the CapeAtlantic League become more successful. Holy Spirit, which has a long tradition of winning baseball, playing in the CAL United. Yes, I get that Spirit has a very small student population, but the Spartans have a good, established baseball program and should be playing more games against the likes of Mainland, Ocean City, EHT and St. Augustine Prep. So, enough complaining. Here’s a look at how I would restructure the Cape-Atlantic League in some of the major spring sports: First, forget three divisions. In sports like baseball, softball, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse, cut it down to two divisions, with more teams in each division. It should be difficult to win a conference championship, and competing against more teams inside the
conference would really make it a big accomplishment to win a title. Second, take three-year winning percentages, and at the end of that three year cycle, the bottom two teams in the CAL American move down to the National, and the top two teams in the National move up to the American. This gives the teams in the National Conference something to shoot for, and can also help a struggling CAL American program rebuild more quickly. In high school sports, the more a team wins, the more likely it is that better athletes will come out for the teams. More kids want to be a part of successful programs. For instance, a football player might
See CAL, page 31
May 28, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 31 CAL, from page 30 decide to come out for baseball in the spring instead of just going through an offseason lifting program if his school’s baseball team was playing competitive, exciting games every week. Imagine if a team like Bridgeton baseball (2-18, 1-11 CAL American), or Lower Cape May softball (4-15, 0-10 CAL National), could play competition much more at their level for a couple of years and maybe put together a few 12- or 14-win seasons. That would definitely generate a lot more interest around those programs. And third, come up with official CAL Tournaments for these sports. If it can be done in basketball and now soccer, it can be done in the spring sports. The top two in each conference at whatever the cutoff date is get automatic bids with the next four teams with the best records filling out the field (seeding based on records, strength of schedule, coaches input, perhaps. (For instance, the leader in the CAL National wouldn’t automatically receive the No. 2 or No. 3 seed). With eight teams, you’re only talking about three games to decide a league champion. Here’s a look at how the conferences would look in each sports based on the Sully model: Baseball u CAL American: St. Augustine Prep, Millville, Vineland, EHT, Mainland, Ocean City, Absegami, Holy Spirit, Buena Regional, Cedar Creek. u CAL National: ACIT, Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Oakcrest, Lower Cape May, Middle Township, St. Joseph, Pleasantville, Cape May Tech, Wildwood Catholic. Softball u CAL American: Millville, EHT, Vineland, Mainland, Ocean City, Middle Township, Cedar Creek, Buena Regional, Absegami, St. Joseph. u CAL National: Atlantic City, ACIT, Bridgeton, Wildwood Catholic, OLMA, Cape May Tech, Holy Spirit, Pleasantville, Oakcrest, Lower Cape May. Boys Lacrosse
u CAL American: Ocean City, Mainland, Oakcrest, Absegami, Lower Cape May. u CAL National: Vineland, Middle Township, Cedar Creek, EHT, Atlantic City, Holy Spirit. Girls Lacrosse u CAL American: Ocean City, Mainland, Lower Cape May, Middle Township, Millville, EHT. u CAL National: Absegami, OLMA, Atlantic City, Oakcrest, Cedar Creek, Holy Spirit. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how the scheduling would work. Don’t worry, I have that figured out, too! In each sport, each team would be required to play 12 Cape-Atlantic League games. For instance, in baseball and softball, each team would have nine conference games and three crossover games, meaning you would play each team in your conference once, plus three crossover games. The beauty of this is there would be no need for tiebreakers. For instance, suppose Millville and EHT softball each had just one loss in those 12 games, well, they would have played head-to-head once, so whoever won that game would be the conference champion. Head-tohead matchups would mean everything. If you want to be conference champion, you have to beat the other best team in the conference. In lacrosse, since there are less teams, in the Sully format each team would still play each conference team once, but there would be four crossover games (five in boys lacrosse, since there are 11 teams) for a total of nine CAL games. With only nine conference games, teams like Ocean City and Mainland would have more opportunity to go out and schedule top teams in South Jersey and Pennsylvania, while a newer CAL program would have a chance to go find games against teams they could be competitive with. The whole point of this column is that nobody wants to see a 23-0 baseball or softball score, and who wants to sit through an 18-0 lacrosse blowout? Those kinds of games don’t do anything to improve the programs of either the winning or the losing team. Plus, the system of giving teams an opportunity to move up in competition once they have proven a measure of sustained success gives coaches and ath-
letes something to strive for. It also gives programs that might be struggling in the CAL American for a couple of years the chance to drop down to the National to help rebuild and become competitive again. Plus, think about how exciting CAL baseball and softball tournaments would be! Imagine seeing something like Mainland vs. Ocean City in the CAL baseball tournament championship game at Birch Grove Park in Northfield. Think of the crowd a game like that would bring out under the lights! Or, how about the CAL softball semifinals and finals, played back to back, at EHT on a Saturday? Three great games at a beautiful ballpark on a Saturday in May? Count me in! Or maybe the CAL girls and boys lacrosse championship games, in a double header, at Ocean City on a Friday night in late May? Now that would be intense. Would there be challenges along the way? Of course, mostly with scheduling during the regular season and finding places to host CAL Tournament games, but nothing that can’t be overcome if the league’s athletic directors work together to figure out solutions. My take is that more evenly matched competition leads to more successful sports programs at all the schools in the long run. Just look at how successful the West Jersey Football League is becoming with its retooling of its divisions every two years. A team like Pleasantville endured a losing streak of more than 30 games — years without a victory — and the past two years the Greyhounds have made the state playoffs, and last fall were within one win of playing for a South Jersey championship, after having the ability to play more competitive teams for a couple of years, thus picking up wins and more interest from everyone in the school and community. And, look how successful the CAL Tournament in basketball has been for years, and how much juice there was surrounding the inaugural CAL soccer tournament this past fall. We need that kind of excitement in spring sports! Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
snapshots
Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan
Mainland’s Maggie Wilkinson reacts to a called strike during the Mustangs’ state playoff game against Moorestown. Atlantic City senior Savannah Robertson throws the javelin earlier this month at the Atlantic County Championships at Buena Regional High School.
Van Patten, a freshman lefty at Holy Spirit, helped pitch the Spartans past Wardlaw Hartridge in the opening round of the state playoffs.