Audubon

It's a lesson as old as the sport and as fresh as the new season. "That's the stuff we talk about every day," Audubon baseball coach Rich Horan said after another improbable Green Wave comeback resulted in another dramatic victory Tuesday afternoon. "Just keep battling away. Good things will happen if you keep playing hard. " Taking its coach's advice to heart, Audubon twice rallied from the brink of defeat for a 7-6 victory over Haddon Township in eight innings in the season opener for the Colonial Patriot and South Jersey Group 1 rivals.

On Saturday, Audubon held an open house for its new Municipal Complex, in a former medical building on Nicholson Road near the Black Horse Pike. Before then, the borough's offices were at two locations on Atlantic Avenue.

Kahleil Chisolm ran for 197 yards and a touchdown as Audubon defeated Lindenwold, 23-6, in a Colonial Conference Patriot Division football game on Saturday. The Green Wave improved to 3-1 overall, 2-0 in the division. Lindenwold fell to 0-4, 0-2. Audubon struck first when quarterback Aiden Borden completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Zach Sutter, giving the Green Wave a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. After Lindenwold recovered a fumble and ran it into the end zone to make the score 7-6, Borden drove the Green Wave down the field and score don a 1-yard run to give Audubon a 13-6 advantage.

The theatrics always feel a tad amped up during wrestling matches at Seneca. The lights are turned off all around the perimeter of the Golden Eagles' gym. The only ones kept on are the few that shine down on the mat like a spotlight. On Friday night, Audubon wrestler Sean Hanson stepped into that spotlight and his expression shifted from focused athlete to something more reminiscent of a snarling bull. Forty-nine seconds later, the referee was raising Hanson's hand in victory, and momentum never turned back in Seneca's favor as Audubon went on to a 41-27 victory.

Dave Ricci, the boys' basketball coach the last two seasons at Cinnaminson, has been named the coach at Audubon. The hiring of Ricci, a 28-year-old graduate of Cherry Hill East, was approved at last night's school board meeting. He replaces Casey Clements, who resigned after last season. A physical education teacher at Audubon, Ricci assisted Clements for one season before taking over at Cinnaminson. In two seasons, he guided the Pirates to a 21-29 record. Cinnaminson reached the playoffs in his first season and earned a first-round win over Woodstown.

Yesterday's baseball game between Audubon and Sterling was delayed 40 minutes because of a scheduling mix-up involving the umpires. But that didn't throw off Ryan Smulktis' timing. After all, the Audubon junior righthander had waited 30 days to play his first game, so another 40 minutes wasn't going to matter. Smulktis shrugged off the delay by pitching a five-hitter and Audubon crushed Sterling, 14-1, in a Colonial Conference game. Audubon, which entered the week uncertain of qualifying for the Group 2 playoffs, won its third straight game and improved to 7-5 overall and 7-3 in the Colonial.

Two potential double-play balls told the story of yesterday's South Jersey Group 2 baseball semifinal between Gateway and Audubon. One allowed Audubon to escape a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning unscathed. Another opened the floodgates for a six-run Audubon outburst in the second. After dodging an early bullet, the Green Wave parlayed hot hitting and shoddy Gateway defense into a 13-3 five-inning knockout of the Gators. Audubon, The Inquirer's No. 3 team in South Jersey, advanced to Friday's South Jersey group final against Pennsville at Cherry Hill East.

These are special times for the Audubon baseball program. The players still have big dreams, including taking that final ride through town. This is a town whose baseball tradition takes a backseat to nothing, a town where the players over the years have enjoyed the fire-truck ride that is awarded to any state-championship team. Audubon is one victory from taking that trip. The Green Wave (21-5) will meet West Essex (27-3) in the state Group 2 final at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Toms River South.

The Collingswood players clutched one another and unsuccessfully fought back tears. Coach Nancy O'Neill shared another cry with her players in the locker room. She, like the majority of her starters, including injured guard Kelly Feeney, were helpless to stop a fourth-quarter meltdown last night that ended their season. Saddled with foul trouble throughout the second half, Collingswood regulars watched in disbelief as Leslie Snock carried 11th-seeded Audubon into the second round of the South Jersey Group 2 girls' basketball playoffs with a 63-62 overtime victory.

Good teams manage to find a way to win, even when they try to give the victory away. That's what Audubon did yesterday. The visiting Green Wave used 11 hits to overcome some shoddy fielding and baserunning blunders as it beat previously undefeated Haddon Heights, 4-2, in a Colonial Conference softball game. Audubon (5-1), the defending conference champion, is still trying to find its title form. Yesterday, the hitting started to come together. Leadoff hitter Kourtney Kalbach collected three hits, including an RBI single.

This was a baseball game that said as much about the losing side as the winning one. So many positives can be stated about both teams after Washington Township held on for a 7-5 win over Audubon on Saturday in a quarterfinal of the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic at Deptford. Township jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Audubon scored one run in the fourth and four in the fifth and sent the potential winning run to the plate in the sixth and the potential tying run in the seventh. "There is no game we think we are out of," Audubon third baseman Bob Panico said.

See and hear from Washington Township first baseman Shaine Hughes and Audubon coach Rich Horan. www.philly.com/rallyvideos

Audubon trailed Haddonfield for most of the game Friday before pulling out a 4-3 home win in a Colonial Conference baseball matchup. Haddonfield led by 2-0 after one inning and 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh. But then, Eric Shorr led off with a triple and Justin Jannetti singled him in to tie the game. Jannetti moved to third on a sacrifice and a wild pitch. Jack Welscher, the winning pitcher, then hit a walk-off single. Nonleague. Designated hitter Joe Gatto stroked a go-ahead single in the top of the eighth inning to send St. Augustine, ranked fifth in South Jersey by The Inquirer, to a 4-2 win at No. 3 Gloucester Catholic.

Justin Jannetti didn't think it was a big deal. He grabbed his glove, pulled down his cap, and trotted onto the baseball field for the start of another inning. He's done the same thing hundreds of times in his life. But a lot of other people at Hank Greenberg Field in Audubon on Sunday knew this was different. His mother and father fought back tears. Folks in the stands yelled and clapped when the public-address announcer noted that Jannetti was playing second base for Audubon High School.

Eric Schorr said Audubon's baseball team doesn't rebuild. "We restock," Schorr said Sunday after leading host Audubon to a 10-5 victory over Bishop Eustace in a clash of top-10 teams for the championship of the 18th annual Ralph Shaw Classic. Schorr, a junior centerfielder, cracked a two-run homer and finished with three runs and three RBIs for Audubon (4-0), ranked No. 9 in South Jersey by The Inquirer. Schorr said the victory was "huge" for the Green Wave because they lost several top players from last year's state champions, including his brother Andrew, The Inquirer player of the year who is now a freshman at East Carolina.

Audubon's Bob Panico talks about the victory over Haddon Township. www.philly.com/ rallyvideos

It's a lesson as old as the sport and as fresh as the new season. "That's the stuff we talk about every day," Audubon baseball coach Rich Horan said after another improbable Green Wave comeback resulted in another dramatic victory Tuesday afternoon. "Just keep battling away. Good things will happen if you keep playing hard. " Taking its coach's advice to heart, Audubon twice rallied from the brink of defeat for a 7-6 victory over Haddon Township in eight innings in the season opener for the Colonial Patriot and South Jersey Group 1 rivals.

It's a lesson as old as the sport and as fresh as the new season. "That's the stuff we talk about every day," Audubon baseball coach Rich Horan said after another improbable Green Wave comeback resulted in another dramatic victory Tuesday afternoon. "Just keep battling away. Good things will happen if you keep playing hard. " Taking its coach's advice to heart, Audubon twice rallied from the brink of defeat for a 7-6 victory over Haddon Township in eight innings in the season opener for the Colonial Patriot and South Jersey Group 1 rivals.

Clearview vs. Paul VI, Monday at Washington Lake Park at 2 p.m.: This is a first-round game of the eight-team Gland Slam Classic, which culminates with Saturday's title game at Washington Township. Audubon at Haddon Township, Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.: A big early-season game between Colonial Patriot and South Jersey Group 1 contenders. Williamstown at Delsea, Wednesday at 4 p.m.: The Braves and Crusaders should be major factors in the Tri-County Royal race. Moorestown at Burlington Township, Thursday at 10 a.m.: The Quakers and Falcons should both contend for Burlco Liberty and South Jersey Group 3 titles.

I attempted to learn the clarinet in seventh grade - an experience about which I can hardly toot my own horn. But I love music, and admire those who have what it takes to master the art and the craft of making it. Which is why I recently visited the Conservatory of Musical Arts, a private school in Audubon where nearly 350 students are learning to do just that. "I watch them develop, and the better they get and the more intense their achievements, the more they love music," says director and founder Anthony Salicandro.