Washington Township

Her team was down by 17 goals. Her opponent was holding the ball, all but stationary as the second-half clock wound down. Everybody, in fact, seemed to be waiting for the game to end - except Caitlin Delaney. Delaney was in a different game, sprinting back and forth across the field. Jumping. Diving. Doing everything she could to pry the ball loose. When the game ended, Delaney bent over and put her hands on her knees, completely exhausted. It was the Cougars' worst loss of the season.

When Cherry Hill West opened the baseball season with three losses in its first four games, coach Dan McMaster didn't have to focus on maintaining a positive atmosphere. Senior shortstop Brad Machinski took care of that. "He's one of the best leaders I've ever been around," McMaster said of Machinski, who has helped the young Lions develop into one of the surprise teams of the South Jersey season. Cherry Hill West (8-3) has won seven in a row. The Lions have emerged as strong contenders in the Olympic Conference National Division as well as a team to watch in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament.

Baseball BURLINGTON COUNTY LIBERTY Burlington City 5, Trenton Catholic 2 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE AMERICAN Vineland 10, Mainland 0 Absegami 6, Millville 1 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE NATIONAL Cape May Tech 6, Bridgeton 3 COLONIAL CONFERENCE Haddon Heights 8, Haddonfield 2 Audubon 6, Lindenwold 3 Gateway 3, Woodbury 0 West Deptford 14, Collingswood 4 OLYMPIC CONFERENCE NATIONAL Camden Catholic 17, Winslow Township...

It probably would be a stretch to call Saturday's matchup against Washington Township a "must win" for the St. Augustine baseball team. The Hermits entered the game at 9-3 and No. 7 in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings, but don't tell that to Hermits coach Mike Bylone. "We needed to beat a quality team today," Bylone said after his team's 6-3 win over Washington Township. "We lost to some other very good teams that are ahead of us. And today, we really needed this one. " St. Augustine (10-3)

The Washington Township school board and teachers' union reached a tentative agreement early Wednesday to settle a nearly three-year contract dispute. Negotiations continued well after Tuesday's board meeting, with the sides hashing out an agreement at 4:30 a.m. The contract between the Washington Township Education Association, which represents 850 teachers and secretaries, and the Board of Education expired on June 30, 2010. Neither side released details of the settlement. Both the union and board still need to ratify it. At issue was whether part of the board's $5.8 million budget surplus and $6 million in savings from staff attrition since 2010 could be spent on teacher salaries.

It's every young baseball player's sandlot dream. With two outs in the seventh inning, trailing visiting Washington Township by a run, Cherry Hill West senior AJ Sohacki stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. Three pitches later, Sohacki deposited a change-up into right field, scoring two and sending the Lions to a 2-1 Olympic Conference inter-divisional victory on Monday. Starter Brad Machinski kept Washington Township, The Inquirer's fourth-ranked team in South Jersey, at bay, fanning eight and allowing just one run in six innings, before trotting home from third on Sohacki's hit. AJ Wright followed from second with the winning run, clinching the Lions' fourth straight win and putting an end to the Minutemen's own five-game streak.

Audubon (7-1) at Haddon Township (7-2), Monday at 3:45: The Green Wave beat the Hawks, 7-6, in eight innings in the April 2 season opener. Moorestown (5-4) at Rancocas Valley (6-0), Tuesday at 3:45: This is a key Burlco Liberty clash. Lenape (7-2) at Eastern (10-1), Wednesday at 3:45: The Vikings have seized the high ground in the loaded Olympic American. Camden Catholic (6-4) at Paul VI (3-3), Friday at 3:45: These old rivals featured a couple of heavy-hitting lineups.