DUI Lawyers in Haddon Heights, NJ

Sami Szabo went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI as Haddon Heights defeated Maple Shade, 15-1, in Maple Shade.

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Haddon Heights head coach Michelle Hastings earned her 200th career victory.

The Garnets (12-2) jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first inning and never looked back, adding six runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth to secure the victory over the Wildcats (10-5).

Haddon Heights collected 17 hits in the contest, with seven players recording multiple hits. Szabo led the offensive onslaught with her three hits, including a double and a home run.

Emma Covello added two doubles and an RBI, while Brielle Connor contributed a single and a triple with two RBIs.

Molly Dunworth earned the win in the circle for Haddon Heights, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out five and walking one in five innings of work.

Maple Shade’s offense was limited to just three hits, with Haylee Gaidecski and Bella Adams each hitting doubles. Adams drove in the Wildcats’ lone run with her double.

Haddon Heights showed its speed on the basepaths as well, with four stolen bases in the game. Connor, Hannah Butler, Jordyn D’Amelio, and Kayla Kellogg each recorded a steal for the Garnets.

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Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.

HADDON TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- At the Westmont Diner in Haddon Township, New Jersey, customers stopped by all day Wednesday not knowing their regular lunch spot was closed.

"I pulled up, parked the car. And it's like the door is locked. What's going on? I look inside, it's dark," said Tom Wilkie of Pennsauken, N.J.

The longtime favorite eatery on West Cuthbert Boulevard is temporarily closed after a fire overnight damaged part of the building.

Fire crews were called around 1:30 a.m.

Flames damaged equipment on the roof of the building.

Betty Szymanski stopped by when a friend told her about the fire.

"We were here last night. They had a psychic dinner," she said. "I'm heartbroken. I've been coming here forever, and this crew here at the Westmont Diner is the best ever."

A letter on the locked door says no one was hurt and the damage was minimal.

According to hours listed online, the diner does not operate 24 hours a day, and was closed at the time of the fire.

"This was the Crystal Lake (Diner). It's been many variations, but I've been coming here since I was young," said Paul Rogers.

This restaurant was indeed called the Crystal Lake Diner, which had a fire in 2014, causing serious damage.

In 2020, new owners came in and relocated the Westmont Diner to this location.

We spoke to lots of regulars after the fire.

"Every Sunday morning after church, we come here," said Bill Holscher, who always orders the French toast.

"The food's delicious, the people are very very kind. And you're in and out," said Roy Coco, who works nearby.

The cause is under investigation by the Haddon Township. Fire Marshal, but no foul play is suspected.

We were not able to reach the owner of the diner for comment on Wednesday.

The statement put out by the diner on social media doesn't say how long they expect to be closed, but does say they hope to reopen soon.

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Surrendering three runs on three hits and an error, Trent Begley was roughed up a bit in the first inning.

After getting the final two outs, the senior right-hander went to the dugout and simply regrouped.

From that point on, it pretty much proved be smooth sailing on Wednesday.

Begley would allow just one more run on two hits, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, as Haddon Heights defeated visiting Sterling, 10-4, in the first round of the 51st annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.

“Trent was awesome. He’s such a leader for us,” Haddon Heights coach Eric Newell said. “He has the composure to be able to do that. They squared him up early, but he’s able to settle in and not get rattled. He just kept competing, kept making pitches.

“They hit balls at people. We made plays. That’s what you want, right? You can’t compete when you walk people. You can’t defend a walk. But when you’re throwing strikes, you’re mixing pitches up, you’re able to stay in the zone like he did.”

Wednesday’s contest evened the score between the two Colonial Conference teams. Sterling spoiled the Garnets’ season opener, recording a 5-1 victory on April 1.

“This was huge,” Begley said. “The first game of the season, we lost to these guys. It’s just great to have the Diamond Classic tournament be the rematch and get the ‘W’ so we can move on to the next round.”

Haddon Heights (11-2) will play the winner of Delsea-Absegami in Saturday’s second round. The game will be part of a doubleheader at Timber Creek.

“Whenever you’re in the field with the best teams in South Jersey, it’s really cool. Just the prestige of the tournament is awesome,” Newell said. “Whenever you play with a win-or-go-home mentality, that always brings out different things in you - some better, some worse. You kind of get to see what kind of team you have, so it’s a nice thing to do. You want to keep competing.”

In going the distance, Begley finished with five strikeouts and a walk. He received plenty of offensive support as Haddon Heights rallied for two runs in the bottom of the first and four more in the second.

The home team would add an insurance run in the fifth and push three across the plate in the sixth.

“It’s all about attacking hitters, and (Begley’s) really good at that,” catcher Kevin Clark said. “He knows his game and he battles. He got back on track and pitched a great game for us.

“He was hitting more spots with his fastball (after the first inning). He’s working in and out, keeping hitters off balance. That was the big thing for him.”

It proved to be Begley’s longest outing of the season.

“The first inning was rough, but I just kept the same approach the whole entire game - throw strikes, let my fielders do the work,” Begley said. “I knew they’d come up big for me; I knew that they would make the play.

“I just trusted my stuff. I was getting strikes early in the count, getting ahead so I could get to my curveball.”

Clark led the offensive attack, going 2-for-3 with two RBI doubles and three runs scored. Richard Farruggia also went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Nolan Lachall had an RBI double and three runs scored.

Leaders of the Colonial Patriot, Sterling (12-3) was making its first appearance since 2012. Luke Lomax went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and three RBIs.

“It was a great opportunity to play in an intense game and see how your kids react,” Sterling coach Tadd Kozeniewski said. “This is, in essence, a playoff game. I was happy with the way the kids hit the ball. We had a lot of bad luck early on, but credit Haddon Heights. They came out swinging and they piled on the hits. They barreled up everything.”

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Trent Begley was still searching for his first varsity hit when he came to the plate in the seventh inning.

Staring at 0-for-12 this spring, the senior finally broke through when Haddon Heights needed him most.

Begley smacked a two-run single is his fourth plate appearance of the day, helping the visiting Garnets defeat Pennsville, 9-7, in a non-league matchup Friday.

“Started off the season very slow. I was working walks, bunts but hadn’t come alive until now,” said Begley, who pitched but didn’t hit last season. “It’s a great feeling; a great relief to finally get that hit, drive in a run, take the lead. It’s just the best feeling in the world.

“I’ve had the same mindset every time - be on time for the fastball. I just had to simplify things, put my foot down early and put the ball in play. I don’t try to do too much because once you get in your head, it’s over from there.”

“He’s been struggling offensively, he’d be the first to tell you that, but every day he comes in with just a great mindset,” Haddon Heights coach Eric Newell said. “He just battles through, keeps working. It’s so awesome to see him get a big hit there because he deserves it.”

Haddon Heights (6-1) extended its winning streak to six in a row following a season-opening setback against Sterling. Jake Dillon earned the decision with five innings of scoreless, five-hit relief. He struck out four.

The Garnets erased an early three-run deficit with a six-run outburst in the top of the third - all six runs unearned and coming with two outs. Nolan Lachall and Kevin Clark collected back-to-back RBI doubles and Jaxon Motta blasted a three-run home run to highlight the frame.

Pennsville (5-4) would battle back, though, in its half of the frame. The Eagles pushed four more runs across, taking advantage of three hits and three errors to retake the lead.

Lachall would tie things up at 7-7 in the fourth with a solo home run, which ultimately set the stage for Begley’s seventh-inning heroics.

“That’s huge for the team - tie game, seventh inning - that was pretty big,” Motta said of Begley’s hit. “He knows what he’s doing; he’s locked in all the time. He’s always picking his teammates up and I’m just happy for him.”

Lachall was the only Heights batter to collect multiple hits. Richard Farruggia and Ben Alexander scored two runs apiece.

Chase Burchfield went 2-for-3 with a home run for Pennsville, collecting his 100th career hit on a third-inning single. Gavin Spears went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Connor Starn went 2-for4 with an RBI. Jeff Wagner also had two hits.

“These guys battle,” Newell said. “We’ve had a lot of tight games like this one and there’s always good talk within the dugout. Today was a little bit of a struggle, but we don’t have finger-pointing, we don’t have guys blaming other people.

“They understand it’s a long game. They understand the things we need to do. It’s a fun group to coach and they’re also very selfless. Whatever they need to do - need to walk, need to bunt - they’ll do whatever to get the job done.”

The N.J. High School Sports newsletter now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now and be among the first to get all the boys and girls sports you care about, straight to your inbox each weekday. To add your name, click here.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Kevin Minnick covers South Jersey baseball. He can be reached at kminnick@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kminnicksports