COLUMBUS — The roller coaster seasons the Bordentown and Northern Burlington High varsity baseball teams have been experiencing this year may be almost over, but each is hoping there will be one more climb before the fun ride comes to a stop.
Each of these Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division squads has had their moments this spring, including the Greyhounds’ eight-inning road win over the Scotties back on April 24.
In the final week of the regular season, however, B’town got the last laugh when it pulled out an 8-4 win at Northern for its fifth win in its last six games.
Coach Chris Glenn’s team improved to 10-12 overall and 3-5 in its first season in the tough BCSL Liberty, while Coach Gene Darling’s club fell to 7-12 overall (1-7 in the Liberty) after splitting their last six games.
“The team and myself, we’re all starting to heat up together,” Scotties sophomore shortstop Luke Guire said. “I think now we’re in full gear.”
Guire put the visitors on top in the first inning, then kept them surging even after the Greyhounds tied the game by the second inning.
Guire, who ripped a two-run single to put Bordentown up three batters into the game, drew a walk to load the bases in the third inning ahead of Nick Carlini’s sacrifice fly, which put the Scotties in the lead to stay.
A big defensive play happened the inning before when Tony Kownacki singled with one out, the game tied and runners on first and second base. Left fielder Elijah Tradigo got the ball to cutoff man Kyle Forster, who threw out Braden Dromboski at the plate from third base to keep the score even. Braden Dromboski’s RBI single that inning and Cole Marchetti’s RBI groundout in the first had erased B’town’s two-run jump on starting pitcher Luca Mannino.
After catcher Johnny Bassett tagged out Dromboski, Scotties junior left-handed pitcher Conor Bell settled in to retire nine of the next 11 batters he faced. Bell stranded Ryan Caloiaro at third base in the bottom of the third, after Caloiaro doubled with one out; then picked off Matteo Mannino at first base after a two-out single in the fourth.
“We have better chemistry now,” Guire (2-for-2) said. “Every game means something, so we don’t plan on falling down now. For me, I switched my approach as the season’s gone on. Now I have full confidence whether I’m in the field or at the plate.”
Bordentown’s switch-hitting No. 3 batter delivered another two-run single with two outs in the fourth inning, then added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to give him five runs batted in on the day.
A single by Caloiaro (3-for-4) and a double by Liam Velit helped start a rally in the bottom of the sixth when Nick and Braden Dromboski (2-for-2) knocked in runs, but Northern could get no closer this time around.
“We’ve been on and off,” said Caloiaro, who is headed to Susquehanna University in the fall to join the River Hawks’ football team. “The first time we played them we won, 2-1, in eight innings. Today was a little different. But we’re starting to bring our bats back, so I think we’re on the right track.”
With the state tournament starting next week, now is the time to get that roller coaster going upward again.
Bordentown (10-12) 201 302 0 — 8 8 0
No.Burlington (7-12) 110 002 0 — 4 10 1
2B: Wollman (B), Caloiaro, Velit (NB); RBIs: Tradigo, Edmiston, Guire 5, Carlini (B), Marchetti, NDromboski, BDromboski 2 (NB).
WP — CBell (3-3); LP — LMannino (1-2).