Northern Burlington baseball in a new Group, but remains a contender

Last season Northern Burlington reached the final of the Central Jersey Group 3 baseball tournament before falling to Colts Neck, 3-2 in the championship game.

Last season Northern Burlington reached the final of the Central Jersey Group 3 baseball tournament before falling to Colts Neck, 3-2 in the championship game.

lco is in a new section, but the same championship aspirations remain. The Greyhounds will compete this year in Central Jersey Group 4.

At the beginning of the week, Northern Burlington was third in power points in CJ Group 4, according to NJ.com. No. 1 was Middletown South, while No. 2 was Howell.

“I think we can really play to win against anybody,” said two-way standout Ryan Boyd. “At the end of the day, it comes out to all of us coming out, being a team, being a team, being a family and wanting to win.”

This year’s Northern Burlington team has all those qualities. Boyd, who plays third base, began the week hitting .300 and was second on the team with 23 RBI.

A hard-throwing right-hander, Boyd has struck out 29 in his first 23 innings this season. He was the winning pitcher in last week’s 13-3 win in six innings over a Moorestown team that was ranked in the Top 20 in the state at the time.

The key for coach Gene Darling’s Greyhounds is that they have seven seniors who form the nucleus of the squad.

“We’ve been playing with each other since we were 8-9-10 years old,” Boyd said. “We know each other, trust each other and in believe in each other,” Boyd said.

The experience of reaching the sectional final last year should also help.

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“Once you go through it, you kind of know what you have to do to get there,” Boyd said.

One of those other senior leaders is shortstop Drew Wyers.
Last season Wyers batted .471 with eight home runs and 40 RBI.
This year he is having an even bigger season. In his first 40 at-bats, Wyers was batting .600 with nine home runs and 25 RBI.
He is a Stetson commit.

In the same week that NBC beat Moorestown, the Greyhounds also earned a 3-1 win over Notre Dame, which entered the day as the No. 5 team in the state according to NJ.com.

Matteo Mannino was the winning pitcher, throwing a four-hitter in improving his record to 3-0. Mannino is a junior who has thrown a team-high 24 innings.

This might not be a staff with one single ace, but Mannino and Boyd headline one with great depth. Nick Disciascio, is another key pitcher, one who has struck out 25 in his first 20 1/3 innings. Sophomore Tony Kownacki had 17 strikeouts in his first 12 1/3 inning.

A team usually needs at least two reliable starters to win a sectional title. The Greyhound's enviable pitching depth makes them a team to watch.
The offense, led by Wyers, Boyd and first baseman CJ Fredericks (.314, 19 RBI) is formidable.

While the Greyhounds may not be the favorite in CJ Group 4, they will be a tough out.

Author: Marc Narducci