Jun. 13—As hard as it may be for some to believe, the Northern Burlington High varsity baseball team will be seeking its very first state title at 7 p.m. Saturday night when it takes on two-time defending champion Morris Knolls in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group III Final at Bob DeMeo Field in Hamilton's Veterans Park.
Head coach Gene Darling is a Greyhounds' alumnus and remembers well how he and then head coach Rick Doppler steered Northern to the Group III state title game in 2015, only to lose to South Plainfield, 8-4, at Toms River High North.
That team went 27-5. This year's club is 27-2 heading into its matchup with the Golden Eagles, who are 15-11 this season as they try to three-peat. The last two years head coach Eric Mindrebo's team defeated Mainland, 9-3, and Delsea, 11-3, in the Group III championship game at Veterans Park, so it cannot be taken lightly.
The Greyhounds reached their second state final by rolling past Toms River East, 11-0, in five innings on Monday, while Morris Knolls slipped past South Plainfield, 3-2, by scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh.
Darling has plenty of pitching options once again, yet may start junior right-hander Cole Marchetti, who is 3-1 with 55 strikeouts and a 1.63 earned run average in 30 innings.
Senior righty Luca Mannino threw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts on Monday and is also a possibility with five days of rest. Mannino is 8-0 with 94 strikeouts and a 0.82 ERA in a team-high 51 1/3 innings.
Other pitchers who could see action are junior right-hander Jordan Gilligo (5-0, 3.00 ERA), sophomore righty Logan Downey (5-1, 0.70 ERA), and senior right-hander Jimmy Musser (4-0, 1.59 ERA).
Northern Burlington's offense is fueled by senior leadoff-hitting outfielder Nick Dromboski (53 hits, 44 runs scored, 26 runs batted in, six home runs, .546 batting average) and No. 2-batting Marchetti (41 hits, 28 RBIs, .471 batting average). Mannino, who bats third, is next in line with 38 hits, 35 runs, 33 RBIs, nine homers and a .437 batting average.
Northern has won 10 of its last 12 games since starting the season by winning its first 17 contests.
The Golden Eagles are on a nine-game winning streak after starting the year 6-11.
Junior pitcher Dean Kaletcher is the staff workhorse with a 1.60 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings. His classmate, Carter Infante, has the second-most innings (29 2/3), plus 53 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA.
Offensively, Morris Knolls is led by senior outfielder Dylan Fitzsimmons, who is batting .387 with 29 hits, 29 RBIs, 27 runs, and eight home runs. Junior outfielder Billy Wingren is hitting .330, matching Fitzsimmons' team-high 29 hits, while also scoring 25 runs.
Weather could factor into all of Saturday's state finals at DeMeo Field. Sunday is the first rain date, but that day also does not look great weather-wise.
The day is set to begin at 10 a.m. with the Group IV Final matching Cherokee (27-3) and Westfield (20-6). At 1 p.m., Middlesex (22-5) and Midland Park (21-8-1) will square off in the Group I Final. Then, at 4 p.m., the Group II Final is scheduled to take place with Governor Livingston (27-0) trying to go undefeated when it meets West Morris Central (20-10).
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