NBC coach Wolverton gets 200th career win
BORDENTOWN » On a day in which he recorded his 200th victory, Northern Burlington played the type of ball that has made Brian Wolverton one of the most respected softball coaches in the state.
Taking on Bordentown in BCSL Liberty Division action, Northern Burlington pulled away from the Scotties for an 11-4 victory in a game between two teams ranked in the top seven of The Trentonian’s Area Ratings.
Northern Burlington is now 7-1, while Bordentown dropped to 6-2. Bordentown’s other loss came last weekend when it fell to Steinert in the Rancocas Valley Tournament.
Ironically, a late addition to the schedule was arranged Thursday afternoon in which Northern Burlington will play at Steinert on Saturday at 10 a.m.
“It does feel special because you started to see the things we worked on during the pre-season,” said Wolverton after he upped his career high school record to 200-73. “By that I mean the girls are getting the hang of the short game and running the bases the way we want them to.”
For those unfamiliar with Wolverton, he previously coached NBC from 1997 to 2007 before taking over as the Rutgers-Camden head coach for seven years. This year Wolverton is filling in as an acting head coach for Tara Corcoran, who is sitting out the year with a pregnancy.
Wolverton’s teams have always been known for playing solid and aggressive softball, which was on display Thursday afternoon as the Hounds twice burned Bordentown by deliberately getting into run downs between first and second with a runner at third.
Northern Burlington’s bats were also in fine form as it pounded out 15 hits against a quality pitcher in sophomore Bella Pisapia. Leading the way was sophomore second baseman Megan Berg, who went 5-for-5 with three RBI singles.
“No, never,” replied Berg when asked if she’s gone 5-for-5 in a high school game before. “I’ve faced her (Pisapia) before in middle school and summer ball. I saw tje ball well today. I just hit the pitch where it was.”
Although the final score was a blowout, it actually was competitive for most of the day before NBC exploded with seven hits and seven runs in the top of the seventh. In fact, it might have been an even tighter game if Bordentown hadn’t left the bases loaded in both the second and fourth innings.
NBC sophomore flamethrower Haylei Archer did record eight strikeouts, but struggled with her control with in the cold and blustering conditions. As a result Bordentown was able to close to within 4-2 in the fifth on an RBI double by Hailey Cope.
It looked like the Scotties might still have a chance heading into the seventh, but then the floodgates opened as NBC smacked one line drive after another.
In addition to Berg’s five hits, Nicole Bondoc had three hits in the No. 2 spot in the order. Clean-up batter Madison Sisz, meanwhile, had three hits with a triple and lead-off batter Cameron Cassidy drove in two runs with a double. Alexa Blue also knocked in two runs with a double in the seventh.
“It was good to see,” said Wolverton of his team’s offensive execution. “It was a little like the old days.”
As long-time Northern Burlington fans are well aware, the old days were pretty darn good.
And speaking of the old days, after playing Steinert Saturday morning Northern Burlington on its Hall of Fame Day will honor the 1980 softball team that finished second in the state and Kerry Lee, who pitched the 2002 team to the state title.
No. Burlington (7-1) 030 010 7 — 15 11 0 Bordentown (6-2) 010 010 2 — 4 5 2
WP-Archer. LP-Pisapia. 2B-Cassidy (NB), Blue (NB), Marino (B). 3B-Sisz (NB). RBIs: NB-Cassidy 2, Bondoc, Blue, Berg 3, Alexander, Archer. B-Marino, Cope, Gramlich, Ryan.