High School Baseball: Cinnaminson's O'Connor Shuts Down Northern Burlington Tuesday, May 27, 2003 By Vincent Lewis SJSports Staff Writer When you are branded with the number one seed from any bracket, there are some pressures placed on that team, as the expectations are high on both benches. The opposing team usually plays with a bit more intensity looking for that edge to find a way to knock off their opponent. But in this case, the Pirates from Cinnaminson continued what they have been doing all season…winning games. Starting pitcher Will O’Connor pitched a gem against the thirteen seeded Greyhounds from Northern Burlington. This semi-finals game for the South Jersey Group 2 title was won by the Pirates, 9-0. John Carson highlighted the game with his three run homer. The upset-minded Northern Burlington baseball team has overcome the odds by winnings games that there weren’t supposed to win. Don’t tell them that as they have so far upset fourth seeded Woodstown and the twelfth seeded Hammonton. Next were the Pirates standing in their way. The Greyhounds would have an advantage on their team, as the assistant coach on their bench knew Cinnaminson’s third baseman extremely well. Coach Carson is the father of Cinnaminson’s John Carson. It would be a mixed reaction after this game, as both father and son would celebrate the win. On a day when O’Connor was in full command of his pitchers, Cinnaminson would score in every inning except for two. After their early 1-0 lead, the Pirates’ Tony Cardullo was successful coming through with three hits in the game. Cinnaminson’s lead swelled to 5-0 after five innings, but they were not done scoring. Coming up with his third hit of the game, Carson slugged a three run shot in the sixth inning giving his team more than enough runs to cruise to the victory and a title chance against Manchester. Photos by Mark Fletcher

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