After a 1-3 start, Cinnaminson (9-3) has won eight in a row to exceed last year's win total. The Pirates are on top of the Burlington County Patriot Division with a 5-0 mark, including last week's 6-4 win over Delran, the defending champion and preseason favorite.

"Even when we got down early this year, we felt we were going to play better," junior catcher Matt Cann said. "We thought it was just a matter of time until we improved."

Merrill used a lot of sophomores last year, and that is paying dividends now.

"We had a lot of growing pains last year," Merrill said. "Last year, we didn't play bad Baseball, but we were taking too many pitches and weren't aggressive."

Now the team is both aggressive and confident.

Cinnaminson's three defeats have been by a total of four runs, to Moorestown, Haddon Heights, and Haddon Township.

The 13-12 loss to Haddon Township was especially difficult to take, since the Hawks scored five runs in the seventh inning.

At that point, the team could have gone either way, but Cinnaminson has moved upward.

What can't be comforting to future opponents is that this is basically a junior-laden team.

The Pirates have just three senior starters: centerfielder Joe Sirolli, rightfielder Steve Frentzen, and third baseman-pitcher Dan Giosia.

Junior righthander Trevor Sotell has been the staff ace with a 4-1 record and 3.00 ERA. He has wins over Delran and Moorestown, which have spent time in The Inquirer's South Jersey top 10.

Sotell relies on changing speeds because he isn't going to throw the ball by hitters, but pitches well within his limits.

"I like to keep the batters off-balance, and I have a lot of confidence in my fielders," Sotell said.

What has made Cinnaminson so effective is that there aren't just one or two players for teams to worry about offensively, although limiting Cann is a good suggestion.

"I think Matt Cann is a legitimate Division I prospect," Merrill said. "He is very good offensively and defensively."

Cann, the cleanup hitter, is batting .559 and has a .682 on-base percentage. He leads the Pirates in doubles with five, RBIs with 12, and runs scored with 17.

Four players have 10 or more RBIs, demonstrating the team's balance

Junior leftfielder Adam Somers, who bats third, is hitting .357 with 10 RBIs. Hitting fifth is Giosia, who is batting .405 and has 11 RBIs. The No. 6 hitter is junior Mike Cooper, who is hitting .550 with 11 RBIs and is also 2-0 on the mound.

This is a team that has shown how much difference a year's experience can make.

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225 or mnarducci@phillynews.com.