Duo helps North baseball win two straight
By: Justin Feil
For the third time in their lives, Cody and Casey Warner are on the same baseball team. Determining the biggest benefactor is a matter of perspective when it comes to the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North duo.
Cody, a junior and almost exactly two years older, has someone who he knows can come through in the clutch, a teammate he understands better than any other.
"It helps having him there," he said. "He’s always been really good. He used to play on the all-star team with us and he’d come to practice with us. He’s normally been a better hitter than me."
Casey, a freshman, has his closest mentor in Cody, the brother who is and has been a constant source of pointers for everything from pitch location to swing corrections, and the one teammate who he knew would make him feel comfortable right away.
"He helps me a lot," said Casey, who admits to being nervous at the start of the season after making the jump from middle school to varsity baseball. "He’s the one who taught me a curve ball. Even this year, I’ve been asking him questions and asking him what I do wrong and he can help."
Their parents, who have always been supportive of every one of the brothers’ baseball endeavors, may be the biggest winners. There’s only one game and one field to go to for games.
"I know last year when I was in middle school," Casey said, "my parents hated driving to two schools."
Or how about WW-P North’s Bob Boyce, who’s been coaching Cody for two years already and has three more to go with Casey?
"Six years of Warners," said the Knights head coach. "You could do a lot worse than that."
It’s the Knights, the only team other than the WW-P Babe Ruth 15-year-old all-stars two years ago and a fall team six months ago in which they’ve played together, that seem to be reaping the biggest benefits.
After a 1-4 start, WW-PN dominated Princeton High, 13-0, Wednesday as Cody went 2-for-3 with three runs while Casey went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. He drove in a run and scored a run.
Thursday, Casey pitched four innings of relief for his first career win while Cody went 2-for-3 again with two runs and two runs batted in during a 9-5 win over Lawrence that moved the Knights to 3-4 this season going into Monday’s scheduled game with Allentown.
"Cody has been one of our top two pitchers since he was a freshman," Boyce said. "I’d say he’s our No. 1 right now. He gets the ball for the tough games. He’d also leading the way in hitting.
"Casey puts a lot of pressure on himself. He gets all frustrated when he doesn’t go 3-for-3. I try to teach him to only think about the next at bat. He got the pitching win, so someone was telling Cody that Casey has more wins than him."
At home, there was only gentle prodding from their father. Cody was happy for his brother because it meant the team was coming around. Casey, the only left-hander on the Knights staff, was happy that his first outing had gone so well.
"I love to pitch," said Casey, who otherwise plays in right field unless Jono Chirumbolo is pitching, in which case he plays first base. "It was pretty good (Thursday). I felt pretty relaxed. I wasn’t nervous. Mr. Boyce had me throwing the whole year. When I was up there, I was relaxed and not nervous."
Cody, who plays third base when he’s not pitching, has been the tough-luck loser in a 2-1 loss to Ewing and a 4-0 loss to Lawrenceville in which the Knights were tied with the Big Red until the seventh inning. It won’t get any easier as he goes for his first win of the season against West Windsor-Plainsboro South at home Wednesday.
"I like the competition," Cody said. "I’d rather go up against somebody tough. I’d rather go up against someone that will give us a game."
The Warner brothers give each other plenty of competition in the offseason at local batting cages. Casey credits Cody with much of his development.
"I helped," Cody said. "I can’t say I did it all. My dad taught both of us and then we went to camps and had coaches teach us there."
They pitch to each other to work on hitting and throwing, play catch, do anything to get better at baseball.
"Basically, we work on fundamentals," Casey said. "We help each other out. We work with each other, and he can tell me, ‘You’re doing this wrong, you should work on this.’ He has a lot of experience, so that helps me out. If he learns something, he’ll tell me."
Cody used to play basketball and soccer at WW-PN, Casey played football last fall, but baseball is undoubtedly No. 1 for the two, and undoubtedly will be a part of their future. Boyce sees a few differences in their progression, but expects that both will play in college.
"I would say that pitching-wise, Cody was better as a freshman," Boyce said. "But he got thrown into the fire. He had to do it. As a batter, Casey’s a bit ahead. Casey’s swing is as good as any on our team."
In three years, Boyce foresees Casey being every bit as balanced as Cody, who’s developed into one of the most feared hitters in the Colonial Valley Conference as well as a dominant pitcher.
"As a hitter, his improvement is immense," Boyce said. "I bat my best batter in the third spot and I can always bat him at three. He always puts it in play. As a pitcher, he has to be the best 0-2 pitcher in the league. It happened last year too. He lost his first two starts to Hamilton West and Steinert, and then we started hitting."
In what’s become an annual story line for WW-PN, once the bats come around, they’re tough to beat. This year with higher expectations heaped on, the Knights had again started slowly with just one win in their first five games.
"They were playing tight, swinging tight, even in the field some of their movements are tight," Boyce said. "I told them that only they can control how they feel. I told them to throw the record out the window and have fun.
"Tuesday, you could tell. They played a great game against Lawrenceville Prep. The next day against Princeton, they really hit the ball. They’ve been more sure of themselves and more confident. That’s what we did last year. No one expected anything of us and then we came on. I would expect we’ll play more consistent baseball."
Facing WW-P South in a 7 p.m. start at Mercer County Park will be a big test Wednesday. North lost a tough 1-0 decision last year on a no-hitter by since-departed Justin Muir.
"They’re good," Cody noted. "They only lost Muir. They didn’t lose many hitters. That’s going to be rough. Doug (Caracappa) held them at bay last year. Hopefully we can hit that day. You always want to win against your friends."
For opponents of West Windsor-Plainsboro North, this won’t be the last time they face the two Warners together. The brothers have one more year together before Cody graduates. It’s something they surely like more than opponents do.
"I don’t mind at all," Cody said. "It’s nice playing together. It’s going to be fun."

