The Greyhounds pitcher had two weeks off to rest a sore arm but came back to beat Bordentown 5-3.

BORDENTOWN — It was highly anticipated and well-timed.

Northern Burlington pitcher Haylei Archer pitched her first game in two weeks Monday night and looked like she’d never been away. The Greyhounds’ junior struck out 13 in five innings and didn’t allow a hit, and Northern Burlington rode that performance to a 5-3 win over Bordentown in their Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division game.

Archer had been limited to hitting duty by a sore arm since the team’s win over Rancocas Valley on April 17. Her return to the circle was off to a good start before she even threw a pitch. Northern’s Nicole Bondoc led off the game with a single, stole second and scored as Megan Berg reached on an error.

Alexa Blue followed with a two-run homer that gave the Greyhounds a 3-0 lead.

“I was looking for a pitch around the plate. One I could drive,” Blue said. “We had a runner on, so I was looking to score her. I felt that it was good off the bat, but I always run hard. I was waiting for it to go and Megan was on base right in front of me. That’s when I knew.”

Bordentown got one run back in the first. Archer struck out the first two batters she faced, but walked the next three. A wild pitch brought Michaela Luyber across, then Archer struck out the next seven she faced.

“It felt really good,” Archer said. “I struggled a little bit in the first inning. I gave up a decent amount of walks, but then I found my groove for the next inning that I pitched.”

The Scotties (11-3 overall, 1-3 Liberty) didn’t put a ball in play until Archer handled Makenza Goleniecki’s comebacker in the bottom of the fourth inning, and only managed one other. After Jenna Ryan drew a one-out walk in the fifth, Archer handled a grounder off Angelina Marino’s bat and threw Ryan out at second.

By that time, Northern’s lead had swelled to 5-1. Archer rapped a two-out single to give herself some insurance in the fourth inning.

“Bases were loaded and I knew I had to produce and score runs,” Archer said. “I was just trying to hit the ball as hard as I could.”

Amanda Gonzalez came in to relieve Archer in the sixth. An RBI single by Bordentown pitcher Annabella Pisapia cut the lead to 5-2, but two fly ball outs stranded a pair of Scotties’ runners at that point.

Hailey Cope provided Bordentown’s final run with a two-out solo homer in the seventh.

Northern Burlington improved to 7-2 and 3-0. The Greyhounds are the only team without a loss in the Liberty Division, but has a meeting with Rancocas Valley and a home-and-home with Moorestown scheduled for this week.

“We have a big week ahead of us,” Northern Burlington coach Tara Corcoran said. “So we want to make sure we have that momentum going into the week.”

The Scotties also have a big week coming up, with Rancocas Valley scheduled for Thursday.

“Offensively, we’re going to have some big batting practices,” Bordentown coach Nicole O’Leary said. “We’ll work on some adjustments, make sure we can get the small ball down and continue to get back into hitting the ball well.”