NEW JERSEY -- Don Bosco Prep is a baseball powerhouse that is best known for winning.

This season is no different as they are currently ranked no. 5 in the country by Baseball America and No. 10 by ESPN Rise. They are favorites to win the county and state championships, carrying a perfect 23-0 record along the way.

Their climb to prominence has been a short one considering it was just 2008 when they last finished with a perfect record and a state championship.

Like many of their teams this one features a strong lineup and pitching staff, but as new head coach Mark DeMenna is quick to point out, they owe a lot of their success to luck.

“We could easily have half a dozen loses,” DeMenna admitted. “We won plenty of those games in the sixth or seventh innings just based on luck or timely hitting. When we were 10-0 we easily could have been 6-4.”

The catch is, as the old saying goes, luck is a product of preparation and DeMenna has these kids very well prepared.

Having lost only a few seniors from last season, this squad is very similar to the one that finished last season 24-5 before being eliminated in the Bergen County semifinals. The difference though has been an improvement in the team’s chemistry and that has started with DeMenna himself.

DeMenna replaced former World Series champion Mike Stanton as head coach this year and while losing a coach with that much baseball experience doesn’t sound good it might have been the change this team needed.

“I think last year there were definitely a few kids playing a bit selfish,” DeMenna said. “A few of them are still on the team, but the mindset is different this year. We’ve really tried to drum into their heads the idea that this is a team. I don’t want anybody playing for personal stats.”

One of the first things DeMenna did as head coach was to bring in a friend of his to talk to his players, a U.S. Navy Seal.

“I really wanted to impress upon them how important teamwork is,” DeMenna said. “So I asked a friend of mine who was a Navy Seal to come in and talk to them because they are the best team around.”

The experience seems to have had a lasting effect on the players as many of them remember it vividly.

“Our chemistry has been outstanding this year,” junior pitcher Tom Burns said. “I think coach DeMenna bringing in that Navy Seal was a big part of that. He really pounded home that message that nobody gets left behind. A bunch of the players definitely fed off that.”

Perhaps the biggest example of the new team-first focus is in the team’s slogan -- play for the pile. It’s something DeMenna came up with to remind the kids of their ultimate goal, to win a state championship. After all, all the media attention and national rankings can get distracting.

It hasn’t all just been a team-first attitude though. This is one very skilled team and it all starts with their starting pitching led by senior lefty Jordan Gross and Burns.

Burns has done most of the heavy lifting this season. He has already thrown two no-hitters and leads the team with an 8-0 record and a 1.68 ERA. Gross is right behind him with a 4-0 record and a 3.03 ERA. Mike Gomez also has an impressive 6-0 record with a 1.62 ERA and a pair of saves.

The way their schedule is laid out, they will have an advantage going into the state tournament as both Burns and Gross should be well rested no matter how many times they pitch in the county tournament.

Backing them up is a powerful offense lead by senior captain Jason Vosler who has a .507 average to go with 10 doubles and 29 RBI’s. Juniors Matt Dacey (.469 average, six homers, and 28 RBI’s), Joe Purritano (.371 average, three homers, and 28 RBI’s), and Nick Bruno (.403, one homer, and 22 RBI’s) lead a talented junior class that is just coming into their own.

“This junior class is probably the most talented class of players that I have ever seen,” exclaimed Gross.

As talented as this team has been, the players can see how important it was for them all to come together in the way they have. The evidence, they say, is in their results.

“Just look at the first game we played against Bergen,” Gross said. “The first time we played them we got lucky and won it in a walkoff, but the second time we blew them out 17-3. There is a real difference in this team and it shows.”

The goal at hand is still the same as it has been all season, not to take anything for granted and to “play for the pile.”

“We know that it is not going to be easy,” said Gross. “At this point every game is like a championship game. Teams are amped up to face us. Every game we face their best lineup and their ace pitcher.”