BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN CONTINUES HISTORIC RUN; DASH LIVINGSTON TO ADVANCE TO GROUP 4 FINAL

Bridgewater, NJ – The forecast for Wednesday’s Group 4 Semifinal between the Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers (29-3), and the Livingston Lancers (22-8-1) was dark and ominous, perhaps a sign of things to come for the road team. The Panthers used their big bats and strong pitching to take down the Lancers 8-1 and move on to their first State Championship Final as a singular school. 

In 1970, the institution of Bridgewater-Raritan East won the Group Three Central State Title and were runners-up the following year when the NJSIAA introduced a complete Group Final. 

This isn’t the only history this team has made, with 29 wins marking their most ever, along with their 151 walks, 154 stolen bases, and 58 hit-by-pitches all setting program records. With a Division, County, and Sectional Title, all that’s left for this team is to cap things off with a State Championship. 

“We set a goal in the beginning of the year, not so much to win…we wanted to play 33 games,” Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill said, “and we thought that if we got to every game we had a good chance to win.”

Their date with Eastern Regional at Veterans Park in Hamilton this Saturday will be this team’s 33rd game. Mission accomplished. 

Game 32 started off a bit shaky, with Pathers’ starter Kellan Komline walking Livingston clean-up hitter John Marco Maiello with two outs in the bottom of the first. He then induced a sharp groundball to shortstop Devin Goldberg who made a clean throw to first to end the threat. These would be the first of seven base runners left stranded by the Lancers in the ballgame. 

The black and silver would swiftly answer back, thanks to three straight hits by the Matt part of their lineup, including a two-run home run to deep left by captain Matt Fattore (Belmont Abbey). His blast was set up by Matthew Lehberger’s one-out single and followed by a double from Matt Chihocki to keep the rally going in a four-run first inning. 

Things continued to roll for Bridgewater-Raritan in the third, adding three more runs thanks to back-to-back one and two RBI singles from Frankie Verano (FDU-Florham), and Joe Spirra. 

Komline won the Academy Orthopedic Player of the Game honors thanks to his five innings of one-run ball highlighted by seven strikeouts. 

“We’re all confident in each other, we know what we can do, we know what we have,” said Komline when asked about his confidence in his team winning it all, “we know how to win.

They’ll go for that win this Saturday against the 26-5 Eastern Regional Vikings at 7 pm.

-Stay Frosty