Bridgewater-Raritan still figuring things out as Panthers head up to Watchung Hills seeking series split

A look at the score from Tuesday’s 9-1 loss to Watchung Hills doesn’t quite tell the whole story of how that game went down.

It was a 2-1 game until Bridgewater-Raritan got dinked and dunked to the tune of four runs by the Warriors, and it ended up being a 9-1 final.

Maybe a more experienced team wins that game later in the season. Maybe without early-season pitch limits set by coaches so they don’t burn out arms in April, Kellan Komline goes a little longer.

They’re not excuses, but the reality of the situation. Then again, all you can do is get back on the horse, and try, try again.

That’s what the Panthers will do on Thursday afternoon when they travel up to Warren Township for the finale of the two-game home-and-home set against Watchung Hills. That’s a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with first pitch at 4 pm and pregame at 3:40, with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

Komline is one of the biggest returning veterans. He’s 1-1 on the season, and has struck out 14, walking eight, while allowing five earned runs, seven total.

He and catcher and fellow senior Michael Lobosco are the only two full-time returning starters from last season. Lobosco hit .295 last year with eleven runs batted in. Komline threw 41 innings, with a 0.68 ERA, while hitting .272 at the plate, playing centerfield when he wasn’t on the mound.

And yet, this season’s top two hitters – yes, it’s early still – are freshmen. There’s Nick Spirra, who’s likely to start at second base Thursday, hitting .417 with a team-best five RBIs, while leadoff hitter Andrew Schmeider – a rightfielder with a “physicality you don’t see much in a freshman,” according to head coach Max Newill, it 4-for-8 on the year with three runs batted in, and already a team-high six walks.

That’s just what you want for a leadoff hitter. Now – with just five regulars hitting better than .200 – the Panthers hope that hitting truly is contagious, and will work its way down through the rest of the lineup.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Bridgewter-Raritan head coach Max Newill about the first week of the season, and Thursday’s game against Watchung Hills: