Kellan Komline – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Bridgewater-Raritan East made a Group 3 final in 1971, and Bridgewater-Raritan West won a Group 2 title in 1989.

But for the first time since the 1992 merger of those two schools, the Panthers are headed to the state finals.

They are there because of solid pitching by Kellen Komline, who wasn’t overpowering, but stranded seven runners on base in the first four innings and pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, while his team built up a 7-0 lead over the first three.

They are there because of a lot of things, but also Matt Fattore’s two-run homer in the first that was part of a four-run inning that left Komline comfortable enough to pitch out of jams.

The end result was an 8-1 win over visiting Livingston to clinch a trip to the Group 4 finals.

Bridgewater-Raritan (29-3) will travel down to Bob DeMeo Field at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton Saturday night for the state Group 4 final at 7 pm against Eastern. The Vikings (25-6) beat Jackson Memorial 7-5 Wednesday in their Group 4 semifinal.

Fattore’s home run started things off in the first after Devin Goldberg flew out but Matthew Lehberger reached on a single. Komline hit a grounder to second that made it 3-0, and Frankie Verano drove in the fourth run with a double.

The Panthers got three more in the third on an RBI single by Verano and a two-RBI single by Joe Spirra.

Livingston got its only run in the fourth, on a pair of doubles. Alex Yang reached with one out, then Julian Schultz knocked him in.

But Bridgewater got it right back in the bottom of the inning. Goldberg reached on an infield hit, stole second on catchers’ indifference, then came home after he tried to steal third but the throw from catcher John Marco Maiello deflected off the third baseman’s glove to the vacant shortstop position.

Komline got the win to improve to 3-0. Mike Lentini pitched the last two innings to close it out. The loss went to Livingston’s Tyler Chen, who fell to 3-1.

Bridgewater improves to 29-3, while head coach Max Newill picked up a milestone win. He’s now 250-186 in his 17 seasons with the Panthers.

The winner will play Saturday at 7 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton in the state Group 4 final, against the winner of Wednesday’s other Group 4 semi between Central champion Jackson Memorial (18-10) and South champion Eastern (24-6), which was eliminated last year in the semis by Old Bridge.

Click below for postgame reaction, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Bridgewater-Raritan first baseman Matt Fattore, pitcher Kellan Komline

Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill

Trailing 3-0 after three innings, the Bridgewater-Raritan bats weren’t exactly hitting lasers all over the field.

But two big extra base hits in key spots by Frankie Verano and Kellan Komline drove in five of the top-ranked Panthers six runs, who picked up a 6-2 win at No. 7 Ridge Tuesday afternoon, in a game heard of Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The win makes Bridgewater 14-1 on the season, 8-0 in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, and all but locks up the top-seed in the Somerset County Tournament in advance of Monday’s seeding meeting in Somerville.

Ridge scored the first two runs of the game, getting on the board in the first and third innings with a run each.

Nick Sellitti led off the game with a double, then a sac fly to center by Jake Dolan moved him to third, and Ezra Sadowsky knocked him in with an RBI single.

In the third, starting pitcher Andrew Reynolds helped his cause with a leadoff double. He moved to third on an infield hit from Sellitti, a hard hit ball to third that Bridgewater’s Joe Spirra knocked down, the best he could do. After a single by Jack Dolan loaded the bases, Sadowski drove in his second run of the game with a sac fly to center. But Nick Rossi grounded into a double play, limiting the damage for the Panthers.

Andrew Reynolds had been cruising for Ridge heading into the fifth inning, setting down ten BR batters in a row going back to the final out of the first. But the Panthers would tie it, getting a leadoff single by JR Rosado, then another by Kellan Komline. After a lineout to right by Michael Taylor, Frankie Verano – the hero Monday night against Cherokee in an extra inning win at Trenton Thunder Ballpark, but hitting just .117 coming into the game – ripped double to knot the game at two.

Though Reynolds escaped the inning with any more damage, the Panthers came back for more in the sixth.

Matthew Lehberger led off by reaching on an E-5. Matt Fattore singled, too, chasing Reynolds for Matt Faltas. The submarine righty walked Matt Cichocki to load the bases, then plunked Rosado on the first pitch, giving BR a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish.

That’s when Komline broke the game open with a bases clearing double on a 3-2 pitch to make it 6-2.

Taylor had come in from second base to get the last two outs of the fifth for starter Jack Lanum, and pitched two more full, shutout innings to get the win in relief, improving to 2-0. Reynolds took the loss to fall to 3-2.

Ridge falls to 10-6 on the year, 5-4 in Skyland Conference Delaware play, but with only two losses to Somerset County opponents – both coming to Bridgewater-Raritan.

Click below to hear postgame reaction – presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen – from Bridgewater-Raritan senior Frankie Verano, head coach Max Newill, and sophomore Kellan Komline: