But Seneca, the No. 8 team in The Inquirer Top 10, covered its ace's tracks with an offensive explosion in a 16-3 victory in a game shortened to six innings because of the 10-run rule.
"Our pitchers are going to come around," Seneca senior designated hitter Gabe Santone said after driving in four runs with an RBI single in the first inning and a three-run homer in the fifth.
It's an inverse of the old baseball adage, which holds that pitchers usually are ahead of the hitters.
That's not the case with Seneca, at least with regard to its top pitcher.
Comer likely will be at the top of his game come May and June, and that has been coach Sean Cassel's plan all along. But the Vanderbilt recruit still is sanding down some rough spots after missing time early this season with an ankle injury, as well as delays created by the cold and wet weather.
Let's give Timber Creek some credit, too. The Chargers took their cues from fearless sophomores Bill Burton and Brandon Cornelius and battled South Jersey's top pitcher in every at-bat.
Burton, the second baseman who bats leadoff, walked twice off Comer. Cornelius, the centerfielder, ripped an opposite-field double down the right-field line in the second inning for the Chargers' first hit.
Timber Creek scored both its runs in the third, as senior Mike Maniscalco bounced a single to left and four other Chargers worked walks. The runs scored on a walk and a wild pitch, so it's not as if Comer was getting knocked around.
Still, the rest of the Golden Eagles were ready to pick up their No. 1 pitcher.
Senior second baseman Rich Powelson drove in four runs with a single and a three-run homer. Senior rightfielder Joe Banes delivered a two-run double. Senior shortstop and leadoff man Ryan Williams was on base four times and rapped an RBI double.
"We've been hitting up and down the lineup," said Santone, who plans to play baseball at Albright College next year.
Seneca (3-1) has scored more than 10 runs in three of its games. The exception was a 3-2 victory over Pennsville on Saturday, when Santone snapped a 2-2 tie with a late RBI single.
"He's ice-cold in tight situations," Cassel said of Santone. "If you look up clutch in the dictionary, there's a picture of Gabe Santone."
With Comer and senior Ty Lyons, who earned the win Wednesday with three strong innings of relief, at the top of the rotation, the Golden Eagles are likely to be in a lot of big situations. This team could still be playing as late as the second week of June.
The pitching will be there. The hitting already is.
Seneca 200 194 - 16 12 1
Timber Creek 002 010 - 3 5 2
WP: Ty Lyons. LP: Myles Taylor. 2B: S–Ryan Williams, Mark Steen; TC–Brandon Cornelius. 3B: TC–Bill Burton. HR: S–Gabe Santone, Rich Powelson; TC–Myles Taylor.
Contact staff writer Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223or panastasia@phillynews.com.
