CN Player of the Year is Riley Bobrowski of Watchung Hills

Riley Bobrowski faced plenty of opposition when she took over as director of the Watchung Hills High School softball team this spring.

The young right-hander was only a sophomore and unproven in a varsity circle outside of a handful of innings late last season. He was asked to be the No. 1 pitcher for a program just two years removed from a state title, coming off a county championship. campaign that ended with a 13-1 run, and the promotion of one of the best pitchers ever in former Player of the Year Jules Raymond, as well as another top pitcher in Amanda Medina.

Add that to the regular flare-ups of tendonitis she had to endure and endure — last year in her elbow and this season in her pitching wrist — and Bobrowski had a lot to prove and a lot to overcome.

One more Group 4 state championship later, and mission accomplished for the 2024 Courier News Softball Player of the Year.

The hard-throwing Bobrowski showed the qualities, poise and, perhaps most importantly, the confidence of a seasoned veteran. He posted a 17-1 record with an ERA of 0.95, allowing just 59 hits and 42 walks and striking out 211 in just 118 1./3 innings. She also hit .359 with 10 doubles, a triple, a homer and 11 RBIs, and walked 14 times as the Warriors’ leadoff hitter

“Going in, I was a little nervous because I’m a sophomore and one of the youngest throwers,” said Bobrowski, who also helped Watchung Hills to the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title. “But once I got into the flow, it helped me a lot with my self-confidence.

“I usually don’t really give a lot of confidence until I get into the groove. But I had a conversation with my mom before the season started and she definitely boosted my confidence. She said, “It’s only high school. You’re a sophomore and all you have to do is prove yourself.” And that helped me. And once I got into the flow, it helped my self-confidence more and more.”

“She has a lot of confidence in what she does and how she goes about it,” Watchung Hills coach Brian Figueredo said. “That’s something, for a young player she is certainly far ahead of her years in terms of the mental aspect. And of course, as a coach, it’s incredibly comforting to know that your starting pitcher has the elite confidence in himself to go out and get it done.”

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Despite all her challenges, Bobrowski also had some things that worked in her favor. Last year they only played twice in the circle, but they came against, arguably, the two toughest teams on the schedule: eventual state finalist Hillsborough and sectional finalist Hunterdon Central.

She was also in the lineup for virtually every game of her freshman season, hitting leadoff as the designated hitter, so it’s not like varsity life was brand new to her. Her teammates weren’t new to her either, and that contributed greatly to her success.

“Even playing the two strongest teams (we played) last year, it may not have helped my confidence that much, but it definitely helped me adjust to the feeling of being out there,” said Bobrowski, who gave a taste of what was to come, striking out 14 batters in 7 2/3 innings, allowing just four hits, though she did give up six walks and six runs, all but one against Central.

“And it definitely helped knowing all the girls on the team and feeling comfortable with them. This year we had a very close team.”

Another big factor working in her favor was the presence of a strong, experienced senior class, including Ella Stevinson, Tia Shikar, catcher Maddie Cerami, who had a big hand in guiding the young standout through her campaign, and Morgan Bobrowski , A quartet. year-old starter and Riley’s older sister.

“Morgan is a great, experienced leader, and obviously I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but I’m sure the leadership I saw in Morgan translated into their moments at home or in the car or whatever . ” said Figueredo. “That’s certainly a factor that shouldn’t be lost, the role Morgan played in Riley’s development. Honestly, I think their relationship has helped both players, but when you’re the younger sibling, to have an older sibling on the team who’s been there and seen it, I think that’s a huge is a factor.

“It’s obviously great to have my sister on the team because she’s always someone I can talk to about anything,” Riley Bobrowski said. “After the provincial final, she had a long talk with me in the car because I was pretty upset after giving up two home runs, and that doesn’t usually happen. But she just gave me a pep talk, like older sisters do, and that definitely helped me through the season.

Bobrowski’s biggest challenges came during the state tournament. She didn’t pitch for nearly three weeks after the provincial finals and took a necessary break to rest her tendons, but she returned for the second round of the state tournament against Franklin and threw a nearly perfect game, striking out 17 in a zero round. hitter.

Bobrowski continued to dominate through the remainder of the sectional tournament, firing six one-hit shutout innings against Westfield in the semifinals and then allowing just one unearned run on two hits against Hunterdon Central in the finals.

It was the next game, in Morristown in the state Group 4 semifinals, that the young pitcher faced her biggest dose of adversity.

Things started well, as she paced the team in the first inning, striking out two, and she worked about three hits in the second, striking out three to keep the game scoreless. But things took a turn for the worse in the third inning, when the Colonials started hitting her hard, scoring a run and putting two more on base, as the pain in her wrist became too much to bear.

“Usually, when I miss, I miss, and during my warmups I missed the ball, and that was definitely very nerve-wracking,” said Bobrowski, who admitted that her arm felt weak while she was coming off before the game, and because it was the it was the last week of school, she hadn’t slept much because she was studying for tests.

“In the first inning I tried to push through. And Maddie Cerami, she really helped me through it. I had a lot of doubts, but she said, ‘You’ll be fine. Whatever happens, it will be okay. Just throw a strike and they can’t touch you anymore.’ I didn’t really have any spin the first two innings, and I noticed that in the third inning. And I just told Fig (Figueredo) that I had to rest and I don’t think it was good for the team to keep struggling through these innings.”

Watchung Hills rallied to win the game, thanks to junior Mia Simon, who closed the door on the third-inning riot with a strikeout and then allowed just one hit the rest of the way, with her grand slam in the sixth inning provided all the offense. the Warriors should advance to the state finals.

“It was great to know that Mia had my back – and under all circumstances, because she does very well under stressful circumstances,” said Bobrowski, who saw her fellow pitcher go 11-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 119 strikeouts had in 86 innings. “I know I would be very stressed if I was put in positions with the bases loaded like in the Morristown game.”

Three days after Morristown, Watchung Hills faced Vineland in the Group 4 championship game, and while Bobrowski admitted she was certainly concerned about her wrist’s reaction, the support system that had helped her all season was reestablished as the Warriors won their third game. state title in eight years.

“I was very stressed in the days leading up to the game,” said Bobrowski, who is taking some time off from club softball to address her tendon issues, including going to occupational therapy. “But I had a lot of good people who helped me through it, like Maddie (Cerami) and my trainer. They just told me to get through it and that it was the last game, and that really helped me.

Staff Writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997 and has been on the softball field since 1999. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus

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CN Player of the Year is Riley Bobrowski of Watchung Hills

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