BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Deep.

That’s the best way to describe No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham’s pitching staff.

The Trojans continued to show why they may have one of the deepest -- and most talented -- pitching staffs in Eastern Massachusetts on Saturday when they defeated Hingham, 6-2, in a non-league game.

Mike Manning improved his record to 3-0 by dominating the Harbormen (4-4) over the five innings he pitched.

A junior lefthander, Manning allowed one run (unearned) on three hits replete with zero walks and 10 strikeouts. In addition he threw 49 of 73 pitches for strikes.

The only reason he didn’t go the distance was that coach John Kearney needed to give junior Chris Newman some work so he would be sharp when the Trojans (7-0) enter the congested part of their schedule.

What’s made Manning’s outings this season even more impressive is the fact he isn’t the Trojans' ace.

“Jack Connolly and Andrew Noviello are one and one-A,” said Kearney. “So far this year he’s been our number three but for a while he was our number two before Noviello came back. We didn’t have Noviello for our first couple of games.

“Mike and Chris Newman could be even at three-four or four-three. We have another kid, P.J. Walsh, who pitched great last week against New Bedford (B-R beat the Whalers 3-1) in that Plymouth North tournament. (i.e. the Brad Martin Tournament). We feel we have five solid starters.

“When you have a season like this with so many games played in a shorter amount of time it makes a big difference,” continued Kearney. “That’s another part of the process, making sure we’re protected and safe when we get into those four-game weeks.”

Early liftoff: In retrospect, Manning never gave Hingham a chance -- especially after the Trojans clipped Jackson Bennis for five runs in the first.

Manning cruised through the first two innings, recording five of six outs on strikeouts.

The only damage Hingham was able to inflict on Manning came in the third when it scored an unearned run on two hits (Bobby Beane’s infield single drove in the run), a wild pitch and an error.

Otherwise, Manning faced only three batters over the minimum.

“Mike came on and pitched pretty well for us last year so he’s got some experience,” said Kearney. “He threw 30 or 40 innings last year so this isn’t his first year. He’s already had a taste of it and it shows. He’s very poised out there and it shows even when he gets in tight spots.

“He loves baseball and he’s a great kid. He could be the number one for a lot of teams, I think.”

Pitching 101: One reason for Kearney’s contention is that Manning has the ability to change speeds and eye levels and mix his pitches.

Against Hingham for example, he got Harbormen to chase high fastballs and then finished them off with his curveball.

“Mike does a great job of keeping kids off-balance by mixing it up,” said Kearney. “He found out in the pre-season when he was just trying to get his arm in shape and kids were hitting his fastball because he was just throwing fastball after fastball.

“Now, even though he’s mixing in a great curveball, we’re still working on a changeup which is the third element that’s going to enable him to get to the next level. Mike is a smart pitcher.”

B-R reeled off one its more impressive innings of the season in the first which made Manning’s task much easier.

Colin Trahon and Noviello led with singles, and after an out, Jon Livolsi beat out an infield hit.

Connolly ripped an RBI single to left and Manning followed with a two-run single.

Paul LaFond drew a walk to re-load the bases and Kyle Horsman grounded into a fielder’s choice for the fourth run.

Nick Andrews completed the scoring with an RBI single.

Altogether, B-R sent 11 batters to the plate and scored the five runs on five hits plus a walk.

B-R tacked on a sixth run in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Horsman and Andrews.

Despite this outburst, Kearney feels there’s room for improvement when the Trojans are at-bat.

“We’ve been averaging around five or six runs a game and we’ve been holding teams to one or two runs,” said Kearney. “And we’ve been playing well defensively all year. But I still think we’re leaving runs out on the field.

“We’ve won seven games. But if there’s one area that’s been up and down, I’d like to see our offense pick it up just a little bit more.”