Ridge – on a ten-game winning streak – won the North jersey, Section 2, Group 4 championship in 2021. (Photo: @RidgeBaseball6 on Twitter)
Solid pitching, good hitting. Two teams very similar in nature who are a combined 20-1 will square off in Basking Ridge Friday afternoon, as No. 1 Ridge entertains No. 10 Pingry in a Skyland Conference crossover game.
Pingry is 9-0 and has given up just four earned runs all year. Half of them came in Thursday’s 6-5 win over Delaware Valley, an error-prone game uncharacteristic of the Big Blue.
In fact, after allowing a single run to Bound Brook in a 14-1 Opening Day road win, Pingry pitching went the next 40 innings without giving up a run.
The next time a runner crossed the plate on them after Opening Day was this past Wednesday, in a 25-1 road win at Belvidere.
Ridge on the other hand is 11-1, and has won ten straight since a 7-6 loss to a very good Hunterdon Central team back on April fourth. They’ve done it with solid pitching as well, and great balance at the plate, with four starters hitting over .350.
They’ve won games by the ten-run rule, but also have won tight ones, like a 2-1 victory against West Morris, a 3-1 decision over North Hunterdon, and – in their most recent game, Thursday – a 5-2 victory over Hillsborough.
You can her Friday afternoon’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with live coverage beginning at 3:45, and first pitch set for 4 pm. Mike Pavlichko will call all the play-by-play. Click here to listen live, and for free.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with both head coaches about their seasons, and Friday’s matchup: