Ridge gets solid pitching, offensive explosion, in 15-3 SCT semifinal win over Immaculata

The Ridge baseball team is in the Somerset County Tournament final for the fourth straight time.

The third-seeded Red Devils scored early and often on second-seed Immaculata in a semifinal game moved to Diamond Nation in Flemington due to a water main break outside TD Bank Park in Bridgewater.

In a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio – presented by Zoned Sports Academy of Bridgewater – Ridge scored in every inning, starting with a five-run first in which they sent ten men to the plate. They had six hits in the inning, all singles. Jake Dolan drove in the first run with a single, Nick Rossi scored one with a sac fly, Ben Larner knocked one in on a fielder’s choice, and Brady Wilson had a two-RBI single, among the highlights.

Ridge then got three in the second, two in the third, and three in the fourth to lead 13-0 before Immaculata could get on the board in the fourth with a two-run home run by Troy Rabosky. But Ridge got two more in the fifth to keep it out of reach – including a solo homer, the first of his career, by senior pinch hitter Matt Martine – and the two runs the Spartans got in the bottom of the fifth, trying to keep the game alive, were moot.

Ben Larner threw three shutout, two-hit innings for the Red Devils, striking out five, allowing no walks and just the two baserunners on a single and a double in the second. He improves to 8-2, while Ridge is now 19-7.

They’ll meet either top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan or fourth-seed Watching Hills in the finals Friday at 6 pm at TD Bank Park. The finals were originally scheduled for Thursday, but that’s the first day of the state tournament, and Ridge will be hosting 14th-seed JP Stevens that day.

Connor Quinn took the loss for Immaculata, which falls to 14-6.