SCT Finals Preview: Bridgewater-Raritan faces Ridge for Somerset County supremacy

It was the matchup everyone thought we’d get last year, not once, but twice. Neither materialized, and for very different reasons.

In 2023, Bridgewater-Raritan was the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament, and Ridge was the second. The Red Devils made the final, but instead played 12-seed Rutgers Prep, which knocked off the No.1 seeded Panthers in the semifinals.

Then, the two appeared headed for a collision course in the North 2, Group 4 sectional title. But a controversy over a pitch count violation in the quarterfinals, a game which Ridge had won 7-0 over Westfield, led to a forfeit. The Panthers eventually fell to Bayonne in the championship game.

Looks like the third time is the charm.

So here we go, for all the marbles, the long awaited matchup.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT FINALS AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(1) Bridgewater-Raritan (24-3, 10-0, Skyland Conference Delaware Division champions, #4 in NJ)
(3) Ridge (20-7, 6-4 Skyland Conference Delaware Division, 2nd place, #20 in NJ)

Head Coaches:
Bridgewater-Raritan: Max Newill, 17th season (245-186)
Ridge: Tom Blackwell, 19th season (287-191)

Probable Starters:
Bridgewater-Raritan: Owen Crimmins (7-0, 2.19 ERA)
Ridge: Ben Larner (8-2, 1.71 ERA)

Date and Time: Friday, May 24 – 6:00 pm
Location: TD Bank Park, Bridgewater
Listen On: Central Jersey Sports Radio, Pregame 5:40 pm (Click here to listen live!)
Announcers: Mike Pavlichko & Vin Ebenau

PREVIEW STORIES:

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Bridgewater-Raritan:
Double-bye to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals: def. (8) Montgomery, 11-0
Semifinals: def. (4) Watchung Hills, 4-2

Ridge:
Double-bye to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals: def. (6) Hillsborough, 12-7
Semifinals: def. (2) Immaculata, 15-2

TEAM LEADERS:

Bridgewater-Raritan:

Batting Average: Matthew Fattore (.438), JR Rosado (.411), Matthew Lehberger (.322)
RBI: Matthew Fattore (27), JR Rosado (21), Matthew Lehberger (20)
HR: JR Rosado (2), Matthew Fattore, Devin Goldberg, Matthew Lehberger (1)
Walks: Matt Cichocki (21), Joe Spirra (16)
Stolen Bases: Devin Goldberg (30), Matthew Lehberger (26)
Wins: Owen Crimmins (7), Jack Lanum (4)
ERA (min 12 innings): Kellan Komline (0.66), MIke Lentini (1.17)
Strikeouts (Pitcher): Owen Crimmins (41), Cory Rible (35)

Ridge:

Batting Average: Ezra Sadowski (.371), Bode Ganny (.368), Jake Dolan (.312)
RBI: Ezra Sadowski (31), Nick Rossi (16), Jake Dolan (15)
HR: Ezra Sadowski (4), Jake Dolan (3)
Walks: Nick Rossi, Andrew Reynolds (26), Jake Dolan (11), Kieran Callanan (10)
Stolen Bases: Nick Selitti (11), Jake Dolan (7)
Wins: Ben Larner (8), Andrew Reynolds (6)
ERA (min 12 innings): Aiden Stieglitz (1.31), Ben Larner (1.71)
Strikeouts (Pitcher): Ben Larner (37), Andrew Reynolds (27)

Coverage of Bridgewater-Raritan

Coverage of Ridge

NOTES AND NUGGETS:

The SCT turns 50!

This year, Somerset County will crown its 50th baseball champion, and while Immaculata has won the most – 14 of them in the past 49 years – Ridge is right up there.

The Red Devils have the second most SCT title wins, with seven, and they also are right behind the Spartans in appearances, with this being their 17th. This will be their fourth straight final (2019, no tourney in 2020 or 2021, then again in 2022, last year and this year). They are 7-9 all-time in the title game.

Bridgewater-Raritan is in its first final since 2012, when they lost 4-3 in 12 innings to Hillsborough. They are 1-3 all-time in four finals berths, with that lone win coming in 1996, an upset as the sixth-seed over top-seed Immaculata.

Coaching experience…

While Larry Santowasso of Rutgers Prep has the most wins of any current Somerset County coach (339-282-1), Max Newill of B-R and Tom Blackwell of Ridge have a lot of experience of their own.

Newill is in his 17th season, while Blackwell is in his 19th. In their combined 36 years at their current schools, they have won a grand total of 532 games. That’s astonishing, especially to do it all at one school.

Out of the 14 schools in the Somerset County Tournament, all but four have had their head coach at least a decade. Now, that’s some longevity.

Rible in control…

We know Cory Rible of Bridgewater-Raritan has been amazing this year as the stopper/closer out of the bullpen. He’s 3-0 with a 1.27 ERA, all three wins coming in longer relief appearances.

Last year he was a hybrid starter/reliever. This year, he’s come in exclusively out of the ‘pen, making 13 appearances. The Panthers have won all 13 of those games.

But not only that, he has 35 strikeouts and one walk this year, and it was a zero-pitch walk.

That’s right, it was an intentional walk that came in a 5-4 win at Cherokee.

But here’s something to watch for: Can he keep it up? Through April 27th, in his first nine appearances, Rible threw 12 and 1/3 innings, with no outing longer than two, and he tossed more than 25 pitches only once.

In his last four games, the first of which is that Cherokee game, he’s thrown 15 and 1/3 innings, and has reached 60 pitches in three of those four.

Rible has 85 pitches available after Monday’s appearance, but surely, head coach Max Newill hopes he won’t need nearly that many. At the same time, expect to see him at some point, whether it’s a three-out save chance, or as a stopper earlier on to get out of a jam.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Bridgewater-Raritan (1-3):

1996: (6) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (1) Immaculata, 7-5
1997: (2) Immaculata def. (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 2-0
1998: (3) Immaculata def. (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 3-2
2012: (4) Hillsborough def. (7) Bridgewater-Raritan, 4-3 (12 inn.)

Prior to the merger between schools, Bridgewater-Raritan East made three finals, and won all of them, in 1990, 1978 and the very first SCT in 1973. Bridgewater-Raritan West also made three finals, winning its only championship in 1988.

*Ridge players run onto the field after the final out of the 2022 Somerset County Tournament title game at TD Bank Park on May 23, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

Ridge (7-9):

1976: Ridge def. Watchung Hills, 4-3 (10 inn.)
1979: Hillsborough def. Ridge, 2-0
1980: Ridge, def. Franklin, 7-1
1984: Ridge def. Immaculata, 2-0
1985: (2) Ridge def. (1) Immaculata, 5-0
1987: Somerville def. Ridge, 2-1
1988: (6) Bridgewater-Raritan West def. (1) Ridge, 3-1
1989: (1) Ridge def. Bridgewater-Raritan West, 5-4
1995: (1) Somerville def. (3) Ridge, 7-6
2000: (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 2-0
2002: (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 10-0 (ten-run rule)
2011: (8) Ridge def. (3) Hillsborough, 4-3 (8 inn.)
2014: (4) Hillsborough def. (2) Ridge, 4-3 (9 inn.)
2019: (2) Immaculata def. (5) Ridge, 6-5 (12 inn.)
2022: (1) Ridge def. (6) Rutgers Prep, 6-0
2023: (12) Rutgers Prep def. (2) Ridge, 1-0

Ridge is the only school in Somerset County to make the finals in every decade it’s been played. They had two finals appearance in the 1970s, six in the ’80s, one in the ’90s, two in the 2000s, three in the 2010s, and this will be their third in the 2020s.