Ridge players greet Matt Martine at home plate, after the senior hit his first varsity home run, pinch hitting in the 5th inning of a 15-3 win over Immaculata in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals at Diamond Nation in Flemington on May 20, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
A trip to the Somerset County Tournament finals wasn’t enough for the Ridge baseball team in 2024.
Of course, they want the title, like anyone does. They’ve been to the last four SCT championship games, with a win in 2022 over Rutgers Prep. But the Argonauts got them back the next year in a tight 1-0 game before the Red Devils fell to Bridgewater-Raritan last season.
The return of Aiden Stieglitz from an injury that limited him to just 16 innings over three games last season will be one of 2025’s big bright spots, and head coach Tom Blackwell feels good about his pitching staff heading into 2025.
Stieglitz had a tremendous sophomore year, throwing 31 1/3 innings, striking out 47 and walking just 17. In 14 career appearances, he has a 1.63 earned run average.
That will help a staff that lost seniors Ben Larner, Andrew Reynolds and others to graduation.
On the other hand, plenty of bats return from a 21-9 season in 2024, and Blackwell says they “plan on scoring some runs.” Among the top hitters returning are two sophomores who hit well last season, Kieran Callanan (.339, 18 RBIs) and Jake Dolan (.281, 15 RBI, 3 HR) as well as junior Quinn Dashefsky (.297).
Click below to hear Ridge coach Tom Blackwell talk about the upcoming season for the Red Devils with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
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