Rain ends Ridge bid for comeback, falls 1-0 to Seton Hall Prep in rain-shortened, 5 inning game

Aidan Stieglitz was just about as sharp as ever on the mound for Ridge, despite his team trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

But that’s when a light rain – with a few big drops here and there – turned into a monsoon, and after about 15 minutes, when it eased a bit, the coaches and umpires conferred, realized they couldn’t go on, and stopped the game.

Final: 1-0 Seton Hall Prep.

With six more outs, maybe Ridge – ranked No. 17 in the state this week – could have come back against New Jersey’s No. 4-ranked team. But, alas, not to be.

Stieglitz was sharp. The only run he allowed came in the third with two outs. Kaden Frei singled, and was driven in on a double by Michael Bravette. Otherwise, he threw three 1-2-3 innings in six innings of work (only five counted, as the sixth was wiped since it was not completed) and struck out seven Marauders, five officially. He allowed just three hits.

But Seton Hall Prep starter Roman Baldwin allowed only two, and Ridge left three runners on base through five innings.

The Red Devils – the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament – fall to 14-4, taking their first non-conference loss of the year, and will host the winner of 9-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and 8-seed Bernards in the SCT quarterfinals next Wednesday. Before that, they’ll have a Tuesday non-conference home game next week vs, Mendham.

The Pirates are now 15-1, their lone loss coming to Old Bridge back on April 19th.