Ridge and Rutgers Prep play in Basking Ridge on April 19, 2025. They’ll meet again in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals Monday at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater after both won quarterfinal games Wednesday. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The semifinals of the Somerset County Tournament are set, as three of the top four seeds won their quarterfinal games on Wednesday out at Diamond Nation in Flemington, with 11-seed Franklin knocking off third-seed Watchung Hills in extra innings..
Due to the rain, all games were moved out to Hunterdon County, and somehow, they managed to get them in between the raindrops.
It sets up Monday’s semifinals at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, where second-seed Immaculata and 11th-seed Watchung Hills will meet in the 1 pm opener, while top-seed Ridge will battle fourth-seed Rutgers Prep in the 4 pm game. Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live coverage with Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen, presented by Zoned Sports Academy of Bridgewater.
The finals will be at 6 pm next Wednesday at TD Bank Park, and can be heard live on CJSR as well.
Read on for a recap of Wednesday’s quarterfinal action.
(1) Ridge 7, (8) Bernards 1: Seemingly every time Aiden Stieglitz takes the mound, it’s a stellar performance, and Wednesday was no different. The Red Devils’ senior scattered three hits and allowed one run in six innings of work, striking out 12, to improve to 6-2 on the year. The Red Devils scored in the bottom of the first on a bases loaded walk by Sawyer Paul. Bernards tied it in the top of the second when Casey Hoeckele came home from third on a daring double steal with two outs. But from there, the rest of the night belonged to Ridge. As Stieglitz mowed down the Mountaineers, Ridge (15-4) got two more in the bottom of the third, another in the fourth, and three more insurance runs for good measure in the sixth. Paul ended up with a 2-for-3 day with three runs batted in, a walk and a stolen base. Bernards falls to 9-10 with the loss.
(2) Immaculata 10, (7) Hillsborough 9: In one of the wildest finishes of the day, the Spartans (12-6) trailed 9-6 heading into the seventh inning, and rallied for four runs to walk it off in a gut-punch to the Raiders (8-10), all without the benefit of a hit, and without making a single out. Owen Schilling got hit by a pitch from Samuel Malone to lead it off, then Jayson Labrador walked, and his brother Justin got plunked as well. That brought in Shane Borer for ‘Boro, who walked Collin Kassai to make it 9-7. With Aidan English at the plate, a passed ball allowed Dan Brea to score to cut it to 9-8. English ended up getting on via a walk to reload the bases, then Connor Quinn got hit by a pitch to tie the score. Jackson Lewis then came to the plate with a chance to win it, and that he did, working a five-pitch walk to bring in Kassai.
(4) Rutgers Prep 6, (5) Somerville 4: The Argonauts (10-7) scored five times in the third, to take a 5-1 lead over the Pioneers, then held them off for the win, avenging an 8-7 regular season home defeat just last Saturday. Somerville (10-8) got on the board first with a run in the top of the second when Ethan Flynn scored on a wild pitch. But Prep stormed back in the third with a run that came in on a walk, a two-run single by Li Perez, and RBI single by Alex Perez, and a groundout by Micah Kruger-Serrano. Somerville looked to rally in the fifth. They got a two-run single to left from Owen Melchione, then an Andrew Kessler single to center, all with two out, but Ethan Flynn flew out to center to end it, stranding two, leaving it 5-4 Argos, before Prep got one more insurance run for good measure in the bottom of the sixth. Starter Li Perez got the win for Rutgers Prep, striking out ten in four innings of work.
(11) Franklin 12, (3) Watchung Hills 10 (8): In a battle of Warriors, Franklin (9-7) erased an early 1-0 deficit and took a 7-0 lead that eventually evaporated, only for them to rally with three in the top of the eighth, then hold off Watchung Hills (11-8) in the bottom of the inning for the win. Hills got one back in the bottom of the fourth to cut it to 7-2, then Franklin added two in the fifth to go up 9-2. From there, Watchung Hills got two in the fifth, two more in the sixth, and tied it at 9-9 with three in the seventh on three RBI singles by Stefano DiGeronimo, Jake Kierstead and Max Eder. In the top of the eighth, though, Franklin took the lead back, and did it all with two outs. Stanley Madera singled to center to make it 10-9, then Jacob Gordon did the same to left to drive in two and make it a three-run lead. Still, Watchung Hills wasn’t done. A bases loaded walk with two outs brought up Max Payne. On a 2-2 count, Landon Pudlak scored on a passed ball, with the other runners advancing to second and third. Pudlak worked the count to 3-2 against reliever Izaiah Robinson, but Robinson got him looking to end the game. Franklin is a win away from just its second finals berth ever, and first since 1980.
MONDAY’S SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
at TD Bank Park, Bridgewater
1 pm: (2) Immaculata (12-6) vs. (11) Franklin (9-7)
4 pm: (1) Ridge (15-4) vs. (4) Rutgers Prep (11-7)
Both games can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here.
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