Rematch of ’22, ’23 SCT finals in 2025 semis, as Ridge, Rutgers Prep battle for trip to title game

Are Rutgers Prep and Ridge rivals?

The Red Devils may get the best of the Argonauts more often than not, but Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso likes to think so. If that’s what helps his team get up for this one, so be it.

Of course, Ridge has had immense success the last several years, and any team should jump at the chance to play them for a trip to the county final.

That’s exactly what will happen Monday afternoon, when the two teams will square off in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, with first pitch set for 4 pm at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. You can hear the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, following the first semifinal at 1:00 between second-seed Immaculata and 11-seed Franklin.

Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the play-by-play; click here to listen. You’ll also be able to watch the game with our play-by-play on our YouTube channel:

Here’s a closer look at the first semifinal game of the day:

(1) Ridge (15-4) vs. (4) Rutgers Prep (11-8)
4 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio (LISTEN LIVE) (Watch on YouTube)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Ridge : Aiden Stieglitz (6-2, 1.42 ERA)
Rutgers Prep: Peter Wheeler (4-1, 2.28 ERA)

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell

Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Ridge: The Red Devils cruised past eight-seed Bernards 7-1 in the quarterfinals, thanks to two big innings. Sawyer Paul had a big day, going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Aiden Stieglitz started this one, too, and scattered three hits over six innings, striking out 12.

Rutgers Prep: Against a game fifth-seed Somerville, Rutgers Prep had its hands full, but came out with a 6-4 victory down along Easton Avenue. Starter Li Perez struck out ten, but also walked nine in the win. At the plate, he was 2-for-3, with a couple of singles and two RBIs.

TOP HITTERS:

Ridge: Jake Dolan has absolutely been tearing the cover off the ball for the Red Devils. The junior is hitting .476 – best of any hitter in the quarterfinals – with a team best 12 extra base hits, including eight doubles, two triples, and a pair of home runs. He also leads the club in runs scored with 23. But he’s not the only one who can hit. Sawyer Paul is at .371, and Quinn Dashefsky has knocked in a team-best 19 runs on the season.

Rutgers Prep: Batting .319 as a team, they have two layers hitting better than .400, yet there’s incredible balance through the lineup. Cody Rullo is hitting .455 and leads the team with 25 hits, while Maddox Chu is hitting .423, and leads the Argonauts in RBIs with 20. They haven’t hit much for power, but they’ve drawn 87 walks on the season, and stolen 112 bases, more than double the Red Devils’ total of 45. Matt Bilmes leads the club with 22 swipes.

LAST FINALS BERTH:

Ridge has made the last four finals, dating back to 2019. (There was no SCT due to COVID in 2021 and 2022.) They’re 1-3 in that run, falling to Immaculata – a potential finals matchup this year – in a 12-inning game, 6-5, in 2019. They were the top-seed in 2022, and beat 6-seed Rutgers Prep 6-0, but the Argonauts got the better of them the next year, 1-0. Last season, they made it to the finals as the three-seed, but lost to top-seed and eventual Group 4 state champion Bridgewater-Raritan in a slugfest, 10-7. Ridge is 7-10 all-time in the finals, second only to Immaculata in county championships.

Rutgers Prep last made it in 2023, as a 12-seed, and won the whole thing – all five games – taking out second-seed Ridge in the title game, 1-0. That followed a 6-0 loss to the top-seeded Red Devils the year prior. Prep is 2-1 all-time in the finals, winning in their only other appearance, in 2017.