After series-opening loss, No. 2 Ridge looking for more offense in rematch against No. 1 Immaculata Wednesday, with SCT implications

It’s rare a home-and-home series in high school baseball will be played back-to-back, but that’s probably the way Ridge would prefer it.

After the No. 2 Red Devils were blanked 3-0 Tuesday by No. 1 Immaculata in Basking Ridge – on an outstanding pitching performance by the Spartans’ Cole Raymond – Ridge will get right back to business on Wednesday when the two teams meet on the turf at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

You can hear that game live – with no paywall or subscription needed – on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame at 3:45 pm and first pitch at four with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

Ridge comes into the game at 11-2, both losses coming in Skyland Conference Delaware Division play. The first came in a split with Hunterdon Central, and the second came yesterday to the Spartans, leaving Ridge looking for a split with Immaculata as well.

There’s a lot on the line here. Besides the two teams being back-to-back at Nos. 12 and 13 in the statewide Top 20 for a second week in a row, an Immaculata win would all but make it a lock the Spartans get the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament, with seeding less than two weeks away. A Ridge win would most likely leave it up for debate against the top two teams in the county thus far.

The SCT seeding meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 6th.

For Ridge, Tuesday’s loss was a bit the opposite of what’s happened much of the season. With a team ERA of 4.62, Red Devil starter Lucas Liston bested that Tuesday, allowing just three earned runs. But the offense, which has scored seven or more runs in ten of 13 games this year – nine of them wins – was stymied by Raymond, who needed just 96 pitches Tuesday to get through six innings, allowing just two hits, and striking out eight.

And there’s plenty more where that came from, one of the Spartans’ strengths this year. Wake Forest commit Ryan Auten is 2-0 on the year with a 1.62 ERA and 35 strikeouts, and would likely be Wednesday’s starter in such a huge game.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell about the Red Devils’ season, and their huge series with Immaculata: