Familiar foes, Ridge and Watchung Hills, set to meet for fourth time this season, with North 2, Group 4 title up for grabs

And up for grabs might be the perfect way to describe it.

The Ridge and Watchung Hills baseball teams are quite familiar with each other, especially this season.

They’ve already played three times, and now it’s a rare fourth matchup between the two as they play for the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 title in the NJSIAA state playoffs.

First pitch between top-seed Ridge (17-10) and third-seed Watchung Hills (18-8) is set for 4 pm at Pete Hall Field in Basking Ridge, and you can her the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko on the call. Pregame begins at 3:30 pm.

While Ridge last won a title in 2021, this group was in last year’s sectional title game, falling 9-6 to Westfield. But with another year under their belt, they’re right back in for a second straight season. The group is led by Jake Dolan at the plate, the senior centerfielder hitting .444 with a whopping 35 runs batted in and seven home runs. Fellow senior Kieran Callanan is an excellent shortstop, hitting .384.

The Red Devils are expected to put Dimitri Romer on the mound, who made a relief appearance in Wednesday’s 10-6 home win in the semifinals over 5-seed Bridgewater-Raritan. But he threw just 19 pitches in that effort, so he can come back with the full 100-pitch allowance Friday afternoon. Romer is 5-2 on the year, with a 2.47 ERA.

The Warriors will send out Lucas Sheehan, a sophomore who was given the start a couple of Friday’s ago in the Somerset County Tournament title game, a 1-0 win over top-seed Immaculata. He became the first tenth-grader to get a win in the county final since Casey Cahill of Immaculata did it in 1998. He’s 7-2 with a 4.61 ERA.

Offensively, seniors Jacob Jaconski (.464, 16 RBI, 10 doubles) and Rob Centamore (.349, 21 RBI, 10 doubles) are among the leaders, along with senior Max Payne, who’s driven in a team-high 26 runs.

Watchung Hills hasn’t been here in a decade, but they’ve already won one postseason tournament this season. And after a pair of losses, 12-10 and 13-3 in the regular season to Ridge, avenged that en route to the county title.

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Watchung Hills: The Warriors won three titles prior to the playoff era, which began in 1959 with only sectional titles. State championships began in 1971, but Watchung Hills has never won one, though they made one appearance, falling to Hillsborough in 2005.

• Central Jersey Group 3 (declared by the NJSIAA)
  • 1948 (co-champs with Hamilton Twp.)
  • 1950
  • 1957 (co-champs with Middletown Twp.)
  • 1958 (co-champs with Middletown Twp.)
• North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
  • 2005
  • 2009

Ridge: The Red Devils have nine sectional titles, eight of them coming when they were a much smaller school, playing in Group 2. They also have three state championships, winning all three times they went to the state Group 2 title game. Those came in 1987, 2000 and 2002.

• Central Jersey Group 2
  • 1976
  • 1981
  • 1982
  • 1987
  • 1989
  • 1999
  • 2000
  • 2002
• North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
  • 2021