Tag: Ridge

by Mike Pavlichko

In rugged American Silver, Ridge looks to bounce back in Year Two under Sutherland with more experienced group

Jeff Sutherland knew his Ridge football team would be young in 2025, and to some degree, it showed in their 5-4 record.

They began the year 1-2 with losses to St. Joseph-Metuchen and Phillipsburg, but then won four straight – including over eventual North 2, Group 5 champion Bridgewater-Raritan – before dropping their regular season finale to Westfield, and losing to Colonia in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Much of that young group is back, and now, the second-year head coach expects that experience to pay off in 2026.

While Sutherland will have to find a new quarterback to replace Sawyer Paul, who threw for 563 yards and six touchdowns, Tristan Frank attempted 33 passes last year as a junior is the leading candidate to start. Top runningback Nick Pfenning (692 yards, 5 TDs) graduates, but C.J. Griffith – right behind him with 688 yards and four touchdowns on 103 carries – returns for his senior year. And six players who caught passes last year return.

Defensive lineman Greg Brown – who also plays tight end and is committed to Bucknell – is back for his senior year after logging 3 1/2 sacks and six TFLs a year ago; he also had a pick for a touchdown.

The schedule allows little in the way of breathing room. The Red Devils open with Sayreville in Week One, the close the regular season with sectional finalist Old Bridge, and in between have two state sectional champs from 2025: Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, and Phillipsburg at home, just two weeks apart, with a crossover against an electric Elizabeth team in between.

Click below to learn more about the Ridge Red Devils in 2026 from head coach Jeff Sutherland with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Conference Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ben Donaghy leaves North Plainfield to helm Red Devils baseball

When Tom Blackwell stepped down, retiring as Ridge baseball coach at the end of the Spring – going out as North 2, Group 4 state sectional champions – it was more than just the loss of a coach, but of a Red Devil alum who played for the late, great Pete Hall.

His replacement doesn’t fall far from the Ridge tree.

The Board of Education has approved the hire of Ben Donaghy – who spent the last year as head coach at North Plainfield – to take over the program.

Donaghy has more than two decades in coaching under his belt. Before leading the Canucks, he was the head coach at South Hunterdon for two seasons, going 27-21, and he took a North Plainfield program that hadn’t had a double-digit win season in nearly a decade until the year before he arrived – when they went 14-8 – improving them to 18-9, with a playoff win over Matawan in the first round of the state tournament in North 2, Group 3. It was the program’s first state tourney victory since 2011.

But Prior to becoming a head coach, he was Blackwell’s JV coach for three years with the Red Devils, and also coached football. He was the head freshman football coach for four seasons and a varsity assistant, all making him well-connected to the Ridge community.

But the move back to Ridge is a big step up, where the program missed the Somerset County Tournament final in a very competitive field for the first time since 2018, with that five-season streak the second-most all-time since the SCT began play in 1973. The Red Devils also are second all-time in Somerset County titles with seven – only behind Immaculata and their 15 – with its most recent trophy coming in 2022 over Rutgers Prep.

While coaching elsewhere, Donaghy worked at Ridge High School, and still does. He’s a Transition Coordinator, Work-Based Learning Supervisor and a Special Education teacher, working with students with autism and diverse learning needs, including community-based instruction and competitive work-based learning experiences.

Collegiately, Donaghy was a three-year starter at Felician University up in Rutherford, where he was Team MVP his senior year of 2003 and named Team MVP with a .324 batting average, also earning accolades as a Division II All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference pick.

Click hear to listen to new Ridge baseball coach Ben Donaghy with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.
by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: American Silver is one team smaller, but no easier for those who remain

When the Big Central Conference did its realignment this off-season, part of a two-year cycle, it pulled Hunterdon Central from the American Silver Division and put them with smaller schools in the Liberty Silver, including Somerville and Montgomery, among others.

But that won’t make life any easier for the teams left in the American Silver, as Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough and Phillipsburg still get the Red Devils as a crossover – and, of course, still have to play each other. The Stateliners moved up to the North Group 5 supersection due to its new success formula, but that doesn’t affect the BCC. And besides, there were in Group 5 in 2022 and 2023 before moving down to four the last two seasons.

And just as an example of how brutal this division can be, both Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan, 4-0 and 1-3 in the division, respectively, won state sectional titles last season.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the American Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Phillipsburg Stateliners (10-3, 4-0, American Silver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Frank Duffy, 11th season (85-27)

  • Week 0: Parkland (PA)
  • Week 1: at Emmaus (PA)
  • Week 2: at Freedom (PA)
  • Week 3: Hillsborough*
  • Week 4: at St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Week 5: at Ridge*
  • Week 6: BYE
  • Week 7: Bridgewater-Raritan*
  • Week 8: Hunterdon Central
  • Thanksgiving: Easton (at Lafayette College)

Due to the NJSIAA’s new success formula, since the Stateliners can pull kids from other districts, and won North 2, Group 4, advancing to the state semifinals last year, they are now up in Group 5 as far as the playoffs concerned. But no matter: Phillipsburg has made the last four sectional finals – twice in Group 5 then twice in Group 4, winning trophies each of the last two seasons. And while they will lose senior runningback Sam Dech – who had a team-leading 1,530 yards on the ground last year and 23 touchdowns – sophomore QB Dominic Bracco is back. All that remains to be seen is which has more juice, the run game or the pass game, and how P’burg will adapt, because one thing is for sure: the Stateliners always have talent. But they will take a big hit defensively from the loss of senior Aeden Hywell, the reigning Central Jersey Sports Radio Defensive Player of the Year, who finished the season with 17 1/2 sacks and 27 TFLs, leading a defense that allowed just 12.4 points per game.

Ridge Red Devils (5-4, 3-1, 2nd place American Silver)
Head Coach: Jeff Sutherland, 2nd season (5-4)

  • Week 0: OPEN
  • Week 1: at Sayreville
  • Week 2: at Hunterdon Central
  • Week 3: at Bridgewater-Raritan*
  • Week 4: Elizabeth
  • Week 5: Phillipsburg*
  • Week 6: Westfield
  • Week 7: at Hillsborough*
  • Week 8: Old Bridge

Second-year head coach Jeff Sutherland has some work to do in finding some key offensive replacements. Senior QB Sawyer Paul graduated, as did top runningback Nick Pfennig (129 carries for 692 yards), along with tight end and top receiver Toby Nicholson, but close No. 2 runningback C.J. Griffith (688 yards, 4 TDs) is back for his junior year, and could be a focal point moving forward, while senior Tristan Frank likely is a top candidate under center. Senior defensive lineman Anthony Valera (4 1/2 sacks) will be missed, as will Nicholson (3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT), among others, but rising senior DE Greg Brown (3 1/2 sacks, 6 TFL) will be back. Ridge will crossover with two Middlesex County schools this year, Sayreville and Old Bridge, both of whom – if the NJSIAA ran football playoffs like every other sport – should have both been Central Jersey Group 5 finalists last season (instead, they met in the semis due to snaking).

Hillsborough Raiders (4-6, 2-2, 3rd place American Silver)
Head Coach: Kevin Carty, Jr., 15th season (92-64)

  • Week 0: at Manalapan
  • Week 1: Hunterdon Central
  • Week 2: at Bridgewater-Raritan*
  • Week 3: at Phillipsburg*
  • Week 4: Union
  • Week 5: Colonia
  • Week 6: at Elizabeth
  • Week 7: Ridge*
  • Week 8: at Montgomery

It’s a unique schedule for the Raiders, who will visit Shore opponent Manalapan opening weekend and close on Cutoff Weekend with the Carty Bowl, coaching against his brother, Sean, now in his second year as head coach at Montgomery. (They coached against each other in the COVID year when then-head coach Zoran Milich had to miss the game for a medical situation – and famously were not permitted to “shake hands” after the game, per NJSIAA COVID policy.) Gone are twins Devon Khurana (QB with 1,125 yards passing) and Shane (WR with 30 catches for 537 yards and 3 TDs), but sophomore Cooper Wright got some experience last year, and should be the leading candidate to take over at quarterback. Carty also will have to replace top RB Andrew Schwarz, who rushed for 1,114 yards and 12 scores last season. Watch Logan Jankowicz, younger brother of Jackson, whose senior season was 2004 and twice rushed for over a thousand yards. The defense will look at guys like Jamie Piccirillo (3 sacks, 3 1/2 TFLs as a freshman) and rising junior LB Tyler Zysk (1 1/2 sacks, TFLs) to hold down the unit.

Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers (9-4, 1-3, 4th place American Silver)
Head Coach: DJ Catalano, 4th season (16-18)

  • Week 0: at Woodbridge
  • Week 1: at St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Week 2: Hillsborough*
  • Week 3: Ridge*
  • Week 4: at Westfield
  • Week 5: Hunterdon Central
  • Week 6: at Union
  • Week 7: at Phillipsburg*
  • Week 8: Watchung Hills

The defending North 2, Group 5 champions will likely look to Evan Woodring as the leading starting QB candidate, with the graduation of Declan Kurdyla (1,371 yards, 13 TD), just as they did when Kurdyla was missed a couple of games last season. But they’ll have top runningback Jahmier Black for his senior season; Black ran for 978 yards and seven touchdowns last season, which also catching nine passes for 187 yards. Defensive end Jamelle Jones (8 sacks, 12 TFLs) is the most disruptive player returning from what was a very senior-led defense in 2025. The Panthers open with two tough crossover tests against Middlesex County foes Woodbridge and St. Joseph-Metuchen, both of whom won eight games last season.

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge seniors Callanan, Nicholson and head coach Tom Blackwell talk CJSR Team of the Year honors, as veteran skipper also announces retirement

What a whirlwind year for the Ridge Red Devils baseball team.

They began the year 11-1, with an Opening Day win at West Morris bringing the program its 1,000th victory all-time. Then injuries hit, and they lost five straight in late April. After getting knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament in the semifinals by eventual champion Watchung Hills, they regrouped and rebounded to beat the Warriors in the NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 championship game.

They would fall in the state semifinals, 8-7, on a walk-off home run in extra innings at Ridgewood, but earn the final No. 1 ranking in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.

After which, head coach Tom Blackwell told his team last week, after 21 years and 20 seasons as the Red Devils’ skipper, he would be retiring. Blackwell went 328-211 from 2006 through 2026 (there was no high school baseball in the COVID year) with his teams winning two Somerset County Titles (2011 and 2022) and two North 2, Group 4 titles in the state tournament (2021 and 2026).

It was the perfect way to end a coaching career, but so much more than that for Blackwell, a Ridge alum who played for the legendary Pete Hall, the namesake of the Red Devils’ baseball field.

In a rollercoaster of a season, Ridge is the 2026 Central Jersey Sports Radio Team of the Year.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Ridge seniors Kieran Callanan and Toby Nicholson, as well as retiring head coach Tom Blackwell:

The Ridge Red Devils: NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 sectional champions for 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
by Mike Pavlichko

Skyland Conference 2026 All-Division baseball honorees unveiled

The coaches from the Skyland Conference have unveiled their 2026 All-Division teams, honoring 139 players from across its four divisions, including the 14 Somerset County schools in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area.

Here’s the full list of players honored, by division, with teams in alphabetical order:

SKYLAND CONFERENCE – DELAWARE DIVISION

First Team

  • Bridgewater-Raritan: Kellan Komline (P/OF), Michael Lobosco (C)
  • Hillsborough: Elijah Dawes (SS)
  • Hunterdon Central: Dany Contillano (OF), Nick Holot (OF)
  • Immaculata: Luca Catanzarite (2B), Owen Schilling (C), Ryan Auten (P), Cole Raymond (P)
  • Ridge: Jake Dolan (CF), Kieran Callanan (SS), Casey Kucerka (C)
  • Watchung Hills: Robert Centamore (P/DH), Jacob Jaconski (C), Lucas Sheehan (P)
Immaculata senior Ryan Auten threw a complete-game two-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Ridge at Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ, on April 22, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Second Team:

  • Bridgewater-Raritan: Kevin Kelly (3B/P), Andrew Schmeider (OF), Nick Spirra (2B/P)
  • Hillsborough: Tommy Kester (OF), Gavin Glazewski (P/1B), Jon Feltre (P)
  • Hunterdon Central: Jack Edwards (P), Liam Goyette (P)
  • Immaculata: Bryson Auten (P/3B), Justin Labrador (SS)
  • Ridge: Sawyer Paul (1B), Dimitri Romer (P/3B)
  • Watchung Hills: Brady Simo (3B), Stefano DiGeronimo (SS)

Honorable Mention:

  • Bridgewater-Raritan: Stephen Pikulin (1B/DH)
  • Hillsborough: Anthony Guerrero (OF)
  • Hunterdon Central: Cola Jacobs (P)
  • Immaculata: Jackson Lewis (OF)
  • Ridge: Lucas Grob (2B)
  • Watchung Hills: Landon Pudlak (2B)

SKYLAND CONFERENCE – RARITAN DIVISION

First Team:

  • Franklin: Stanley Madera, Mason Bonds
  • Montgomery: Ian Quinn, Henry Maddox
  • North Hunterdon: Hunter Brown, Alex Famolari, Brooks Lunger, Graham Berry
  • Phillipsburg: Nick Yaccarino, Chase Passmore, Mike Bracco
  • Rutgers Prep: Li Perez, Alex Perez, Maddox Chu, Ethan Nepomuceno
  • Somerville: Justin Snow, Michael Meyers
Rutgers Prep’s Li Perez pitches in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals against Bridgewater-Raritan in Somerset, NJ, on May 14, 2026. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

Second Team:

  • Franklin: Dylan Shah, Shayne Rooney
  • Montgomery: Jake Hayes, Alex Bender, Mason Neufeld
  • North Hunterdon: Ty Kane, Jason Krisanda, Zach Linzer
  • Phillipsburg: Wyatt Garrison, Kevin Buonocole
  • Rutgers Prep: Peter Wheeler, Mason Cimini, Okasha Asrar
  • Somerville: Matty Brong, Jordan Snow, Michael Murphy

Honorable Mention:

  • Montgomery: Liam McDonnell
  • North Hunterdon: Evan Doty
  • Phillipsburg: Brent Ottw
  • Rutgers Prep: Micah Krugar-Serrano
  • Somerville: Dalton Carman

SKYLAND CONFERENCE – VALLEY DIVISION:

First Team:

  • Bernards: Casey Hoeckele, Sean Arcelay, James Ferrante
  • Gill St. Bernards: Gavin Bucceri, Niko West, Joey Fava, Jack Markovich, Trip Hogarty
  • Pingry: Langston McDonald, Aaron Wu
  • Voorhees: Alexander Dyevich, Matteo Tramutola
  • Warren Hills: Cohl Stevens, Owen Spender
Pingry’s Zach Zaslow pitches against Montgomery at TD Bank Park on April 11, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Second Team:

  • Bernards: Tyce Hanratty, James Gallagher
  • Gill St. Bernards: Andersen Eide, Noah Schultz, Jude Walters, Steve McRae
  • Pingry: Andrew Crowley, Zach Zaslow, Connor Lahay
  • Voorhees: Dylan Vernick, Jack Schlaudecker
  • Warren Hills: Reece Schott, Ryan Everett

Honorable Mention:

  • Bernards: Alex Frankfelder
  • Gill St. Bernards: A.J. Kolenski
  • Pingry: Michael Cardona
  • Voorhees: Turner Toombs
  • Warren Hills: Kyle Kucharski

SKYLAND CONFERENCE – MOUNTAIN DIVISION

First Team:

  • Belvidere: Jake Ackerman, Chris Knight
  • Bound Brook: Aiden Boehm, Ryan Cunha
  • Delaware Valley: Dylan Rasimowicz, Gabriel Miller, Cooper Fransen, David Hudock, Brooks Brunner, Carter Glacken
  • Manville: Collin Shimp, Brandon Shimp, Evan Canica, Josh D’Ambrosio
  • South Hunterdon: Trevor Lingerfield, Jack Budrewicz
Manville (in white) and Montgomery square off at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 7, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Second Team:

  • Belvidere: Justin Hummel, Troy Boehm, Carter Crow
  • Bound Brook: Gabriel Valentin, Jayden Cruz
  • Delaware Valley: Chris Cialone, Matt Feeney, Danny Cialone
  • Manville: Aidan Johnson, Ben Canuso, Bobby Petrone
  • South Hunterdon: Trevor Sinkus, Landon Katz, Michael Budrewicz

Note: The Mountain Division coaches did not choose any Honorable Mentions.

by Mike Pavlichko

New No. 1 highlights final 2026 Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten as Ridge takes top spot

It’s not where you start, but where you finish.

But, to be honest, the Ridge baseball team didn’t have very far to go.

The Red Devils – the only Central Jersey Sports Radio-area team to win an NJSIAA sectional title this season – finish the year at No. 1 in the final Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball rankings, and are the Central Jersey Sports Radio Team of the Year.

The Skyland Conference Delaware Division was a beast this year. Immaculata won the division, second-place Watchung Hills won the Somerset County Tournament, and Ridge beat the Warriors to win the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 title last Friday. The Red Devils’ season came to an end, however, in dramatic fashion Monday afternoon, in an 8-7 loss to Ridgewood on a walk-off, leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. They finish the year at 19-11.

Watchung Hills (18-9) – which lost two of three to Ridge this season – finishes second. In the past week, they beat second-seed Bayonne by run-rule, 10-0 in five innings, in the North 2, Group 4 semifinals before falling to Ridge Friday in the title game.

Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament champion Monroe (15-14) comes in third. The Falcons were the tournament’s nine-seed, but beat five-seed Old Bridge to win the title two Saturdays ago in their season finale, after getting knocked out of the state tournament the day before the GMC final.

In fourth is Immaculata (22-6), which was knocked out of the state tournament in the Non-Public South A semifinals by CBA, 1-0 in eight innings. The Spartans won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division at 9-1, their lone regular season division loss coming to Watchung Hills, and they lost to the Warriors in the SCT title game as well.

At five is GMC Tournament finalist Old Bridge (21-10), which won last Wednesday in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, 10-0 over Hightstown in five innings, but then lost in the title game, 14-1, at home to Hunterdon Central on Friday.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 finalist South Plainfield (17-12) finishes sixth. They got the the title game with a 4-2 semifinal win at top-seed Chatham last Wednesday, but fell Friday to Cranford in the final, 10-5.

GMC White Division champion Middlesex (22-6) comes in at seven. The Blue Jays fell in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals last Wednesday to Shore, 2-0 at home, preventing them from having a chance to repeat as CJ1 and state Group 1 champions.

At eight is Edison (19-8). The Eagles – beset by pitching injuries later in the season – got knocked out of the stats in the first round, and the GMC Tournament in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Monroe, but won the GMC’s top division, the GMC Red, with an 11-3 mark, finishing two full games ahead of second-place Old Bridge

Checking in ninth is St. Thomas Aquinas (14-15) – ranked for the first time this season. STA reached the finals in Non-Public North B for the second time in three years with a 7-3 road win at second-seed Rutgers Prep in the semifinals. But the third-seeded Trojans lost at top-seed St. Mary-Rutherford in the title game last Friday, 11-7.

And in tenth, it’s Rutgers Prep (17-8). The Argonauts were Skyland Conference Raritan Division Co-Champions with North Hunterdon – who they split with in the regular season – finishing 8-2 in divisional play, and were knocked out of the states in the Non-Public North B semis last Wednesday by St. Thomas Aquinas, with a 7-3 loss.

Below is the complete and final Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for the 2026 season:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – NJSIAA Tournament – Group 4 Semifinal: Ridgewood 8, Ridge 7 (8 inn.)

In a back-and-forth affair, Ridge scored a run ion the top of the seventh to force extra innings, but Hudson Feeney’s solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth won it in walk-off fashion for Ridgewood, as the Maroons advanced to the state Group 4 final for the second time in four years with an 8-7 win in the Group 4 semifinals.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from Veterans’ Park in Ridgewood, NJ, on June 8, 2026:

by Mike Pavlichko

Feeney’s solo home run gives Ridgewood 8-7 win in 8 over Ridge in state Group 4 semis

They say all good things must come to an end, and in this case, it applies not just to the game, but to the Ridge baseball team’s season.

The only team from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area to win a sectional title this season saw its 2026 campaign come to an end in dramatic fashion Monday afternoon in Bergen County, as Ridgewood senior Hudson Feeney led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to give the Maroons an 8-7 win over Ridge in the state Group 4 semifinals at Veterans’ park in Ridgewood.

In a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, each team had plenty of chances, but didn’t always capitalize. Ridge left 13 runners on base, Ridgewood left a dozen. And the Red Devils had the bases loaded in the top of the eighth with two outs, but failed to score.

They almost didn’t get there. Ridgewood led 7-6 going into the top of the seventh, when DH Matt Pypcznske led off with a groundball to third that was booted. Then Toby Nicholson singled to left, but the left fielder Brody Perrapato saw it go off his glove, allowing Pypcznske to score the tying run. Then, on a line drive out to second baseman Justin Loffredo, he nearly got doubled off, but an errant throw – the third miscue of the inning – allowed him to go third. But he was stranded after Kieran Callanan struck out and Lucas Grob flied out to right.

Ridgewood took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but Ridge jumped ahead 3-1 in the top of the third. Callanan hit a fly ball to left that was dropped, turning it into a two-base error, and Lucas Grob reached on a throwing error to tie the game at one. Jake Dolan doubled, Casey Kucerka drove in the second run with a groundout to short, and Sawyer Paul reached on a 1-2 fielder’s choice that saw Dolan slide in safely to make it 3-1.

The Maroons added a run in the third, then got four in the top of the fourth – an inning that saw starter Lucas Liston hit three straight batters – but Ridge hung tough and got back in it. They wiped out a 6-3 deficit with three more in the top of the fifth. Kucerka was plunked to lead off the inning, and Sawyer Paul singled. Dimitri Romer doubled to cut it to 6-5, and after two strikeouts, Colin Newcomb singled to tie the game at 6-6.

Ridgewood would take the lead again in the bottom half, getting an RBI single from Alex DeAngelo.

Ridge saw its season end at 17-11, while Ridgewood improved to 24-7, and will face South Jersey Group 4 champion Kingsway in the state Group 4 title game at Rutgers, Sunday at 1 pm. Kingsway was a 9-1 home winner over Hunterdon Central in the other Group 4 semifinal Monday.

The win went to the Maroons’ Brady Ross (4-1) in relief. He threw four innings and allowed four hits, one unearned run, striking out three. Dolan (2-1) took the loss in a three-inning relief effort, his longest of the year in nine appearances.

Click below for postgame reaction from Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko

by Mike Pavlichko

From a familiar opponent to a complete stranger, North 2, Group 4 champ Ridge travels to Ridgewood for state semis, trip to Group 4 title game

The last Somerset County baseball team to win a state championship was only two years ago, when Bridgewater-Raritan ran the table and won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, went undefeated in league play, then won the Somerset County Tournament, North 2, Group 4 title, and the state Group 4 championship in the last high school baseball game of the year down in Hamilton.

The road hasn’t been that smooth for the Ridge baseball team, but with a sectional trophy in hand after Friday’s 3-2, come-from-behind win over neighbor Watchung Hills, it’s been one of the more rewarding titles the program has earned over the years.

Ridge players celebrate with their fans along the right field wall after a 3-1 win over Watchung Hills in the North 2, Group 4 final in Basking Ridge on June 5, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

While Immaculata was the Delaware champ, Watchung Hills won the county tournament, and Ridge (17-10) beat them in last Friday’s North 2, Group 4 sectional final, a testament to how challenging that group of six teams was this season.

But now, the focus is on the next opponent: North 1, Group 4 champion Ridgewood in the state Group 4 semifinals. And you can hear that game Monday afternoon at 4 pm – with pregame at 3:45 – as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the action live from Bergen County. Click here to listen.

The Maroons (23-7) are a solid-hitting team with very good pitching. And like Ridge, they have had some unsung heroes this year. Consider the North 1, Group 4 final against Passaic Tech, the top-seed. Third-seed Ridgewood jumped on the Bulldogs early. Despite falling behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first, they got three in the second and two in the third to take a 5-1 lead that they would never relinquish.

One big reason: Kotaro Kim, a senior right fielder who hit a huge three-run homer in the fourth, after PCTI had cut the deficit to 5-2. He was also the hero in the semifinals, belting a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the eighth at second-seed Mount Olive, a team that earlier in the year had taken out state-ranked No. 1 Delbarton in the Morris County Tournament championship game.

So, this Ridgewood team is no joke. But then again, neither is Ridge.

In the sectional title game, Jake Dolan – who had not even thrown eight innings in relief all season coming in – got an inning-ending double play to end the top of the sixth, then shut down Watchung Hills 1-2-3 in the seventh after the Red Devils scratched across a run in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-2 lead.

Others, like senior Matt Pypcznski, have stepped in at key moments due to injury, while fellow senior Sawyer Paul seems to keep getting big hits at the plate, and also plays a solid first base.

Rigde had had a lot of contributions from everyone in the lineup this year. And if they can do that in one more game, they’ll get a chance to play for a state title.

This will be the first meeting between the schools in at least Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell’s 20-plus year tenure as head coach.

Click here to listen to Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell talk about the Red Devils’ and their Group 4 semifinal matchup at Ridgewood with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

Who’s next?

The winner of the Ridge-Ridgewood game moves on to the state Group 4 final, scheduled as part of a quadruple-header next Sunday afternoon at 1 pm at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway – across from Jersey Mike’s Arena.

They will face the winner of the other Group 4 semifinal. That features Central 4 champion third-seed and fellow Skyland Delaware foe Hunterdon Central (18-13) and South 4 champion and top-seed Kingsway 23-5).

Hunterdon Central and Ridge – they’re both the Red Devils, of course – split a pair this year. Central won the first meeting, 12-7, at Ridge on April 7th, putting up a five-spot in the second inning. Ridge had cut the deficit to 6-4 by the fourth, but Hunterdon added another six in the sixth.

But Ridge returned the favor two days later with a 9-5 win out in Flemington. Aiden Kerrigan had a 2-for-4 day with four runs batted in, while Toby Nicholson had two RBI, Lucas Liston got the start, and Jake Dolan got the win in relief.

Somerset County in the State Playoffs

Teams from Somerset County have won eleven state titles since the NJSIAA began playing to an overall state champion in each group in 1971. Here’s a full list of the 21 appearances in the state finals by Somerset County schools:

  • 1971 – Bridgewater-Raritan East lost to West Orange (Group 3)
  • 1974 – Franklin lost to Ridgefield Park (Group 3)
  • 1975 – Manville lost to Glen Ridge (Group 1)
  • 1976 – Ridge lost to Lakeland (Group 2); Bound Brook lost to Palisades Park (Group 1)
  • 1987 – Ridge beat Hackettstown (Group 2)
  • 1989 – Bridgewater-Raritan West beat Rutherford (Group 2)
  • 1994 – Pingry beat St. Augustine (Non-Public B)
  • 1995 – Immaculata beat Gloucester Catholic (Non-Public B)
  • 1997 – Immaculata lost to Bishop Eustace (Non-Public A)
  • 2000 – Ridge beat West Morris-Mendham (Group 2)
  • 2002 – Ridge Ridge beat Dumont (Group 2)
  • 2005 – Hillsborough beat Watchung Hills (Group 4)
  • 2010 – Immaculata beat St. Joseph-Metuchen (Non-Public A)
  • 2012 – Hillsborough lost to Manalapan (Group 4)
  • 2013 – Rutgers Prep beat Morris Catholic (Non-Public B)
  • 2014 – Bernards lost to Buena (Group 2)
  • 2015 – Bernards lost to Governor Livingston (Group 2)
  • 2018 – Somerville beat Allentown (Group 3)
  • 2022 – Immaculata lost to Ranney (Non-Public B)
  • 2024 – Bridgewater-Raritan beat Eastern (Group 4)
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – NJSIAA Tournament – North 2, Group 4 Final: (1) Ridge 3, (3) Watchung Hills 2

Top-seed Ridge erased a 2-0 deficit with two runs in the fifth, then scored one on an error in the bottom of the sixth, while Jake Dolan closed out third-seed Watchung Hills in relief to earn the Red Devils a 3-2 win in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 final. It’s Ridge’s second title since the COVID pandemic and tenth sectional championship overall.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the play-by-play live from Pete Hall Field in Basking Ridge, NJ, on June 5, 2026: