The highly anticipated Somerset County Tournament Final unfolded at TD Bank Ballpark on Friday night as Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan clashed.
Owen Crimmins, the Panther's pitcher, took the mound, aiming to control the Ridge offense. Conversely, the Red Devils trusted their senior workhorse, Ben Larner, to stifle the Panthers' offense.
Nerves were the story in the first inning, with both starters struggling to find the strike zone. Gribbens gave up a walk and a single and hit a batter, while Larner gave out three free passes in the bottom half. Even with both starters settling in, the only run scored in the 1st was on a JR Rosado sac-fly, giving Bridgewar-Raritan the early 1-0 lead.
After a tense, scoreless 2nd inning, the game took a dramatic turn in the 3rd. Both teams managed to score runs in unconventional ways. With the bases loaded and two outs, the Red Devils saw Senior Zach Kucerka deliver a two-run single into center field, swinging the lead in Ridge's favor, 2-1.
The Panthers struck back immediately in the bottom of the inning when Larner was lifted after allowing a double to Matt Chicoki and a pair of walks, loading the bases with nobody out. Brady Wilson entered the game and immediately struck out Kellan Komline to get the first out of the inning.
Wilson got Frankie Verano to hit a slow roller to short but an errant throw sent the ball into right field, allowing two runners to score, giving Bridgewater-Raritan the lead. Joe Spira’s well-placed bunt single-tacked on another run to make it 4-2. A great relay throw to nab the run at the plate gave Ridge their 2nd out; however, another throwing error allowed two more runs to come across before the inning ended, and it was a 6-2 Panthers lead.
A pair of runs in the 4th inning made it 8-2, with the Red Devils needing a spark to get them back into the ballgame. Max Newill went to his bullpen with one out and two runners on via the walk and brought in Joe Letko. Ridge, however, worked back-to-back walks to steal a run back, followed by an RBI single from Andrew Reynolds.
Cory Rible was summoned to work out of the jam, forced a comebacker back to the mound, and fired home, but the ball got away from JR Rosado, and two more runners crossed the plate to make it 8-6.
When the Red Devils seemed to be gaining momentum, Bridgewater struck back in the bottom of the inning. After a lead-off single, Matt Fattorre belted a standup triple and later scored on a sac fly, pushing the lead back to four runs.
Rible came out and kept pounding the zone against the Red Devils, tossing a scoreless 6th inning, putting Bridgewater just three outs away from a county title. Keiran Callanan put some pressure on, however, leading off the 7th with a triple.
Rible showed poise and struck out Reynolds to grab the first out of the inning. A wild pitch allowed Callanan to score, but a quick groundout was followed by a three-pitch strikeout to win the game for the Panthers.
Owen Crimmins grabs the win with Rible notching a nine-out save as both combined to allow only three earned runs in the game. Joe Spirra was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including one on that incredible bunt single.
Next up for the Bridgewater and Ridge
Both teams now turn their attention to the State Tournament and could see each other again in the later rounds. If there is a rematch in the States, it will not disappoint as both teams can adjust and fix the defensive mistakes. If they can fix the miscues, it will be interesting to see which team has the pitching when it matters most.
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Photo by Mark Tegethoff
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