Youth Teams to be Part of Ridge Baseball's TD Night

It's time for the up-and-comers to get a closer look at what the big guys are doing.

Next Friday, May 11, is the varsity at the Somerset Patriots stadium in Bridgewater. This year's game against Warren Hills High School is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. that night.

Players for Ridge Baseball Club, with the teams for ages 5 to 12, will march onto the field before the game.

The high school baseball players are very involved throughout the year in helping the younger players, said Ridge High School's head baseball coach, Tom Blackwell. "The event creates a great atmosphere for my guys and also creates a memory for the Little Leaguers to someday have the opportunity to play in the event," he said.

"This is a fun evening for the entire family," where the Ridge Baseball Club will be recognized by the crowd, according to the Ridge Baseball Club's website.

Tickets are $12 each and with each ticket purchase, attendees receive a coupon for a free Somerset Patriots game on one of three dates, according to the RBC. The RBC also will be raffling prizes.

Along with the RBC, Blackwell said the Baseball Booster Club (Ridge Diamond Club) acquire the tickets from the stadium after paying the fee for the stadium use and then sell them to the public.

As of Wednesday morning, Blackwell said the Ridge baseball team's season record was 6-11, "with some big wins and heart-breaking losses." One of those losses was last week's game against rival Immaculata High School. "We were tied 1-1 in the sixth and ended up losing 7-1," he said.

This Thursday's away game against Watchung Hills Regional High School has been rescheduled for 3:45 p.m. next Monday at Watchung Hills, according to the HighSchoolSports.net online schedule.