Red Devils Baseball Falls to a Walk-Off Against North Hunterdon

The Ridge Red Devils baseball team has had more than their fair share of close games already this season, and on Tuesday they fell to the North Hunterdon Lions, 4-3, in another game that came down to the wire.

Rob McCarthy shined on the mound for Ridge – the Red Devils did not allow North Hunterdon to score until the bottom of the fifth.

"Rob threw a great game, he dominated at times" said Ridge coach Tom Blackwell. "We made some errors, but we also made plays to get out of jams … another tough loss."

North Hunterdon pitcher Tom Zengel matched McCarthy for scoreless innings up until the fourth, when first baseman Andrew Graziano started Ridge off with a ground-rule double. Ben Edsall advanced Graziano with a ground-out, and then he scored when JB Kole put the ball into play.

McCarthy's most impressive inning on the mound came in the fourth, when he struck out the first batter, then jammed the second batter, forcing him to pop out on a catch from Boomer Saunders. Then Rick Guile of the Lions hit a double that was only a foot or two short of a home-run – it hit the fence on the fly. But McCarthy did not allow himself to get flustered, and struck out the next batter to end the inning, preserving the Ridge lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ridge suffered from a few errors and allowed North Hunterdon to tie the game at one, but third baseman Charles Dennis made a diving grab on a hard hit line-drive that saved the Red Devils at least one more run.

Greg Fazio scored in the top of the sixth to recapture a lead for Ridge, but in the bottom of the sixth North Hunterdon scored two and took their first lead. The Red Devils needed at least one run in the top of the seventh to stay in the game, and started off with a single from Kole. Brett Matzen was hit by a pitch, and Jon Tam laid down a skillful bunt to advance both runners, while almost beating out the throw at first.

Then the Lions handed the Red Devils the run they needed on a passed ball, prompting Kole to sprint home and tie up the game.

In the bottom of the seventh McCarthy was finally relieved, but with only one out and the bases loaded. Edsall was brave enough to step up to the mound with the odds stacked against him -- and he was facing Guile first, who almost hit a home-run earlier in the game.

"With only one out, I was just thinking fly ball to the outfield," said Guile.

He hit the ball hard again, deep into center field, scoring Zengel and ending the game.

"I knew to look for one pitch to drive, a fastball," said Guile. "The first two were high, but the next was right there."

The Red Devils will travel to Roselle Park tomorrow night to face Somerville at 7 p.m.