Sports

Red Devils Invoke Mercy Rule, Down Gill St. Bernard's

Ridge beat the Knights 11-1 in five innings.

The Ridge Red Devils have one down and two to go. The team needed to win their final three games before the state playoffs automatic bid cutoff at the end of the week, getting the first in blowout fashion against Gill St. Bernard's – winning 11-1.

Ridge narrowly avoided going into an early hole for the second time this week. With starting pitcher Jon Tam on the mound, Ridge got two outs but then a dropped pop-up started a mini-rally for the Knights. Gill St. Bernard's got two runners on and moved them over to second and third before Tam induced a grounder back to the pitcher's mound to end the inning safely.

The Red Devils wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, but not before picking up two outs. Greg Fazio, playing DH, got a leadoff walk to start the bottom of the first. Fazio stole second and moved to third after tagging up on a long fly ball to right from Ridge left fielder Jake Hotz. Ridge first baseman Rob McCarthy hit a hard grounder down the first base line and Fazio took off for home, but was thrown out by the Knights' first baseman for the second out.

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Third baseman Charles Dennis turned the tide by launching a two-run homer 15-feet beyond the 360-feet sign in left-center. A Ridge pop-out ended the inning two batters later.

Ridge struck again in the bottom of the third, putting up a crooked number to put the game out of reach of their opponents. The Red Devils scored six runs in the inning before recording an out, which itself turned out to be a sacrifice fly.

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For those scoring at home, Hotz doubled, McCarthy hit an RBI single, Dennis singled, centerfielder Ben Edsall walked, second baseman Andrew Graziano hit a two-RBI single, right fielder J.B. Kole walked, shortstop Brett Matzen singled, Edsall scored from third, pinch-hitter Brad Halperin hit a two-RBI single and finally, Fazio flied out to right field for the first out, scoring Matzen on a sacrifice fly. A groundout and a strikeout ended the inning.

"It was a great overall team performance," Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell said after the game. "Everybody got hits. We kind of had a must win after a tough loss yesterday."

Tam came out of the game after three scoreless innings. Ryan Calish gave up one run in relief, and Hotz finished off the game with a scoreless fifth.

Leading 9-1, Ridge relied on back-of-the-order hitters and bench players to get the two runs necessary to invoke the mercy rule, ending the game after five innings when one team has a lead of 10 or more runs. Matzen, Dan Curcio and J.D. Moore got on base in the bottom of the fifth to keep the inning alive, and McCarthy knocked in two with a single to end the game – final score 11-1 in Ridge's favor.

"We've always been deep," Blackwell said of the team. "I've got 16 guys here that can all play. They are just waiting for opportunities. I keep telling them when you get your opportunity take advantage of it, and certainly they did today"

Ridge will face Delaware Valley Regional tomorrow night at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, the home of the Somerset Patriots. The team's record is currently 9-11, and they must win tomorrow and on Friday, away at Phillipsburg, to automatically qualify for the state playoffs with a .500 record.


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