Ridge Baseball Eliminated From State Playoffs

The Red Devils fought hard to qualify for the state tournament, but met an early end to their playoff dreams, falling to No. 8 seed Woodbridge on Monday, 7-1.

Ridge faced the Barrons number one pitcher, Zack Hopf, who Woodbridge coach Lou Urbano calls the best pitcher in the area. Hopf is 9-0 on the season with the win against Ridge and sports an ERA under 1.00. The pitcher went all seven innings, giving up three hits and striking out nine batters, never allowing Ridge to find an offensive rhythm.

Ridge first baseman Andrew Graziano provided the sole offensive highlight for the team. Graziano connected on a pitch in the top of the fifth, lifting it just over the center field fence for a solo home run. Hopf responded by getting out of the inning with no further damage, then striking out four of the remaining six batters over the last two innings.

Rob McCarthy got the start for Ridge, but struggled with his control much of the game. McCarthy hit three batters with pitches, and walked in the first run of the game in the second inning.

The Red Devils avoided falling behind in the first after the bases were loaded with no outs. McCarthy induced a pop up and a double play to get out of the inning with no score. In the second, a hit-by-pitch, single, and error loaded the bases again with no outs, but this time Ridge was unable to escape unscathed. A walk, single, two throwing errors on an attempt to throw out a runner tagging from third, and a Woodbridge double pushed the Barrons up to a 5-0 lead in the second. It would be all the offense they needed.

Another error and a wild pitch contributed to two more Woodbridge runs scoring in the fourth. Ridge had six errors in the first three innings of the game.

"We just made way too many errors today," a disappointed Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell said after the game. "When you're playing at this level you can't do that."

Blackwell said that the team struggled to put together good at bats against Woodbridge's starting pitcher, who also picked up his 20th career win on Monday. Urbano commented after the game, "We go as he goes when he's on the mound. ... I know [Ridge] is well coached, but I think [Hopf] was tough today with his slider," he said. "They have some great players over there, but we made them pay a little when they didn't have to."

Ridge               0   0   0   0   1   0   0
Woodbridge   0   5   2   0   0   0   x