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Sports

Ridge Rallies for Eight-Inning Win, Gains First Trip to County Championship Since 2002

Kole escapes jam in the bottom of the seventh, goes distance as Red Devils erase 3-0 deficit.

The baseball team rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat fourth-seeded Watchung Hills 5-3 in eight innings on Saturday at TD Bank Ballpark to advance to the Somerset County Tournament championship. 

The eighth-seeded Red Devils will face No. 3 Hillsborough in Tuesday night's championship at TD Bank Ballpark at 7 p.m.

 

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Final

Ridge (10-10)

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Watchung Hills (12-6)

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IN SHORT

With the game tied at 3 in the top of the eighth, JB Kole and Andrew Graziano led off the frame with singles. Kole then scored on a Dan Volpacchio single and Graziano scored after a Watchung Hills error.  Kole, who went the distance on the mound, quickly got through the bottom of the eighth and secured Ridge’s first trip to the county finals since 2002.

Ridge trailed 3-0 after three innings when the Warriors took advantage of three Red Devil errors.  After that, Kole cruised for the rest of the game and only saw himself in one jam during the bottom of the seventh.

In that seventh inning, Watchung Hills’ Frank Urso led off with a triple. After two intentional walks, Urso attempted to score on a fly ball to center fielder Dan Curico, but was thrown out at the plate—with the potenial game-winning run—when he collided with catcher Brian Winkler. Urso was thrown out of the game for the collision and Kole then retired the next batter to end the threat.

RED DEVIL OF THE GAME

J.B. Kole—Pitched eight innings, giving up three unearned runs on six hits. He also had five strikeouts and five walks (two intentional).

“When he came off the mound, I told him ‘That’s the performance of an ace.’  When you get into these tournament games and you can hand the ball to a kid like J.B. it’s a great feeling as a coach. He went through a few tough innings here and there, but when it came down to it he went and got it for us.”—Head Coach Tom Blackwell

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES

Dan Volpacchio went 3-for-4 with the game-winning RBI single in the top of the eighth.

Dan Curico went 1-for-3 with the game-tying RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the sixth. His one hit was a double in the fifth inning.

Andrew Graziano went 2-for-4 and scored the final run in the eighth.

COACH’S TAKE

“This was one of the best baseball games at any level that I have been a part of or seen in my life. Our guys faced a lot of adversity and they kept battling back like we have all season.  I’m just so happy for our guys and so proud of them.  They deserve this win.”—Blackwell

“At this point right now, it’s all about validation for what we’ve done this season.  We went through a tough streak where we lost a lot of games in a row, and these guys stayed together and have worked hard all season.  This is a special group and they deserve it for what they accomplished, and now on Tuesday we have a chance to play for a title.”—Blackwell

THEY SAID IT

"I knew I was facing the bottom the order and I knew that if I kept throwing strikes, the defense would make the plays. I feel really great right now!"—J.B. Kole said of the bottom of the eighth inning and advancing to the county championship.

UP NEXT—Hunterdon Central Monday at home at 4 p.m. 

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