Ridgewood baseball scoring spree earns trip to State Group 4 final

Ridgewood has produced hit after hit, run after run, in the postseason, and the latest batting star is senior Lucas Barker.

Barker's two-out, bases-loaded, walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Maroons to yet another football-score victory, 14-13, over Bayonne in Monday's NJSIAA Group 4 baseball semifinal at Veterans Field in Ridgewood.

The righty-hitting Barker smashed a 2-2 breaking ball to the right side that was just fair and scored senior pinch runner Calder Warden to cap a three-run rally. It marked Barker's fourth RBI and he was doused with a celebratory bucket of water.

"We’ve gotten hot real quick towards the end of the season," Barker said of a lineup that has scored 58 runs in five tournament games, "and that's all there is to it."

Ridgewood tied the score, 13-13, on a two-run double just inside the third-base bag by junior Jack Nesland. It came after sophomore Ryan Savitscus singled on a one-out, bad-hop chopper and freshman Alex D’Angelo pulled a double inside the third-base bag to put runners at second and third.

"That's how we’ve played all year," said Ridgewood coach Kurt Hommen, whose team led, 7-0, then trailed, 10-8. "We’ve been resilient, we keep coming back, they don't quit, and that's been the makeup of this team."

Ridgewood (23-7) will face Old Bridge (21-8) in the state final on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Veterans Park in Hamilton. The Maroons last won the title in 2019. Old Bridge advanced with an 8-6 victory over Eastern.

Ridgewood, after starting the season 0-2 and 1-3, will carry a nine-game winning streak into the final. During the streak, the Maroons have scored double digits in all but one game and totaled 116 runs, an average of 12.9 runs per game.

"We were just trying to dig ourselves out early," Hommen said of the slow start to the season, "but I saw the confidence building and building. So as it's gone on, they seemed to be more confident, and we’re just thrilled to have a chance to go back down there."

Barker, batting second in the order, came to the plate with the bases loaded after senior Jay Wittmaack was intentionally walked, junior Bobby Kuenzler was hit by a pitch, and senior JT Luther struck out. Barker, the No. 2 hitter in the order, battled back from an 0-2 count.

"Barker had a great at-bat," Hommen said. "Two strikes, and he took it the other way."

"I thought for sure one of them would get the job done," Barker said of the previous batters, "but it came down to me, and I was just looking fastball, and adjusted on the off-speed."

Ridgewood scored its 14 runs via 13 hits, 10 walks and four hit batters. Wittmaack, batting eighth, continued his hot stretch and hit a two-run homer during a five-run second inning. He walked three times, scored twice, and had three RBIs. The Maroons used five pitchers, with Matt Bond earning the win.

Bayonne (25-7) scored 13 runs on 13 hits, eight walks and four hit batters. Senior Anthony Mancini was 2 for 3, featuring a two-run homer, walked and scored three runs. Senior Aidan Paradine was 3 for 4, highlighted by two doubles, and had two runs and an RBI. Senior Milan Raparelli had a single, walk and four RBIs.

"We grind the whole time, we try to keep the energy going the whole time," Barker said. "Sometimes we get down on ourselves, but if we just keep ourselves riled up, cheering for each other the whole game, we can really get some stuff done."