Ridgewood baseball prevails in dramatic, high-scoring sectional championship game
Fighting blistering heat, Ridgewood went on the road and beat Bloomfield, 12-11, in the North 1, Group 4 baseball championship game on Friday afternoon.
The game turned in the seventh inning when JT Luther and Jack Foerch scored on a Brendan Chanley hit that gave the Maroons a one-run lead.
"It was a back-and-forth game, and that was just a big play Brendan made for us," Foerch said.
The clutch hit helped Ridgewood (22-7) salvage a win after giving up a big lead. The Maroons scored five runs in the second inning and led, 10-4, heading into the bottom of the fifth. That's when the Bengals (20-10) scored seven runs, capped by Keithdem Perez's hit to put his team ahead by one.
"We gave away a lead there, we were up 10-4. I'm proud of the way they came back in the end. Down to the last out, we got two runs to score," Ridgewood coach Kurt Hommen said. "We did what we had to do, and I'm real proud of them. They didn't give in."
Bloomfield threatened again in the bottom of the seventh as Perez reached third base with two outs, but Ridgewood pitcher Gavin Hallihan got out of the inning.
The Maroons advanced to Monday's Group 4 semifinals to face Bayonne, which beat Bridgewater-Raritan, 9-2, in the North 2, Group 4 final.
Game balls
➤ Ridgewood's Jay Wittmaack and Bobby Kuenzler scored two important runs in the top of the fifth inning, giving the Maroons a 7-4 lead at the time.
➤ Hallihan caught a runner trying to steal second base in the seventh inning, then struck out the final batter to end the game.
Making history
Ridgewood, the No. 4 seed, beat the top two seeds on the way to the North 1, Group 4 title. The Maroons last won a sectional championship in 2019, when they went on to win their first "triple crown" of county, sectional and state titles.
They said it
"We're just glad to win a sectional again and get to play again on Monday," Hommen said.
"From senior to freshman, we're all best buddies, and I think that's a big part of why we won today," Foerch said.
