Ridge U8 Baseball Wins First State Title Since 1981

The Ridge Baseball Club U8s has recently become the first team from Basking Ridge to bring home a state championship in over 30 years.

In winning the state tournament, the Ridge U8s qualified for the Cal Ripkin Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament against teams from New York City, upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and South New Jersey. Last Friday, Brian Leitz, Zachary Alvin, Sean Coffey, Luke Somelofske, and Matt Fabbio won the Around the Horn skills competition in blazing speed, according to information from team parents. 

Saturday began pool play and the Ridge U8s found themselves in unfamiliar territory, down in a game versus Spring of Troy, N.Y. The team poured on the hits in the end and held on to a 14-10 victory. In the second game of the double header the Red Devils polished off Piedmont, De., 9-2, taking an early lead in Pool A.

Sunday the U8s played the 2-0 host team, Dynasty of Staten Island, N.Y.  The bats went cold as a pitching duel ensued, Dynasty took a 2-1 lead into the 6th inning and blew the game open for an 8-4 victory, ending the Red Devils undefeated winning streak versus U8 opponents. In the nightcap, the U8s started slow, but finished off Towamencin, Pa. in extra innings 12-6.  

After finishing Pool A in second place with a 3-1 record, and a much needed day of rest, the U8 Red Devils took the field last Tuesday against Warrington, Pa. in the single elimination round. 

The Ridge U8 team gave up four runs in the first inning after a controversial play at 1st base and were unable to recover, dropping the game 9-5. Opponents watching the game cheered on Warrington, Pa. as the tournament favorites were defeated.

Earlier, the team marched through the state tournament pool play with a 3-0 record, defeating Wayne, Cranford, and Montville. The team was led by the pitching of Matt (Ace) Fabbio, Luke Somelofske, Kyle Hart, Matthew Aber, Brian Leitz, and Sean Coffey, 

The team finished off the state tournament with a semifinal win over Franklin and a rematch in the championship game versus Cranford. In the end, the Ridge Red Devils pitching, fielding, and clutch hitting led them to the North N.J. Cal Ripkin state tournament crown with a 6-2 win over Cranford in late July, according to team parents.

The Ridge Red Devils U8 team easily won the Ridge Spring League, Branchburg Tournament, and at the District 10 Cal Ripkin tournament, and competing in numerous U9 tournaments. Thanks went to the coaches, parents and players.

Team members include Matt Fabbio and Brian Leitz, George Busnach, Jack Berisha, Luke Somelofske, Sam Bennett, Matthew Aber, Kyle Hart, Sean Coffey, Nick Losada, Zachary Alvin, and Liam Reiss. Coaches were Manny Losada, Glenn Hart, Steve Leitz, and Manager is Patrick Alvin.