Johnson slings lights-out campaign to anchor 11-1 mercy for Ridgewood
AUGUSTA — There’s a lot of moving parts in baseball. One thing can influence another, and for Ridgewood, it was Devin Johnson’s assurance on the mound that welcomed an offensive dam explosion that washed Nutley out of Skylands Stadium Tuesday.
The first inning would see toe-to-toe pitching between Johnson and Nutley pitcher, Trevor Santos — both of whom posted two strikeouts in their opening frames. The next would begin with a leadoff home run from Nutley’s Kevin Hogan to draw first blood, but that would prove to be a paper cut for Ridgewood.
“Fast ball inside… it was just [about] not letting it get to me,” said Johnson.
The Maroons would answer Nutley’s war cry by awakening the sleeping giant with a two-run RBI triple from right fielder, Colin Feeney, followed by an RBI double from third baseman, Jack Meyer, in the bottom of the second.
“They always got my back hitting-wise,” said Johnson. “It takes a lot of pressure off me.”
The feeling was mutual, as Johnson disposed Nutley’s entire lineup card willingly—retiring the side the next three straight innings, all while their bullpen was buried neck-deep with surrendering a five-spot in the fifth followed by three more in the sixth, which would call the game at the 10-run mercy rule.
Johnson would only surrender two more hits in the game for a total of four in comparison to Ridgewood’s 10. An abundance of walks, wild pitches, hit batsmen, and a couple errors added insult to injury on Nutley’s end as the Raiders just fell apart at the seams to the Maroons’ exhausting bats and Johnson’s impeccable command.
While the senior may not have as many opportunities to showcase himself as opposed to regular NJSIAA circumstances, he’s waited for this opportunity to be the No. 1 for sometime, and he’s bathing in the pressure.
“Watching pitches go before me last year really helped in just getting ready for this year,” said Johnson. “I was really bummed out when I found out our season was over. So, I’m really happy to get back together with the guys.”
Ridgewood will ride its wave of potency into Cranford’s shorelines Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls.