Drew Welsh threw six quality innings for Park Ridge, which improved to 11-6 on the season with a 7-6 win over Cresskill.

PARK RIDGE- After a 2-21 season for the Owls in 2022, Park Ridge was determined to turn things around on the baseball diamond and there are mile markers to chart its progress. After going winless in NJIC-Patriot league last year, which included a sweep by longtime rival Cresskill, and losing to them in their first meeting this season, the Owls looked to rewrite the narrative.

Park Ridge sophomore Anthony Walter took to the mound in the top of seventh inning and found himself in a tough spot. With a runner on second base, two outs, and up by one run, Walter was able to strikeout the final batter to secure a 7-6 win over Cresskill on Tuesday afternoon at Sulak Field in Park Ridge.

“I knew that all of my hard work in practice and extra work outside of practice was going to pay off, I just had to be confident with the work I put in,” said Walter. “I knew my team believed in me, if I gave them a ground ball, I know they would make the play. Jack Broderick (first baseman) made a really good play earlier in the inning, so that gave me confidence in the moment. I took a deep breath and just tried to keep the ball down.”

In the fourth inning, a pair of errors of allowed Cresskill to grab a 5-2 lead. Park Ridge began to chip away at the lead before pulling ahead in the fifth. No. 9 batter Justin DiPasquale lined a two-out RBI single to make it a two-run deficit. Then with the bases loaded Anthony Walter’s routine ground ball was booted, allowing two runs to score which tied the game at 5. With runners on the corners, Walter allowed himself to get caught up in a rundown between first and second. He was eventually tagged out, but not before Thomas Ippolito came across with the go-ahead run.

Dom Wanderlingh had two hits for Cresskill, which is now 9-9 on the season.

“Everyone here is all in. Most of us are returning players from last year and we know how it felt to lose to teams like Cresskill,” said Park Ridge catcher Derek Engle. “We know the importance of staying in the game and fighting as hard as we can. This allows for us to give ourselves another shot whenever we can.”

The Owls remained motivated in the next innings, working hard on defense to shut Cresskill down. Drew Welsh remained alert at the mound, making two plays in the field to help himself get through his final inning of work.

Park Ridge Coach Dylan Evans turned to Walter for the seventh inning, relieving Welsh, who showed quick reflexes on a great catch of a line drive to end the top of the sixth. The fiery Walter was throwing hard and throwing strikes, but did run into some adversity with two outs. An RBI double by Ron Presta cut the lead to 7-6. With the tying run in scoring position it could have been a recipe for disaster for the Owls, but Walter remained composed and closed out the game with a strikeout.

The win moves Park Ridge to 11-6 on the season. Ryan Stewart paced the Owls with two hits and two RBIs. Welsh allowed seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts over six innings of work to pick up the win.

Dom Wanderlingh went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Cresskill (9-9). Jimmy Connelly took the tough loss. Only one of the seven runs he allowed were earned.

After two straight one-run losses, the Owls were happy to be on the right side in a close game. With just four regular-season games remaining before state tournament play begins, the Owls hope to hit their stride and become a dangerous team in a tough North 1, Group 1 bracket.

“We have to stay hungry at the plate and not settle,” said Evans. “We knew that they (Cresskill) were going to put the ball in play and put pressure on us. A few of the errors did hurt but at the same time we did a much better job in the second half of the game picking ourselves up and making things happen. We only have 11 players here, but all 11 are playing for each other and we’re playing with confidence at the right time.”

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