Follow @pbrnewengland

By: Trevor Brown
PBR New England Co-Scouting Director

We look to bring the New England region top-notch high school coverage throughout the area.

We have the 2017 Scout Blog (with video and notes from this game), Spotlight Games, Inside the Recruitment Articles, Unsigned Senior Spotlights, The Recruiting Trail, All-State Selections, Full Coverage of the State Tournaments as well as numerous other articles throughout the spring.

Interested in attending a PBR New England event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

Connecticut Spotlight Game: Trumbull vs Ridgefield

Bridgeport, CT -- In the second game of the FCAIC semifinals, the higher seeded Ridgefield squad defeated their counterpart Trumbull team 3-2 in the FCIAC semifinals. It really was an admirable effort from both Alex Price (Ridgefield) and Ben Fero (Trumbull), both of whom pitched well enough to earn wins in this one.

Trumbull took a short lived lead early in this one when senior second baseman Dustin Siqueira drove in a runner in the top of the third.

However, Ridgefield responded the following inning when junior Pete Columbia ripped an RBI single to tie things up, and advanced to second via heads up baserunning. John Thrasher, the senior center fielder, then grounded into a fielder’s choice in the next at bat, putting the Ridgefield team up for good. They added one more as Collin Lowe would hit an opposite field triple to lead off the bottom of the fifth and score shortly thereafter on a wild pitch.

Trumbull cut into the lead in the top of the sixth when senior shortstop Danny Ruchalski sent one into the left-center gap from the left handed side. He scored on a sacrifice fly in the inning.

Lowe relieved Price for Ridgefield in the top of the seventh, and sophomore catcher Kevin Bruggeman lead things off with a single. However, he was caught stealing third base which quashed the momentum of having two runners on and no outs.

From there Lowe slammed the door shut, earning the right to play for the FCIAC title this coming Friday.

Top Performers

Ridgefield:

• Alex Price, LHP, 2018: Six innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts. Price mixes his fastball-curveball combination very well for a junior.
• Collin Lowe, RHP/OF, 2017: Lowe’s leadoff triple ended up being the difference maker in this one. He worked out of a high stakes jam when he came into relief in the seventh inning. Lowe will be the championship game starter this Friday in the FCIAC final.
• Pete Columbia, INF, 2018: Columbia went 2-for-3 in this one, driving in a run that gave the Ridgefield Tigers a lead they never relinquished. Showed good gap-to-gap power with room for physical growth moving forward.

Trumbull:

• Ben Fero, RHP, 2018: Six innings pitched, three earned runs, six strikeouts. Still room for growth in velocity department, could break out as a senior if the breaking ball develops into a more consistent pitch.
• Kevin Bruggeman, Catcher, 2019: He went 1-for-2 in this one, including a well executed sacrifice bunt to advance a runner in his second at bat. Bruggeman also flashed his arm behind the dish, gunning down a runner at second base in the fifth inning.
• Danny Ruchalski, SS, 2017:  Ruchalski went 2-for-3 in this one with both a single and a double. He scored the run that brought the game within one and drove in the other run earlier in the game.