The All-Star catcher dropped a safety squeeze down the first base line and collegiate teammate Garrett Copeland raced home to secure the Mountaineers’ 3–2 extra-inning victory over Mystic in Game 3 of the NECBL finals.
The championship is Vermont’s first since 2007. By topping the Southern Division Schooners in 10 innings, the Mountaineers claimed their third Fay Vincent Cup in five tries for one of baseball’s signature organizations — moving them into sole possession of third place in league history.
“This was a very mentally draining game,” Vermont manager Joe Brown said. “It was a great college baseball game and fortunately we came out on top, which is tremendous. Ridge Smith had the courage and unselfishness to want to do that safety squeeze there, and I tip my cap to him.”
After blowing an early 2–0 lead, the Vermont bullpen tossed five scoreless innings. Vermont was countered by an equally solid effort from the Schooners, with reliever Jason Foley striking out seven batters and cruising into the 10th. However, he gave up back-to-back singles with one out to Copeland and Kevin Stypulkowski in the final frame and Copeland took the extra base to get to third.
Brown called for the safety squeeze, and it worked to perfection as Foley was handed the loss.
“There’s nothing better than being here this long this summer and being rewarded,” Smith said of the feeling. “I just was thinking to definitely not pop it up, and I stayed on top of it and did a good job. This was an awesome and amazing season.”
Joe Dudek opened the scoring for the Mountaineers with a first-inning RBI double just beyond the reach of a diving Derek Jenkins in center field. They added another run in the fifth as Mystic catcher Lou Iannotti’s throw to second on a double steal sailed high and wide, and Jack Parenty easily scored from third.
They gave a 2–0 lead to Tom Cosgrove and it looked untouchable for the first four innings. The left-hander who rejoined the Mountaineers after a two-week break didn’t allow a hit until one out in the fourth. He finished with five strikeouts. However, his own error cost him in the fifth.
After putting runners on first and second with two outs, Cosgrove induced a high-arcing popout in front of the mound. Smith came out from behind the plate but Cosgrove took his eye off of it for a moment and it nicked off a glove to bring in a run. After an intentional walk of Dan Hoy, Iannotti redeemed himself with a RBI single through the left side.
That would be all the scoring for the next four innings as both bullpens dug in. Mystic starter Joe Rivera and reliever Mike O’Rielly both gave up a run over three innings apiece, but once Foley came in, it was scoreless for four straight innings.
The Mountaineers secured the win with the bullpen combination Brown has relied on all summer long. Setup man Teddy Rodliff tossed four shutout innings and allowed just one hit to record the win, while closer Sam Delaplane picked up his biggest save of the summer.
Hoy reached via a one-out error in the bottom of the 10th for Mystic and worked his way around to third, but Delaplane induced a popout to first basemen Simon Rosenbaum, and the Mountaineers rushed out of the dugout and mobbed the mound.
Vermont has won the championship more times in the Northern Division than any team but the Keene Swamp Bats, breaking a tie at two with the Sanford Mainers and now-defunct Central Mass Collegians. Brown also became the first skipper in league history to win the title with two separate teams (Sanford in 2008) in addition to becoming the first to claim a national title during the spring collegiate season (the D-III championship with SUNY-Cortland).
“I give a lot of credit to these young men because this is a special thing,” Brown said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of this. To play on your last day in your college season and the last day here is a tremendous accomplishment.”
The last Mountaineers title came in 2007. For a franchise that made it to the divisional finals each of the past three years, the eight-year wait felt interminable. After undergoing constant turnover, including losing their best hitter in second baseman Thomas Roulis midway through the year, it was a resilient squad that pushed through for the title. Despite playing just.500 ball through June, the Mountaineers caught fire with the addition of multiple key players and won 10 of their last 13 regular season games to clinch the Northern Division for the second straight year.
They swept fourth-seed Laconia in the first round, then needed three games to dispatch No. 3 North Adams in the divisional finals before dropping Mystic. The Mountaineers became the first team since they joined the league in 2003 to drop the series-opening game and come back to win it all.
“They go home knowing they’re the champs,” Brown finished. “They go home and know that in two days they get their ring sizes. That’s a very special feeling. What an accomplishment.”
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