Ocean City High School will be playing for its first state baseball championship in school history.
The Red Raiders beat Colts Neck 4-2 on Monday in the Group III state semifinals to advance to the title game.
Ocean City (19-7) will play Pascack Valley (24-5) for the championship 7 p.m. Saturday at Bob DeMeo Memorial Field in Veterans Park, Hamilton Township, Mercer County.
“High school sports are a very prideful thing for small towns,” Ocean City Head Coach Andrew Bristol said. “After we won South Jersey the other day, the fire and police led us back into town. We are excited to play again and we will work the rest of the week. If you see us on Fifth Street, honk your horn.”
Bristol said at the beginning of every year, they always talk about winning a state title.
“We never won one,” Bristol said. “We say, you live forever when you do. Your legacy, you play together and walk forever. We lost in the state finals twice and won South Jersey three times. Hopefully, this is the one.”
Assistant Coach Frank LaSasso called the season a roller coaster of a fun ride.
“Early on, people thought we were struggling. We were 5-4 for the first nine games. We played top 10 or 15 ranked teams. We knew with a little bit of work we would be good. We are peaking at the right time and riding a wave right now of confidence. It’s been a lot of fun,” LaSasso said.
Winning pitcher Tommy Finnegan threw a complete game and also came through at the plate with an RBI single in the fifth inning to give the Red Raiders a 3-2 lead.
The 6-foot-7 Finnegan shut out Colts Neck in the last four innings while scattering seven hits and striking out three batters overall.
“Tommy had some arm soreness in the beginning of the year and we didn’t want to take any chances. He rehabbed and got himself healthy,” LaSasso said. “He is one of our four horses. We have some great pitching and obviously he is a huge part of that.”
Bristol said Finnegan, Joe Repetti and Gannon Brady were standouts in the game.
“He (Tommy Finnegan) pitched great today. Gannon Brady had a big hit, and Tommy (Finnegan) and Joe Repetti, too,” Bristol said.
Ocean City is riding a hot streak to the state championship. On Saturday, the Red Raiders won the South Jersey Group III title by beating Cape Atlantic League archrival Mainland, 6-1.
Pascack Valley defeated Millburn 5-3 in the North Jersey Group III semifinal on Monday to advance to the state championship game for the first time ever.
