Baseball Notes: Lopez’s Evolution at Ranney; RBC Gets Right; CBA Clicking

In his first year as a high school baseball player, Ricky Lopez authored a season that put him in the conversation as one of the best players in New Jersey and that was as a 16-year-old sophomore.

Based on his eye-popping sophomore season, surely, his encore as a Louisiana State University commit and 17-year-old junior shortstop at the Ranney School would be borderline historic.

Going by the raw numbers, that has not been the case. On paper, Lopez has come back to Earth. In reality, however, he is growing in a way that star high school players and future Division I starters have to when they dominate like Lopez dominated during the 2025 season.

“Last year, I was new to the area and I was getting a lot of pitches to hit,” Lopez said. “This year, I’m more on the radar. The key right now is just patience. I always say the game is sixty percent mental, forty percent physical. It’s all about patience and focusing on each pitch, each play. So far, it’s working.”

In 2025, Lopez earned First Team All-Shore honors and had a genuine argument as the best player in the conference a year ago, even with Philadelphia Phillies ninth-round draft pick Matt Ferrara playing shortstop for Toms River East. He hit .415 while leading the Shore Conference in home runs (11) extra-base hits (17) and slugging percentage (1.015) for a Panthers team that was heavy on sophomores and relied on Lopez’s impact at the plate, as well as his steadiness at shortstop.

This season, the power numbers are modest by comparison but still among the best in the Shore Conference, even while playing in a Class A North division loaded with other private-school powerhouses Christian Brothers Academy and Red Bank Catholic, plus two competitive Group IV teams in Howell and Manalapan. Lopez is once again hitting .415 to go with eight doubles, five home runs and 28 RBI.

“I’m not getting as many pitches to hit,” Lopez said. “I’m seeing a lot of offspeed and fastballs are usually the pitch I crush. I’m just trying to hit hard line drives and do a job for the team.”

His on-base percentage (.467) and slugging percentage (.695) are both down from last year, but still robust compared to the vast majority of the state. Lopez has also his three more doubles and four of his five home runs have come away from Ranney’s homer-friendly field, where Lopez his 10 of his 11 home runs in 2025.

Lopez has also significantly cut his strikeout rate from 26.6 percent (21 in 79 plate appearances) in 2025 to 5.4 percent (five in 92) this season.

“In home games, my approach tends to be more toward left and centerfield,” Lopez said. “When we’re away, my approach is more to right-center, trying to hit the ball more into the gaps and just stay patient.”

Defense has also been an area of improvement for the LSU commit. His four errors equal his sophomore-year total in more games, yielding a fielding percentage of 94.7 percent – two percentage points better than it was a year ago. He has 20 more total chances in the field in three more games played, which is a reflection of Lopez getting to more balls on the ground and turning them into outs.

“Right now, my defense is really good,” Lopez said. “I have just been working on my footwork. Working left-to-right. I’m taking a lot of ground balls and I’m getting better at reading the bat and reading the ball off the bat well. It’s just repetition.”

The numbers tell part of the story, but his on-the-ground performance completes the picture. In Ranney’s 13-0 win over St. Rose Thursday in the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public B quarterfinals, Lopez went 4-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI in a game started by St. Rose ace and University of Pittsburgh commit Peter Nolan. It was another home game void of a home run but still dominated by the Ranney shortstop.

Lopez’s two doubles came off the St. Rose bullpen, but his two at-bats vs. Nolan stood out. In the bottom of the first inning, he fouled off two two-strike pitches, laid off a quality slider low and just off the plate, then yanked another slider through the left side for a single on a hard ground ball.

In the bottom of the third, Lopez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two out and after taking a strike, he punched a slider off the plate over the head of the second baseman and into rightfield for a two-run single.

“I’m seeing the ball well and trying to pick up the pitch early,” Lopez said. “On those offspeed pitches, I’m just trying to get my bat to it and hit a line drive.”

Textbook 2-out hitting by Ricky Lopez to punch a slider from Peter Nolan into RF and pick up a pair of RBI. End 2: Ranney 3, St. Rose 0. pic.twitter.com/LuZsVDmhWV

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) May 28, 2026

Lopez also stole two bases in the win, including home plate as the tail end of a first-and-third double-steal. In the field, Lopez handled his three chances and ended the game with a smooth back-handed pick and a throw to first while moving in the opposite direction.

Ranney’s season continues Tuesday, when the Panthers travel south to play Gloucester Catholic – the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Non-Public B section, the current No. 2 team in New Jersey and the team that has ended Ranney’s season two of the past three seasons.

After freshman Jake Abrams struck out seven in a five-inning, three-hit shutout vs. St. Rose, senior Noah Hynes will take the ball for the Panthers Wednesday against the Rams. Hynes is the lone senior on the Ranney roster and he has already pitched his team to a victory in the Monmouth County Tournament championship game this season.

“We have been doing a lot of work in the cage with our approach and trying not to get too big with our swings,” Lopez said. “We’re focusing on playing good team baseball, because that’s what wins in the tournaments when you’re playing against other good teams.”

 

Four No More: RBC Snaps Losing Streak Just in Time

Over the first 21 games of the 2025 season, Red Bank Catholic lost just four games. Then, the Caseys lost four in a row, leaving them reeling heading into the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A Playoffs.

Fortunately for RBC, its hot start to the season was enough to earn a first-round bye in the tournament and although they picked up a game vs. Bishop Eustace last Tuesday and lost, 10-0, the Caseys got one last chance to work out their issues before their season would be on the line Thursday vs. St. John Vianney in the sectional quarterfinals.

“It’s hard,” Red Bank Catholic coach Buddy Hausmann said after his team’s win over Vianney. “You don’t know what’s wrong, you’re trying to figure it out. It’s not an effort thing. Early on, it felt like everybody was hot and now, there was nobody to carry us and all nine (hitters) were skidding at the same time. Today, some guys stepped up and helped us out.”

RBC jumped on the board first thanks to an RBI double by senior shortstop Drew Cannon and regained the lead in the later innings, which was enough for senior Glen Popes to pitch the Caseys to a 4-1 win over the sixth-seeded Lancers, snapping the four-game skid.

“Before the losing streak, we had only lost four games and it felt like we were always finding a way to win,” Cannon said. “Guys were hitting, all our pitchers were clicking and then, it just seemed like everyone hit a rough patch at the same time. It’s one of those things that happens during a season, so we just had to stay positive, keep working. We know we are better than that, so just go play like it.”

“Last year, he was a guy who didn’t have to carry us and he learned a lot from the guys who did carry us,” Hausmann said of Cannon, who started at third base last year and moved to shortstop for his senior year. “When he had to step into it, he knew how those guys went about it and he was ready for that role when we need him to step up, especially on a day like today.”

In RBC’s four games prior to Thursday’s win, it had allowed 38 total runs, including 10 or more in three of the four games. The lone exception was a 4-0 loss to Brick Memorial in which Popes held on the state’s most potent lineups to two earned runs over six innings.

Popes was working through some issues even before the Caseys losing streak. He won his first three starts of the season and after earning his fourth win pitching 5 2/3 innings of relief in a 1-0 win over Manalapan in 10 innings, Popes was 4-0 with two saves in seven appearances on the mound, with RBC winning each of the seven games in which Popes appeared.

“Glen is our guy,” Cannon said. “He has pitched in big games before and been really successful, so we know he is going to give us a chance. He throws a lot of strikes, fills up the zone and trusts us to make the plays for him. I have all the confidence in the world when he is on the mound.”

The RBC season hit its first snag right after the Caseys clinched the Shore Conference Class A North division championship on April 27 with a 13-0 win at CBA. The Caseys went up, 6-2, on the rival Colts to days later, but dropped a back-and-forth, 15-10, game in which Popes suffered the loss in relief thanks to seven runs against him – five of which were unearned.

Popes then started a 10-1 loss to Howell in the Monmouth County Tournament semifinals and his next five outings were all in relief and to mixed results. He made his return to the mound as a starter in the Brick Memorial loss and although it was his fourth straight loss, he turned a corner that carried over into Thursday’s performance vs. St. John Vianney. Popes pitched a complete game, allowing one run on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts to earn his first win since April 25.

“He’s a senior, he’s got the most innings and he throws strikes,” Hausmann said. “That’s what killed us in those last four games is we were walking too many guys. I got the pitchers together and I just told them, flat out: ‘You guys were carrying us early in the season. Right now, you’re killing us. They (the hitters) just scored nineteen runs for you and we lost.’ Walking ten guys in a game, nobody can win that way.”

RBC’s offense had gone quiet in the prior to games, both shutout vs. Brick Memorial and Bishop Eustace, but was not a problem in the first two losses of the losing streak. Junior centerfielder Luke Lonczak, senior catcher Aiden Funk, junior first baseman Tyler Hager and senior outfielder Jake Frankel are all having strong seasons at the plate after doing so in previous seasons, while senior Charlie Stumberger – an All-Shore outfielder in 2025 – has been gutting out a foot injury as the designated hitter. Cannon and fellow senior Miles Nessan, meanwhile, have had breakout seasons at the plate to complement their already-established quality defense, with Nessan patrolling both corner outfield spots during the season.

“They’ve done a decent job of stringing together at-bats and not striking out,” Hausmann said. “They have all played in these games and been a part of these games, so they know what it takes. It’s been a very close group, a hard-working group. This group has done more off the field to prepare than most teams we’ve had here. So these guys deserve it.”

RBC will now attempt to build on Thursday’s win when they travel to second-seeded St. Augustine for Tuesday’s sectional semifinal. The Caseys and Hermits have met in four of the past five NJSIAA Tournaments with some memorable results. Last year, RBC appeared headed to a sound defeat at home to St. Augustine in the sectional semifinal before it rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to stun the Hermits, 9-8.

With that RBC win, the two perennial title contenders are 2-2 vs. one another over the past five seasons and a third victory for either will mean a trip to the sectional final.

 

CBA vs. Immaculata: The Unstoppable Force vs. the Immovable Object

Heading into the 2026 season, CBA was considered a state title contender because of its four Division I senior pitchers. Now, two of those pitchers are injured and yet, it has not stopped the Colts thanks to a lineup that has become a well-oiled machine.

CBA enters Tuesday’s NJSIAA sectional semifinal round on a 10-game winning streak, during which the Colts are averaging 8.6 runs per game and like any red-hot offense, the contributions are coming from all over the lineup. Senior Jayden Matejicka has been on a tear since the final days of April with a batting average of .500 during the winning streak but in CBA’s 9-2 win over Union Catholic in the South Jersey Non-Public A, Matejicka went hitless for just the second time since April 21 and his team still put up nine runs.

On Thursday at Union Catholic, junior third baseman Michael Knox stepped up by going 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI, joining teammates Alex Fiore and Griffin Kilcullen as Colts who have had big games recently while hitting outside of the top five spots in the lineup.

On Tuesday at Diamond Nation in Flemington, CBA will clash with an Immaculata team that has lived off its pitching the way CBA figured it would heading into the season. The Spartans staff is led by Wake Forest commit and senior left-hander Ryan Auten, who pitched a one-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts in his team’s 7-0 Thursday win over eighth-seeded Paul VI. While Auten is eligible to pitch against the Colts, he has not pitched with fewer than five days of rest this season, which makes senior Cole Raymond a possibility to start and Auten’s freshman brother, Bryson, an option in relief.

CBA’s pitching has also rounded into form, with senior left-handers Danny DiTullio and Dan Pardini leading the way. DiTullio earned the win over Union Catholic on Thursday and Pardini is up next for his first start since shutting out Rumson-Fair Haven in the Shore Conference Tournament final. Pardini has yet to allow an earned run in 21 innings this season.