All it took were three little words for Alex Ridge to make his college decision. In the Ridgeland High School pitcher’s way of thinking, they were words he’s been waiting for since he started playing baseball.
When University of Georgia baseball coach David Perno said to Ridge on a visit to Athens Sunday, “We want you,” the 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior right-hander didn’t take long to reply. The lifelong Bulldogs fan committed on the spot.
“That’s my dream school,” said Ridge, whose father, Tony, also played at Georgia. “We went down there today and talked for a while. The more we talked, I knew this was the place to go.”
Ridge, already a two-time Best of Preps All-North Georgia first-team member, is off to a blazing start for the Panthers. In three starts he has allowed one earned run in 19 inning while striking out 41 batters. Ridgeland coach Scott Harden says his pitcher still has room to improve.
“He hasn’t maxed out yet as far as potential by any means,” Harden said. “He’s gained some muscle and his fastball has gotten better, but he can improve more on velocity. We changed his curveball to a slider this year and that’s helped him. He gets better and better every outing.”
Ridge had also been considering Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Stanford among others. He’s happy to get the recruiting process over quickly.
“I hadn’t to a lot of places yet, but I think it’s good to get that stress behind me and be able to focus on what I’m doing now,” he said. “I plan to try to perfect anything I can to make myself better the rest of this year and next. This definitely will motivate me to do that. I’m ready to play already.”