Cooper Byrne Heading to Vermont for Baseball

When Ridgewood High School's baseball team needed a big hit, it was Cooper Byrne.

While the senior first baseman only had 16 RBI for the season, his RBIs came at opportune times, in victories over the likes of Old Tappan and Paramus.

"He had many clutch hits for us," said Ridgewood head coach Kurt Hommen, who added that it was not just limited to Byrne's bat. "Defensively, he made a lot of great plays that saved games for us."

Over the years Byrne has been instrumental in bringing home wins for the Maroons, but he is now looking ahead to college.

For Byrne's last week, it still had not sunk in that his days at Ridgewood were over and he will be heading to Vermont in the fall. "It is the weekend so I still feel that I am going back to school on Monday," said Byrne.

Byrne had a laundry list of colleges that he wanted to attend when his days for the Maroons were over.

He had a list of 15 schools, but a visit to Middlebury College eliminated those schools. "When I took my overnight visit to Middlebury I just liked the school and liked Vermont," said Byrne. He was looking to either major in political science or economics.

The Ridgewood pitcher/first baseman said that one of his goals at his new school was to be on the mound. "I told the coach that I wanted to pitch," said Byrne, who was on the mound only six times. "The (Middlebury) coach said that they graduated one of their pitchers and that there would be an open competition for the spot," he told Patch.

Like Ridgewood shortstop Tyler Welence, the Maroons needed Byrne to play first base so his innings were limited. "We had a lot of pitchers this year and just worked out playing first base," said Byrne.

And that is what the now-graduated Ridgewood High senior is looking to work on in the summer, playing for a Garret Teel traveling team.

"I'm working primarily on my fastball," said Byrne. "My fastball did not have the movement this spring." During his times on the mound he pointed to his curveball as his top offering. "The curveball is the one where I had the most confidence in," he said.

Looking back on the season, one of his best played games came in one of the best wins, a 6-5 victory over Paramus in April. Byrne went 2-for-4 with 5 RBI including a bases loaded double against Paramus pitcher Nick Henriquez. In addition, the senior had a pair of walk-off singles this last season.

For Byrne, some of the games that he remembers the most are the heartbreakers like last season's 7-6 loss to Livingston in the Group 4 North 1 state sectional semi-finals. Also, last season losing 13-8 to Bergen Catholic when the Crusaders scored 11 runs in the seventh inning to defeat Byrne and the Maroons.

Soon, those will be but distant memories.