The New Jersey State Police defeated their cross-river rivals, the Pennsylvania State Police, 22-16 in an Aug. 3 charity softball game at Skylands Stadium in Augusta.
Pennsylvania had a commanding 14-8 leading heading into the fifth inning, but New Jersey came back with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth and seven more in the sixth. In the top of the seventh, the Keystone crew nibbled back with two runs, but it was not enough to overtake the Garden State’s Finest.
All proceeds from the will go to 11-year-old Cash Klem and the families of Pennsylvania State Troopers Jacques F. Rougeau Jr. and Lt. James A. Wagner.
Klem, of Stillwater, New Jersey, suffers from cerebellar ataxia and is currently in need of a new semi-powered wheelchair.
Rougeau, 29, was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 17th of this year. Wagner was shot and critically injured on the same day as Rougeau but is currently in recovery and has been given a hero’s discharge.
The game featured a visit from the N.J. State Police Aviation Unit’s Agusta AW139 helicopter, with members of the unit rappelling down to centerfield to deliver the ball for the first pitch of the following baseball game between the Sussex County Miners and the New Jersey Jackals.
State Police Mounted Unit. Photo by Joe Phalon, 8/2023
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
