The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots have announced the winners of their National Anthem Auditions held at Bridgewater Commons on Saturday, March 9th.
The selected performers are David Lang of Somervile, Matt Lafargue of Dunellen, Jordan Thomas Burnett of Hamilton, Michael Barthal of Bedminster, Melissa Donlay of Hampton, Olivia Terpin of Lebanon, Amira Kamara from Piscataway, Ria Mehta of East Brunswick, Abigail Seewald of Pine Brook, Manning Bennett of Somerville, Savannah and Abigail Wrigley of Asbury, Regina Wilcox of Metuchen, and Kiley Baxter of Bridgewater.
The event was originally designed to select ten performers, but due to the talented crop of singers, the Somerset Patriots selected 14 finalists (including one duet) this year.
Around 100 singers auditioned with a minute-and-a-half of the song of their choice before the judges and mall crowd. Singers were judged on vocal talent, stage presence, and their ability to perform before a large crowd.
For the seventh year in a row, the event was a fundraiser and each contestant donated a minimum of $10 to Operation Shoebox New Jersey, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to collecting donated supplies to ship care packages to U.S. troops based overseas.
WCTC 1450 AM’s Hall of Fame broadcaster Bert Baron served as the emcee of the event. The judges were Somerset Patriots Vice President of Public Relations Marc Russinoff, Executive Director of Operation Shoebox New Jersey Rod Hirsch, and long-time Somerset Patriots Public Address Announcer Paul Spychala.
The National Anthem Auditions took place at Center Court on the lower level of the mall. This was the 16th year the Patriots hosted National Anthem auditions.
“We want to thank all of our participants that tried out this year. We had tremendous talent that made this year’s decision the toughest yet,” said Russinoff. “The 14 finalists should be very proud they were selected from this year’s group because the difference between those selected and those that weren’t was razor thin. We can’t wait to give these great performers a chance to perform at the ballpark.”
The Somerset Patriots will be back in action on Friday, April 26th for Opening Day at TD Bank Ballpark. Stay up to date on all the team news throughout the offseason online; on all of our social media platforms, and on our mobile app. For more information, visit www.somersetpatriots.com.
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
With eight teams in the Mid-Atlantic and Texas, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 900 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 40 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 22-year history.
For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.
