RAMSEY — When he was asked about what type of pitch it was about an hour after the fact, Ashton Bardzell admitted his recollection was a bit fuzzy.

But whether it was a fastball, curveball, knuckleball – the specifics are not important. What is, however, is the fact the baseball flew off his bat and did not stop moving until it was about 350 feet away and history had been made.

Bardzell launched his 18th home run of the season here Tuesday to tie the state single-season record during Ramsey High's 5-3 win over Pequannock in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament semifinal round.

“It’s an honor,” Bardzell said. “I was just trying to put a good swing on it … whatever it was. It’s amazing when it comes off the bat, and you know you’ve got that same feeling from the other times.”

The home run ties Bardzell, a senior center fielder committed to Hartford, with former Millville star Mike Trout, now the starting center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels and the reigning American League Most Valuable Player.

Trout hit 18 in his senior season of 2009, and Bardzell will now try for No. 19 on Friday when Ramsey, the reigning sectional champion, travels to Lakeland for the sectional final.

“It’s an amazing record,” said teammate Matt Butler, who also hit a home run in the game. “It’s awesome. It never gets old. I’ve been playing with Ashton since I was 6-years-old. He’s just incredible to watch.”

The long ball, which landed between the scoreboard and flag pole in left center at Ponchak Field, wowed the small army of Major League scouts in attendance – Bardzell is drawing serious interest as a potential selection in next month’s MLB Draft – and sent an army of children scrambling into the woods to retrieve the baseball, which they quickly did before willingly handing it over to the Ramsey dugout. Bardzell also signed autographs for a large crowd of kids after the game.

The home run pulled Ramsey to within a run of Pequannock, 3-2, at the time. Bardzell had flown out to center field in his first at-bat, just getting under the ball. Pequannock did not let him get a crack at breaking the record from there, intentionally walking him in his third and fourth at-bats.

“I like to listen to the crowd boo (after an intentional walk), it’s kind of the best part,” Bardzell said with a laugh. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

But since Bardzell came around to score on the first free pass as part of the three-run fifth inning that gave the Rams control, he could not complain too much. Nor could his team.

"It's great to watch," Ramsey coach Bill Chesney said. "He's just a phenomenal talent having a great season, and he's got things in its proper perspective. He loves playing the game, it's team first and if he gets a good pitch to hit, you see what he can do."

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James Kratch can be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratchHS. Find and like the NJ.com High School Baseball page on Facebook.