Marist Loses an Outstanding Alum to COVID-19
By Nick Stanziale, Center Field Marist Contributor
As an incredible teammate, friend, husband, and coach, the news of Ben Luderer’s death is devastating to the Marist College community and his players.
Luderer, a 2013 Marist graduate and Red Fox baseball player, passed away on March 30 due to complications from COVID-19. He was only 30 years old.
It’s because of Luderer’s strong character that most people didn’t know he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He didn’t want others to worry. Luderer was the type of person who would do anything to help anyone. He always put strangers and peers first before for himself, and that never changed.
The news of his passing quickly made its way to friends and family. “I was blindsided by the news,” said David Porfido, a close friend and Cliffside Park high school athletic director. “I was absolutely heartbroken, crushed, and devastated because of who Ben was. He was a smiler and jokester.”
Luderer’s former high school baseball coach Greg Butler added, “I was left speechless and shocked.”
In Luderer’s freshman season at Marist, the baseball team won the MAAC tournament and made it to the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated in the regional round. Luderer appeared in 22 of the 59 games played.
“Ben was super serious and driven. He had such a passion for the game… He was a good friend and teammate. He was fun off the field but serious on it. He was just a person everyone loved to be around.”
Luderer played baseball his entire life. He began playing at a young age, where he fostered a love for the sport. He continued to play ball at Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, NJ. Luderer was a crucial player and leader to a legendary high school team that’s still considered the greatest team to ever take the field in the state of NJ.
In 2006, as a sophomore, Luderer started making contributions to the varsity team. During his time at Bosco, he helped the Ironmen bring home three straight Bergen County titles. In 2008, he was one of the biggest contributors on their first state championship team in 13 years.
During the state championship game, Luderer batted seventh, recording two hits and an RBI. Bosco was victorious over Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) in a final score of 5-4.
“This needs to be a wake-up call for every single person. We lost a 30-year-old. We all need to listen to health officials, especially the young viewership.”
“His success to that team was paramount. He controlled that pitching staff and was a consistent hitter,” said Butler. “He was a major piece to that team.”
The 2008 Bosco team not only ended up winning a state championship, but they went 33 – 0, and were named National Champions. It is still referred to as the greatest team ever fielded in NJ. Luderer was one of 13 seniors, the starting catcher, and a leader on that team. Out of all his positions, leader would come first.
“Ben was a leader behind the plate and a leader in the clubhouse,” said Eric Pfisterer, one of Luderer’s teammates and starting pitcher at Bosco. “He was a quiet leader, but he spoke through his actions.”
After high school, Luderer joined the Marist baseball team. His love for playing baseball was at an all-time high and he was considered one of the best teammates anyone could have on a team.
“Ben was super serious and driven,” said Marist head coach, Chris Tracz. “He had such a passion for the game… He was a good friend and teammate. He was fun off the field but serious on it. He was just a person everyone loved to be around.”
Marist sports information director, Mike Ferraro added, “He was just an outstanding teammate. He always had his teammates’ backs on everything. And they had his, too.”
In Luderer’s freshman season at Marist, the baseball team won the MAAC tournament and made it to the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated in the regional round. Luderer appeared in 22 of the 59 games played.
“I think we were so successful in 2009 because Ben and his class were dialed into the right process. That was something ingrained in him previously, it was a much more natural process for him,” Tracz said. “They did the right stuff at the right time and it made my job a lot easier.”
Although Marist never won the conference tournament following the 2009 season, and despite missing the 2011 campaign, due to a shoulder injury, Luderer had a respectable college career. He appeared in 73 total games and finished his college career with a .264 batting average.
Not only did Luderer meet lifelong friends at Marist, but he also met his wife, Brandy Luderer. She was on the Marist women’s basketball team from 2009 – 2012, appearing in four straight NCAA tournaments. They were married in 2014.
“Just seeing him on that day, being so happy, it felt like he got everything he wanted,” former Bosco teammate, Matt Marotta told Buzzfeed News last month.
After playing college ball, Luderer didn’t let his passion and love for baseball fade away. He became head coach at Cliffside Park and a special education teacher at the high school.
“It didn’t surprise me that he became a head coach. He wanted to give back,” Butler said. “He told me, ‘coach, I look forward to the challenge.’”
Luderer took over a ball-club that hadn’t recorded a nine-win season in over a decade. In just his fourth year of coaching, Cliffside Park went 9-14, and he was quickly making a long-lasting impact on his athletes. Luderer was ready to start his fifth year as head coach of the team, but the season was abruptly canceled due to the growing concerns of the coronavirus.
“He’s an all-around person and he was better preparing those kids for life,” Porfido said. “He was everything to those kids.”
Largely a Hispanic community, many of Luderer’s players and students at Cliffside Park primarily spoke Spanish. Naturally, he took it upon himself to learn Spanish so he could better communicate with his students and athletes.
When Porfido heard the tragic news of Luderer’s passing, he knew what he had to do. Although it was not going to be easy to tell the Cliffside Park community of the news, he knew he had to right away.
Porfido started making calls to the team and separated it by grade. He started with the seniors and worked his way to the freshmen.
“A student told me, ‘I thought you were going to tell us we were playing next week and getting back to school,’” Porfido said. “They were silent... they didn’t believe it.”
Luderer changed lives every day. He meant so much to many people, and he took pride in his actions, always putting everyone first.
“He was just an all-around good character and human being,” Pfisterer said.
Despite the overwhelmingly positive picture of Luderer, the virus still took the life of an amazing individual. COVID-19 does not care about the type of person you are. The fact remains that Luderer was a young, healthy person.
“This needs to be a wake-up call for every single person. We lost a 30-year-old,” Porfido said. “We all need to listen to health officials, especially the young viewership.”
Butler added, “When anything comes from tragedy, we can learn from it. I hope the tragedy of Ben’s loss awakens us and we realize this virus affects all of us.”
Luderer is tragically gone but will never be forgotten.