Written by Raptors Broadcaster Patrick McColl

The Ridgefield Raptors are rested after a couple of days off for the West Coast League (WCL) All-Star Break and ready to take on the Cowlitz Black Bears and Northwest Star Nighthawks to end the week.

Ridgefield (15-26) played Cowlitz twice on Monday, losing 5-1 before winning by the same margin in the second game. The first game was resumed in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Black Bears up 4-0 after the game was suspended there on June 30.

Raptors infielder Taylor Takata has played in 34 games for Ridgefield this season and is second on the team with 29 runs scored. Two-way man Dawson Downs owns seven doubles, second on the team. All-Star Andrew Estrella was recently identified as the hardest hitter in the WCL by 643charts. The LMU infielder has a 47% hard hit rate.

The Black Bears come into the game on Thursday with a 2-1 lead in the Columbia River Cup. The Raptors won the season-long series last year, 5-2.

Cowlitz (13-22) catcher Holt Williams has been off to a strong start, earning seven hits in 20 at bats. Reliever Bryson Leach tossed three scoreless innings in the Black Bears loss in Game 2 on Monday. The Gonzaga commit started the suspended first game, going four scoreless innings against the Raps.

Northwest Star has yet to win a game against the WCL this season but lost by just one run to Cowlitz on July 12 (8-7). The Knighthawks have played Cowlitz, Corvallis, Springfield, Yakima Valley, Walla Walla and Bend.

In 13 games with the Nighthawks, third baseman Luke Kovac has 11 hits and four doubles. The right-handed bat has also walked 11 times. Zach Dinublio leads the Nighthawks with 23 innings pitched. Dinublio did not allow a run in his first four appearances of the season.

Thursday night’s game will begin at 6:35 p.m. at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex (RORC). Friday’s game against Northwest Star will start at 6:35 p.m., and Saturday’s game will begin at the same time.

Fans can go to ridgefieldraptors.com to purchase tickets to the upcoming home games against Cowlitz and Northwest Star at the RORC. The live stream to watch or listen to the games against Cowlitz and Northwest Star will be available on ridgefieldraptors.com/stream. #GoRaps