The Columbia River Cup kicks into high gear this weekend as the Ridgefield Raptors head north to Longview to face the Cowlitz Black Bears for a three-game series starting Friday at 6:35 p.m. Saturday’s game from Story Field is also at 6:35 and Sunday is a 1:05 start.
A live audio stream is available by clicking “listen live” at RidgefieldRaptors.com.
The two Southwest Washington ball clubs are playing for the inaugural Columbia River Cup this year, with seven games on the schedule between these two teams and the trophy going to the first team to win four games.
These will be the first official West Coast League games of the summer between Ridgefield and Cowlitz; the Raptors and Black Bears started the season with an exhibition on June 2. The Black Bears won, 10-8.
Ridgefield starts the second half of the WCL season with this weekend series. The Raptors went 13-11 in the first half, putting themselves in good position to make a postseason run in the second half. Ridgefield could capture its first postseason berth in franchise history by either having the best second half record among Southern Division teams or, if Corvallis wins the second half as well, by having the division’s second best record from the whole summer.
This will be the first of two series this summer between Ridgefield and Cowlitz. The Raptors will host the Black Bears from August 3-5. All tickets are available online and at the stadium for future games.
Ridgefield is coming off a series sweep against the Bend Elks, winning all nine games this year against Bend. Ridgefield finished a 6-3 victory yesterday including the best start of the year by Brock Gillis. The Portland Pilot commit went six innings with just one earned run and five strikeouts. The Raptors will be back at home next week for a three-game series beginning Tuesday against the Port Angeles Lefties.