Written by Raptors Broadcaster Patrick McColl
With a two-game sweep of the Northwest Star Nighthawks this past weekend, the Ridgefield Raptors have momentum heading back into West Coast League (WCL) action with a 3-8 record. Beginning on Tuesday, the ‘Raps will be at Civic Field in Port Angeles for a three-game set against the Lefties.
Ridgefield dominated the diamond against Northwest Star on Saturday and Sunday. As favorites over the prep academy Nighthawks, the ‘Raps enjoyed an offense that put up 14 hits and nine runs in Game 1 of the series. Six different Raptors put up two hits on Saturday, with Portland’s Justin Tsukada leading the way with two RBI. In Game 2, the Raptors put up eight runs to Northwest Star’s three. Hawaii’s Taylor Takata paced Ridgefield with three hits and three RBI. Catcher Luke Iverson hit his second total home run of the season, including league play.
Like Ridgefield, Port Angeles has not had the kind of start it would have hoped for. The Lefties are just 3-9 in WCL play and have lost four games in a row. The Lefties last played on the road against the Corvallis Knights. Port Angeles was swept by the league leading Knights (13-1) in three games. Port Angeles did hang tough in the series, however, as it only lost by one run on Friday and Sunday.
Ridgefield will head into the series against Port Angeles with Iverson leading the team in hits (eight). On the mound, Raptors starter Dylan Stewart has only allowed two runs in 10 innings of work while relievers Ryan McClaskey and Quentin Moreland have not allowed a run in a combined 13.2 innings pitched.
The Lefties Jeremy Giesegh, who hails from California State San Bernardino, has collected 19 hits this season, and leads the team with two home runs and 11 RBI. As a team, the Lefties have a 5.29 ERA, ranking 14th in the WCL.
All games against the Lefties are scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from Civic Field in Port Angeles. The Raptors will travel to Bend for a weekend series in Oregon before returning home to play the same Elks team at home next week.
Tickets to the upcoming home series against Bend at the RORC are available on ridgefieldraptors.com. The live stream to listen to the games in Port Angeles will be available on ridgefieldraptors.com/stream. #GoRaps