Written by the Raptors Broadcaster Hunter Shumake
The homestand continues for the Raptors. The upcoming series against the Edmonton Riverhawks will
conclude the eight consecutive games at home to start the year for Ridgefield. With a 4-6 non-league
loss against the Redmond Dudes on Monday, the Raptors look to bounce back in WCL play against the
Edmonton Riverhawks after a slow start to the season. The series will be important for both clubs. Like
Ridgefield, Edmonton dropped three games in their opening series to the Bellingham Bells. Both teams
now stand at 0-3 in the WCL.
In yesterday’s non-league contest against Redmond, Jeff Hoffman had the standout performance for the
Raptors going 5-5 at the plate with one extra base hit. In the young season, infielder Jake Tsukada has
been steady at the top of the order for Head Coach Chris Cota. Versus Corvallis, Tsukada went 4-8 along
with five walks. In the opening WCL versus Corvallis, Ridgefield was hiƫng at .239.
The expected starters for Ridgefield will be a trio of right handers. Eastyn Culp in game one. Blake
Hammond starts in game two and Nick Bonn in game three. Nick Bonn had a notable first start of the
year against Corvallis in game one when he went 5.2 innings giving up one hit, allowing no runs, and
striking out eight.
For Edmonton, they have been led offensively by the man from Richmond, British Columbia—Jonny
McGill. Through the first three games of the countable season, McGill has four hits along with a pair of
runs batted in. Through the first series of the year, the Riverhawks are hitting at .179.
Despite having lost all three games in their opening series. Edmonton has gotten a pair of quality starts
from Halen Knoll and Kenneth Ward. Halen Knoll started game one against Bellingham with seven
scoreless innings. Further, Kenneth Ward got the nod in game three going 6.1 innings allowing 2 runs
with one being earned.
Game one versus Edmonton is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6th at 6:35 PM. Tickets and livestream are
available on ridgefieldraptors.com. #GoRaps