Written by Raptors Broadcaster Hunter Shumake
The Raptors will continue their longest road trip of the year south into Oregon to face the Bend Elks for a three game weekend series. Going into game three against Yakima Valley, Ridgefield sits at 10-6 in the West Coast League and now atop the Southern Division with a half game advantage over Corvallis and a game over Springfield. In two tightly contested games, the Raps have taken the first two games of the series and have successfully won their third consecutive series. With the win in game two, the Raptors are now on a six game winning streak heading into game three against Yakima.
Ridgefield was able to hold onto the lead in game one, prevailing 4-3 after a late game push from Yakima. Game one saw solid pitching from the starter Blake Hammond who went five scoreless innings until being relieved by Camden Oram. Oram went the last four innings holding off the Pippins for the Ridgefield victory.
Game two against Yakima had a slow start with no score through five innings—that changed in the sixth with seven runs scored between the two clubs. For Ridgefield, the 6th inning was highlighted by Andy Ambriz who came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. The Ridgefield infielder had a bases clearing double to extended Ridgefield’s advantage. Heading to the 9th, the game was tied and that brought up the reigning WCL Co-MVP, Jacob Sharp, playing in his second game for Ridgefield this year. Sharp produced and had an RBI single into right field to bring in the go-ahead run. The finals score— 5-4 Ridgefield.
Led by Head Coach Joey Wong, the Bend Elks sit at 7-7 in the WCL and will be at home for the first time since June 9th. The Elks have played nine straight games on the road. Bend, currently in a series with Springfield, have taken the first two games against Springfield to climb back to .500 in the WCL. Tyler Peterson leads the offense for Bend as he leads the team with 14 hits and has one of the best averages at .333. The Ridgefield pitching staff will have to be weary of Ryan Christiansen who leads the team with five extra base hits, including two homeruns. Bend had a slow start to the season, but now has gained traction in the southern division of the WCL.
Bend and Ridgefield will get familiar as they will play six straight games against each other. After the completion of the road trip in Bend, the Raps will have Monday off and will then host the Elks at home, June 27th-29th. The first pitch at Vince Genna Stadium is scheduled for 6:35 PM PDT on Friday, June 23rd. For more information, visit ridgefieldraptors.com. #GoRaps