RIDGEFIELD — On fan appreciation night, the Ridgefield Raptors gave fans all the baseball they could muster in a steady rain. Ridgefield topped Bend 6-3 in 11 innings and four hours on Saturday at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.
Cameron Repetti continued to play hero, as he’s done multiple times this season. He tossed two innings of relief, striking out five before delivering the game-winning three-run home run.
Michael Yourg hit a solo home run in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. It was the Raptors’ first RBI of the game. They scored two runs on an error in the fifth inning. Bend countered with a three-run seventh.
The extended conclusion overshadowed a pair of gritty pitching performances from Raptors’ starter Joey Martin and Elks’ starter Bradley Gonzales. The two gritted out a combined 13 1/3 innings and 249 pitches, allowing just one earned run in a rainy pitchers’ duel. Each of them was in line for the win when they left the game.
The Raptors’ inaugural season ends with a game against the Bend Elks, slated for 3:05 p.m. Sunday.
Three key moments
Put the ball in play, good things happen — Raptor catcher Dominic Enbody dropped a bunt down in the bottom of the fifth with runners on the corners. The simple play in the summer sun was terribly difficult in the pouring rain for Bend pitcher Bradley Gonzales, who airmailed his throw to first base. Two runs scored on the play while the ball was skipping down to right field as the Raptors got on the board first.
Bend breaks out — The Elks tallied four hits, one walks and capitalized on an error in a three-run seventh to take their first lead of the game, 3-2.
Missed chances — In the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th innings, the Raptors had runners in scoring positions with one or no outs. They scored zero runs from those situations.
Three key players
Joey Martin — The Kansas State sophomore struck out eight in six innings, tossing 117 pitches and allowing one earned run for the Raptors.
Cameron Repetti — The Cal State Fullerton freshman struck out five in two innings of relief. He also went 3 for 6 with a double and stolen base. At third base, he made two run-saving defensive plays including an over-the-shoulder grab in shallow left to end the top of the ninth. He delivered the three-run game-winning home run.
Michael Yourg — The University of San Diego sophomore hit a game-tying solo shot in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings.
Three numbers
18 — Strikeouts the two starting pitchers, Bradley Gonzales (Bend) and Joey Martin (Ridgefield) combined for on Saturday in 12 combined innings.
62 — Strikeouts for Joey Martin on the year, a team-high.
249 — Combined Pitches thrown by the two starting pitchers.
