RIDGEFIELD — Through the ups and downs of the Ridgefield Raptors’ inaugural season, there were a few consistencies: fan support and team camaraderie.
“This has been one of the funnest experiences I’ve had playing baseball,” Mountain View alumnus and Raptor pitcher Hayden Minich said.
The West Coast League has had teams come and go in the past decade, but the Raptors appear poised to stay awhile in the collegiate wood bat league after a 27-27 opening campaign.
Roughly 1,200 fans turned out per game, more than twice that of neighboring Cowlitz, and they never dwindled. Even in the pouring rain of the penultimate game, fans stuck around until the glorifying end in a 6-3 11-inning victory over Bend. The 1,300 in attendance on Sunday gave a standing ovation for the players still with the team after the 54-game grind.
It comes as no surprise to Minich, who praised the team’s ability to have fun through thick and thin.
“I know the people around here love their baseball,” Minich said. “Not really surprised everyone around here loves it.”
Skipper Chris Cota, too, was impressed by the community support. It helped, he felt, that a core group of guys provided a steady ship the entire season.
The ever-shuffling rosters of the WCL can be a chore to manage. But batters like Jonny Weaver (Grand Canyon), Cameron Repetti (Cal State Fullerton), Michael Hicks (Boise State) and Grayson Sterling (Gonzaga) and pitchers such as Wesley Harper (Boise State), Eli Shubert (Lower Columbia) and Joey Martin (Kansas State) gave Cota a strong core to build around.
“A good group of guys were here from day one to the end and I applaud them for staying here all summer,” Cota said. “I just think the new guys that came in respected what the guys that had been around had been doing. They followed suit and filled in any way they could to help out.”
The season also came with plenty of learning lessons for the first-time WCL skipper, who plans on returning next summer. The schedule is a grind with college athletes playing daily games for two straight months. The revolving roster sometimes makes for short benches and understaffed bullpens.
“More pitching, more pitching, more pitching,” Cota said. “You can’t have enough. You start losing them midway through the season and it’s rough. I think that a big key to this league is more pitching, and that’s what we’ll work on next year.”
Minich, too, had some words of advice for next year’s group: “Just learn how to face adversity.”
The Raptors will return to action next June, with season-ticket sales scheduled to open to the public in October.
Three key moments
Early bloom — After dropping the first two games in the franchise’s history, Cameron Repetti helped send the team to the Great White North with their first franchise win courtesy of a late game-winning home run. In Kelowna, the Raptors earned their first series win, a sweep of the Falcons and extended a six-game win streak into a series win over Portland. The Raptors won 10 of 13 games and peaked with a 10-5 record on June 20, the most games they’d be above .500 on the year. In the run, they won three one-run games.
Mid-season wobble — Things turned south with a trip to Corvallis. The three-time defending champions swept the Raptors and started a 5-11 run that pushed the Raptors below .500 for the first time since June 5. At 15-16 on July 11, following an 8-2 loss to Victoria, the Raptors wouldn’t again taste the middle mark until the final game of the season.
Late flourish — The Raptors’ bats caught fire late in the year, as Michael Hicks, Justin Boyd and Steve Ramirez all put together extended hit streaks. Ridgefield scored double-digit runs five times in the final 13 games. In that two-week span, the Raptors averaged nine runs per game. They earned series wins over Yakima Valley, Walla Walla and a sweep against Bend, going 9-5 in that time.
Three key players
Cameron Repetti — While the Cal State Fullerton freshman struggled at times with his fielding this year (11 errors) at third base, Repetti was one of the most clutch players in the league. Look no further than his penultimate game (one of 50 he played in) for the reason why he was so important to the Raptors this year. In the 6-3 extra-inning victory over Bend, he tossed two innings of near-immaculate relief, striking out five. He set up a chance to win in the 10th by leading off with a single, stealing second and advancing to third on an error. And when that didn’t work out, he smacked a three-run walkoff home run in the 11th. The biggest and most thrilling moments of the season went to Repetti, who had a knack for the clutch. He finished with a .248 batting average, five home runs, five stolen bases and a 3.80 ERA on the hill, where he pitched 26 innings and earned a team-high six saves.
Michael Hicks — The Boise State senior was the most consistent player for the Raptors all year. He played in 48 games, third most on the team behind Jonny Weaver and Repetti. He hit .320 with a team-high nine home runs and a league-leading 50 RBI. He was a top 15 player in the league in batting average, home runs, RBI and walks.
Joey Martin — After the departures of staff aces Zach Barnes (Grand Canyon) and Michael Spellacy (Gonzaga), Martin emerged as the rotation workhorse the Raptors desperately needed. The Kansas State sophomore finished with a 3.83 ERA in 47 innings. He started 10 games and went 1-5 and had one save. His 67 strikeouts were a team-high, and it ranked second in the league behind Yakima Valley’s Joe Magrisi.
Three numbers
27 — Wins on the year, which ranked fifth in the league.
27 — Average number of wins from a West Coast League team in its inaugural season in the league since 2012, when the league expanded to a 54-game schedule. In that time, seven teams have joined the league. They include the Gresham GreyWolves (2016-17), Klamath Falls Gems (2011-15), Medford Rogues (2013-15) in addition to still active teams Port Angeles Lefties (2017), Victoria HarbourCats (2013),Yakima Valley Pippins (2014) and Portland Pickles (2018).
1,198 — Average attendance at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex this season. It ranked fifth in the league. Victoria led the league with an average of 2,311. Cowlitz trailed the league with an average of 590.
