RIDGEFIELD — When Ridgefield faced Cowlitz for a three-game series last month, the Raptors were in the midst of winning four of five games by the time they won the series against the Black Bears in Longview.
Tides turned when the two met Friday to open a three-game weekend series at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex. Cowlitz extended its season-high winning streak to seven games with a 7-2 win over the Raptors.
The series continues at 6:35 p.m. Saturday.
Red-hot Cowlitz (13-17) hasn’t lost since July 4. It pounded out 11 hits and took the lead for good in the fourth inning.
Ridgefield has dropped three of its past four games the first week of the league’s second-half season. Catcher Steve Ramirez likes what the lineup has offensively.
“Everyone is putting good swings on the ball,” he said, but an area of improvement continues to be the bullpen,” Ramirez said. “We have a really solid pen, but they have to trust themselves and trust the defense so they can make the pitch.”
Friday, relievers Harrison Grow (Lane CC) and Hayden Minich (Mt. Hood CC) allowed six hits, three earned runs, and struck out four over five innings.
3 key moments
Reliever turned starter — Raptors reliever Eli Shubert (LCC) made his first start Friday, allowing four earned runs over four innings with three strikeouts. He entered Friday with a 10.69 ERA over 15 relief innings. He left trailing 4-2.
Berm power — Cowlitz hit home runs to right field in the third and fourth innings. A two-run shot by Colton Sakamoto (Gardner-Webb) was part of the team’s three-run fourth.
Zeros after 2 — Ridgefield’s 2-0 lead in the second inning came on RBI hits by Michael Yourg (San Diego) and Justin Boyd (Oregon State). The Raptors left runners on at the corners to end the eighth after getting two abroad with zero outs.
3 key players
Steve Ramirez — The Riverside City College catcher went 3 for 4 with a run scored, including a fourth-inning double. Later that inning, he was thrown out at the plate keeping the deficit 4-2 after the fourth.
Austin Bell — Cowlitz’s lead-off hitter from Dallas Baptist went 2 for 5 with a solo home run to kick off the three-run fourth inning. He also scored two runs.
Michael Yourg — The San Diego product, hitting in the No. 7 hole Friday, went 2 for 4 with a run scored and RBI as part of Ridgefield’s two-run second inning. He and Ramirez (No. 6 hitter) combined to go 5 for 8 with two runs.
3 key numbers
11 — Every Cowlitz player registered a hit for 11 in the game. Bell and Ryan Kim (Dallas Baptist) each had multi-hit games.
2 — Ridgefield was held to two hits after the fourth inning by Cowlitz’s bullpen. Relievers Kyle Smith (Niagra) and Justin Dolezal (Western Oregon combined for two hits allowed facing 18 batters.
7 — Cowlitz’s winning streak of seven games leads the West Coast League and is the second-longest winning streak behind Corvallis’ 18-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday. During that stretch, the team had two walk-off wins.
