RIDGEFIELD — Steve Ramirez’s long day for the Ridgefield Raptors began Wednesday by completing a final exam at Riverside City College, then boarding a flight from Southern California to start a new baseball journey.
The West Coast League — and Washington state — are all new for Ramirez, an all-conference junior-college catcher. He caught all nine innings Wednesday and was a bright spot for Ridgefield in its 10-3 loss to the Yakima Valley Pippins. His two-run home run was the first of back-to-back second-inning home runs that gave the Raptors an early lead.
He’s still getting a feel for the organization, but already, he’s a fan of … the fans.
“I love the fans,” he said. “You hear them back there, and it makes it fun.”
Ridgefield’s 3-1 lead Wednesday through six innings against the Pippins didn’t hold up. Yakima Valley (2-0) scored nine runs from the seventh inning on, including a four-run seventh to take the lead for good. Ten of its 12 hits came in the final three innings.
The series finale is 6:35 p.m. Thursday at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.
Three key moments
9 runs, 3 innings — Daniel Cipriano’s two-run home run to left field was part of a four-run seventh inning for the Pippins. and spoiled the Raptors’ hopes of a win. Cipriano also had the go-ahead RBI double in Tuesday’s 4-3 win for Yakima Valley.
Shubert gets out of a jam — Ridgefield reliever Eli Shuberg (Lower Columbia) got Joey Magrisi to ground out with the bases loaded to preserve what was a 3-1 Raptors lead entering the sixth. Yakima loaded the bases that half-inning on a pair of walks and a single by Ciparino.
Three-error inning — All of Ridgefield’s errors came in the ninth inning. Yakima batted around in the ninth, and padded its lead. In all, it scored nine unanswered runs the final three innings.
Three key players
Joey Martin — The Kansas State pitcher, Ridgefield’s starter Wednesday, allowed just one hit over 4.1 innings in a no-decision. Martin also struck out seven, but walked six, including two in the fifth when the Pippins eventually loaded the bases.
Zach Lew, Daniel Cipriano — Yakima Valley’s 2-3 hitters went a combined 6-11 with four RBI and two runs scored.
Carter Benbrook — In addition to Ramirez, Benbrook (UC Santa Barbara) also made his debut. The infielder’s solo home run to left-center field was part of the Raptors’ back-to-back second-inning home runs.
Three key numbers
2 — Yakima Valley’s infield turned two inning-ending 4-6-3 double plays to end a pair of Ridgefield scoring threats. The first came in the second inning when Ridgefield grabbed a quick 3-0 lead, and in the fifth came after one-out walks by Oregon State’s Justin Boyd and Boise State’s Michael Boyd.
36 — Infielder Cameron Repetti, a Cal State Fullerton signee, was drafted in the 36th round Wednesday by the San Francisco Giants. Repetti, named the Orange County Register’s baseball player of the year this week, wasn’t in Ridgefield’s lineup Wednesday, but went 1 for 4 with a run scored in Tuesday’s game.
38 — Shortstop J.C. Correa, a Ridgefield infielder who hasn’t joined the team yet, was drafted Wednesday by the Houston Astros for the second straight year. The Lamar University junior led his team in every major hitting category this past season, and is the brother of Astros all-star shortstop Carlos Correa.
