PORTLAND – Ridgefield’s bats went quiet Thursday in the series finale against Portland, and the Pickles capitalized after going through their own offensive struggles earlier in the series.
Portland used a four-run third inning to pull ahead and preserve an ultimate 5-0 win at Walker Stadium.
The Raptors, held to four hits for the game, were unable to complete the series sweep, though still came away with the road series win following a three-hit shutout on Tuesday and a 10-inning, 6-5 win on Wednesday.
In the third inning, Portland got two runners in scoring position with a Wyatt King double, which moved Jose Ruiz to third.
From there, an RBI single from Payton Allen and Keith Jones II sacrifice fly scored a pair of runs for the Pickles. But with two outs and a 2-2 count, Dalton Mashore tacked on an RBI single, and the Raptors gave up another run on a wild pitch from Ben Hart, which catcher Jacob Sharp was unable to corral.
Ridgefield will return home for a six-game homestand starting Friday with a weekend series against the Victoria HarbourCats (8-8).
Three moments
Flash in the pan – Of Ridgefield’s four hits, two came in the top of the first inning. Trent Prokes led off with a single, and three batters later, Will Chambers added a base hit. But with a Mikey Kane strikeout for the third out, the Raptors were unable to string together any hits for the remainder of the game.
Denied – In the fourth, Ridgefield’s first chance to respond to the Pickles’ four-run inning, Kane hit a deep shot to left field, but Jones climbed high to snag the out. Following a Stephen Espinosa two-out single, Lateef Wakil struck out to end the inning.
One more for good measure – Portland tacked on one final run in the eighth inning on a Michael Campagno RBI double to score Dalton Mashore, who was hit by a pitch to get on base, and later stole third.
Three players
Dalton Mashore – Portland’s cleanup hitter led the Pickles with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI.
Nathan Shinn – The starting pitcher went five innings against Ridgefield and finished with four strikeouts, no walks and three hits allowed.
Jacob Kokeny – One of the bright spots for the Raptors was Kokeny’s relief appearance, which began in the fourth inning to replace Hart. In three innings pitched, Kokeny gave up just one hit and no runs, while striking out two.
Three numbers
16 – Number of batters Shinn faced without giving up a hit in five innings on the mound.
0.64 – The ERA for Portland Pickles reliever Kolby Kmetko, which ranks in the top 10 of the West Coast League. Kmetko pitched two innings following Shinn.
1 – Number of times Ridgefield has been shut out this season. The Raptors had a pair of one-run games, but hadn’t been blanked until Thursday.
PORTLAND 5, RIDGEFIELD 0
Ridgefield 000 000 000—0 4 2
Portland 004 000 01x—5 7 1
Ridgefield
Pitching – Bent Hart 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 K, 1 BB; Jacob Kokeny 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB; Charlie Royle 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 K, 1 BB; Chaz McWilliams 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 K, 1 BB. Highlights – Trent Prokes 1-4; Jacob Sharp; Will Chambers 1-4; Stephen Espinoza 1-3.
Portland
Pitching – Nathan Shinn 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 K, 0 BB; Kolby Kmetko 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB.; Tommy Snyder 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K, 0 BB; David Morgan 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB. Highlights – Wyatt King 1-4, R, 2B; Payton Allen 1-4, R, RBI; Keith Jones II 1-3, RBI; Dalton Mashore 2-3, 2 R, RBI; Michael Campagna 1-3, 2B, RBI; Jose Ruiz 1-4, R.
