The longest road trip of the season also coincided with the most productive stretch to date for the Ridgefield Raptors.
The Raptors covered more than 600 miles on a trip that started June 20 in Yakima before it proceeded south to Central Oregon. They walked away with a pair of series sweeps against the Yakima Valley Pippins and Bend Elks, pushing their winning streak to 10 games ahead of another series with the Elks beginning Tuesday in Ridgefield.
The streak, which started on June 14 with a 4-2 win over the Portland Pickles, has propelled Ridgefield (14-6) from the middle of the pack to the top of the West Coast League South Division standings.
Entering Monday, the Raptors are in first place in the South Division with a 2 1/2 game lead over Portland and Corvallis. That puts the Raptors in pole position to earn one of the WCL’s playoff berths, given to the top team in the North and South divisions, respectively, for the first half of the 54-game season.
Last season, the Raptors clinched their first WCL playoff berth as a wild card in the eight-team postseason format.
Ridgefield’s first-half slate concludes Sunday in its series finale against the Springfield Drifters. Though WCL rules stipulate a team’s first-half schedule is considered complete at the conclusion of its 27th game, the Raptors will finish the slate one game shy because of a June 18 rained out game against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
According to Raptors general manager Gus Farah, that game is projected to be made up during a July 25-27 road series at Cowlitz as part of a doubleheader. The game will count toward each team’s second-half record, per WCL playoff procedures.
Portland (9-6) has played five and Corvallis (10-7) has played three less games than Ridgefield, meaning those two teams won’t finish their first-half schedule until next week.
Jacob Sharp returns
Ridgefield got another boost in its lineup with the addition of Sharp (UNLV), last season’s WCL co-MVP who hit a league-best 14 home runs with the Raptors.
Sharp began this summer in the Cape Cod League with the Cotuit Kettleers, then joined the Raptors ahead of their road trip and played in all six games.
He delivered the go-ahead RBI base hit in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 5-4 win over Yakima Valley, and also went 3-for-5 with an RBI as part of a dominant 15-6 win over Bend on Saturday.
Raptors thrive in the clutch
All three of Ridgefield’s wins over Yakima Valley had close margins in late innings.
The Raptors started with a 4-3 win Tuesday by building a four-run lead, then held off the Pippins as they rallied for a combined three runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
In Thursday’s series finale, a 4-1 Ridgefield win, the Raptors broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth with RBI base hits from Jackson Nicklaus and Andy Allanson.
Stat spotlight
Ridgefield right-handed pitcher Dylan Stewart (Pepperdine) currently owns the best earned-run average (0.50) in the WCL following his latest start, a five-inning, one-hit gem during Friday’s 3-1 win over Bend.
In 18 innings, the 6-foot-5 Stewart has tallied 20 strikeouts, seven walks, eight hits and one earned run allowed.
The week ahead
Fresh off a series sweep of the Elks (7-11) in Bend, in which Ridgefield outscored Bend 26-10 across three games, the teams will meet again at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex for another series starting Tuesday.
The series opener includes the Raptors’ weekly promotion, $3 Tuesday, for general admission tickets, concessions and domestic beer.
On Friday, Ridgefield will kick off a three-game road series against the Springfield (Ore.) Drifters (10-8) at Hamlin Sports Complex. After playing their inaugural WCL season in 2022, the Drifters have established themselves as a team on the rise. Springfield started the season winning five of its first six games and currently sits in fourth place of the WCL South Division standings.
