RIDGEFIELD — Andy Allanson and Jack Salmon were slated to have the day off Thursday — or so they thought.
The Ridgefield Raptors were trailing the Bend Elks 5-4, on the verge of squandering a winnable game, until Allanson and Salmon stepped in to make the two most consequential plays of the game at the plate.
First, Allanson was tapped in as a pinch hitter by head coach Chris Cota to begin the bottom of the ninth. Allanson swung on the very first pitch against Bend right-hander Ty Schwaiger, and unloaded a solo, game-tying home run to the berm beyond right field.
Five batters later, with the bases loaded via two walks and a hit batter, Salmon and the Raptors were still feeding off the energy Allanson provided.
Salmon knifed a base hit through the middle of Bend’s infield to bring in Jake Tsukada for a walk-off, 6-5 win at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex. Ridgefield (16-7) clinched the series win over Bend (8-13) one night after suffering a 5-3 loss.
“Andy came in after a tough one yesterday, but we all have faith in him, we all trust him,” said Salmon, who subbed into the game in the fifth inning to replace centerfielder Quincy Scott due to an injury. “He hit that bomb, and after that, we all just got fired up.”
Ridgefield averted a near disaster when it gave up five unanswered runs to the Elks between the sixth and eighth, which came after the Raptors built a 4-0 lead with starting pitcher Dylan Stewart on the mound.
Stewart, the 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher from Pepperdine, came into Thursday with a West Coast League-best 0.50 earned-run average and dealt another strong performance. In five scoreless innings, Stewart had six strikeouts, two walks and three hits allowed.
“It doesn’t shock me; he’s been doing it all year,” Salmon said. “Every time he comes out here, he’s awesome.”
Meanwhile, Ridgefield’s Tristan Gomes came up with the team’s first three runs, on an RBI ground out in the opening frame and a two-run homer in the third.
The early work was nearly all for naught.
Bend took advantage of Stewart’s exit in the sixth with an Ethan Thomas two-run single to cut Ridgefield’s lead in half.
The Elks took a 5-4 lead in the eighth on Niko Rosell’s base hit to bring in a pair of runs.
Ridgefield’s walk-off win was its second in three days at the RORC, following Tuesday’s series opener against the Elks decided on an 11th-inning, walk-off balk.
Now, the Raptors hit the road for a two-hour trip south to face the Springfield Drifters in a series that could decide the WCL South Division first-half winner. After Thursday’s bounce-back game, and last week’s 6-0 road trip, the Raptors are back to their confident selves.
“We got it going right now,” Salmon said. “This game tonight definitely got the confidence and momentum back up, and hopefully we can put up more than 11 games in a row again. We can beat it.”
