RIDGEFIELD — After clinching a West Coast League playoff berth earlier this week, the Ridgefield Raptors weren’t content simply coasting into the postseason. Instead, they’ve kept their foot on the gas.
The Raptors opened their final home series of the regular season with a 12-4 win over the Springfield Drifters on Friday at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex with 12 hits tallied by eight players.
The performance came just three days after the Raptors (28-21) erupted for a season-high 19 runs Tuesday against the Yakima Valley Pippins to punch their ticket to the postseason starting Aug. 10.
Yet the Raptors are still in a tight race with a one-game lead over the Portland Pickles for the second-half South Division title. Whichever team wins the second half gets the No. 2 seed and home-field advantage for the three-game WCL Divisional Series.
“We’re not going to be complacent (now) that we’ve clinched playoffs,” Ridgefield third baseman Kyle Memarian said. “We want to win this second half and have that home-field advantage. So, we’re still grinding every game and just going after it.”
Memarian, a Skyview High School alumnus now playing at Gonzaga, posted a season-high three hits to lead a balanced Ridgefield batting order that also saw two hits apiece from Justin Stransky and Hunter Katschke, plus two RBI each from Doyle Kane and Dasan Harris.
Each of those aforementioned players had a part in giving Ridgefield the lead for good in the third inning after hitting through the order and putting up five runs to take a 6-2 lead.
“We’ve done a good job of making adjustments and a lot of the guys are getting in grooves,” Memarian said. “I think early on we just kind of had some early-season struggles and we’ve just gotten over that hump. Now we’re just clicking and everything’s going for us.”
The Raptors blew the game open in the seventh with six more runs scored on just one hit thanks to four Springfield errors.
But arguably the biggest unsung hero of the night was reliever Ryan McClaskey, a Camas High School alumnus, who pitched the final four innings without allowing a hit. He struck out six batters and walked one to earn his third save of the season.
“He shoved — that was awesome to see,” Memarian said. “His stuff is electric, and we’re not shocked at all.”
Ridgefield has just two home games left in the regular season, starting with game two of the series against Springfield on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Three moments
Welcome back to Ridgefield – Earlier this week, the Raptors signed two players who were part of their 2022 squad, Doyle Kane and Safea Mauai, to bolster the team’s late-season roster depth. Kane provided the spark for Ridgefield’s five-run third inning with an RBI single. Mauai scored on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, before Dasan Harris drove in two more runs on a single and Taylor Takata added an RBI base hit.
Unsettled on the mound – While struggling to locate the strike zone, Ridgefield starting pitcher Blake Hammond was pulled in the fourth inning after giving up a leadoff single and walk. His replacement, Dylan Richardson, didn’t fare much better to start. Springfield scored a pair of runs on a bases-loaded walk and Kedren Kinzie sacrifice fly, bringing the visitors within 6-4.
Three up, three down – After entering game to start the sixth, Ridgefield reliever Ryan McClaskey made quick work of the Drifters over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, retiring all nine batters faced.
Three players
Hunter Katschke – With a 2-for-3 outing, the Utah Tech product now has at least one hit in eight straight games. Katschke also had an RBI, with one run scored and one walk.
Kyle Memarian – The Gonzaga product posted a season-high three hits and scored one run to lead the Raptors.
Dasan Harris – The Oklahoma product went 1-for-3 with two RBI and made several stellar defensive plays in centerfield, highlighted by running down a fly ball on a dead sprint to right for an important third out in the third inning.
Three numbers
.368 – The batting averages of Ridgefield’s top hitters Hunter Katschke and Justin Stransky, both of whom are tied for the third best mark in the WCL.
5 – Regular season games remaining for the Raptors. Following next week’s final series at Walla Walla Aug. 6-8, Ridgefield is guaranteed to host at least one home game in the playoffs beginning Aug. 10.
