RIDGEFIELD — The Ridgefield Raptors’ playoff hopes looked bleak one month ago when they finished the first half of their West Coast League schedule with a 10-16 record, the fourth-worst mark among 16 teams in the league.
A prolonged offensive slump often required a talented Raptors pitching staff to shoulder a heavy burden, and they found themselves five games behind the likes of the Bend Elks, Portland Pickles and Corvallis Knights in the upper half of the WCL South Division.
Yet when they ended the first half in a July 2-4 series sweep by the league-leading Knights — losing three games by a combined four runs — Raptors coaches Chris Cota, Nick Allen and Derek Mettler sensed the team was beginning to click.
The Raptors’ hitting, pitching and defense were all up to the task against the Knights, and coaches believed they were close to finding better outcomes.
“We were starting to play all three facets really well,” Allen said. “That was just the message after the (July 4) game from (Cota) and myself was, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing. The wins are gonna come. Now just trust that process.’ ”
The subtle message resonated with Ridgefield players.
“I think we all just went back and thought about it, ‘You know, we did play hard.’ ” Ridgefield catcher/outfielder Luke Iverson said. “Mentally, I think that was a big realization that we are that good, that we play really well together and we work really well together.”
With a clean slate of sorts to begin the second half of the season, the team flipped a switch and never looked back. The Raptors won a franchise-record 13 straight games, which started July 5 and carried through a series sweep over the Victoria HarbourCats July 19-21.
The run effectively changed the course of their season, vaulting them into the upper half of the WCL South Division standings and leading to a fourth consecutive playoff berth they clinched July 30 with a win over Yakima Valley Pippins.
Ridgefield (31-23) draws Corvallis (41-13) in the best-of-three WCL Divisional Series, kicking off Saturday at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex before the series moves to Goss Stadium for Sunday and Monday (if necessary). First pitch of Game 1 is slated for 6:35 p.m.
Offense comes around
A major part of the turnaround is Ridgefield’s offense, which hovered near the bottom of the league during the opening weeks of the season in several statistics. Now, Ridgefield ranks fourth in slugging (.359) and sixth in batting average (.266) and on-base percentage (.373).
“We didn’t start off very hot, but we got the bats going during that streak and everyone started buying in,” said Ridgefield infielder and leadoff hitter Taylor Takata, who’s hitting .327 through 43 games. “You could feel a culture shift going on here — guys leaning on each other — and I think that’s a huge part of our success.”
Led by Cota, who’s been with the team since its inaugural 2019 season, Ridgefield coaches view themselves as conduits to help players improve however they need before returning to their college programs in the fall.
But the environment and atmosphere within the team are mostly dictated by players. Strong leaders can go a long way in building chemistry, as Ridgefield coaches have seen in recent years, and this year’s squad has several, according to Allen.
One is catcher Justin Stransky, a second-year Ridgefield player and one of the team’s top vocal leaders. He’s continued a torrid pace at the plate with a .364 batting average, which ranks third in the WCL.
Fellow second-year Raptor Julian Nunez and Takata, both infielders, have also left an impression with their work ethic and professional approach they bring to the field daily.
Then there’s Hunter Katschke, a tone-setter for the rest of the team who’s had arguably the hottest second half of any player in the WCL with the most home runs (nine) and second-best batting average (.367) in the league.
“I’ve been having such a blast down here, and finally starting to catch fire makes you feel good,” Katschke said. “It’s something magical. I mean, everybody’s gone through their troubles with baseball — losing, being streaky and all that. … It brings a lot of confidence to the dugout, everybody starts getting better and better every day and it’s definitely a lot of fun.”
All together
A pivotal stretch during the win streak came when the Raptors hit the road for a July 12-14 series against the Springfield Drifters leading up the WCL All-Star break.
They rallied to win game one in a 13-inning marathon after giving up a multi-run lead. By Sunday’s series finale, as the Raptors were just a few outs away from earning their ninth straight win, Allen and Cota were sitting back in the dugout when the team started dancing to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and pounding the dugout railing in unison. It was a good indicator of a team jelling on and off the field.
“I turned to coach (Cota) and I was like, ‘Oh, OK,’ ” Allen recalled. “So that was kind of a moment, if you will. That was toward the end of the streak. At the same time, that kind of thing where if they’re not having fun with each other … it makes getting through this so much harder. They go out, have a good time and have fun while they’re working to get better.”
For all the fun days at the ballpark, there’s also afternoons when the six-day-per-week schedule feels like a grind. Those moments, according to Stransky, are when Ridgefield coaches become invaluable in keeping players mentally focused.
“There are some summer days where you just roll in and you’re like, ‘I’m tired, I don’t have my A-game, I don’t have my 100 percent,’ ” Stransky said. “They kind of reinforce the ‘give me 100 percent of what you have’ type of deal. Which is really cool. I enjoy that a lot.”
In addition to hitting, behind the dish Stransky has also seen the Raptors’ pitching staff build on their strong first half of the season. Even after top arms Dylan Stewart and Isaiah Magdaleno departed in recent weeks, the Raptors stayed afloat with starters Curtis Hebert, Carson Revay, Blake Hammond and Wyatt Nichol rising to the challenge.
“This staff has been incredible,” Stransky said. “What I really enjoy is that they trust me when I’m behind the plate, they trust my pitches that I call, they trust that I can block an 0-2 slider. But that’s huge for a staff, and I trust that they’re going to get those pitches there, because if I didn’t trust that, I wouldn’t call it. And, having that trust both ways it’s vital to having a successful staff.”
Ridgefield’s 2024 season has been a stark contrast to the previous one when they secured a playoff berth by winning the first-half division title, then faded in the second half and were swept in the WCL Divisional Series against Portland.
Having won seven of their last nine series, no team has been hotter than the Raptors in the second half. Their hope is to peak when the playoffs begin Saturday.
“We’re all just having a blast and we would love for the summer to last as long as it can,” Takata said.
