As a recent high school graduate, Ryder Cutlip is the resident young buck on the Ridgefield Raptors.
The Raptors welcomed Cutlip, the top-ranked outfielder in Idaho out of Owyhee High School, this summer before he moves on to play college baseball at Gonzaga in the fall.
Joining the West Coast League required an early adjustment period; Cutlip started the season going 0-for-10 at the plate in his first four games. Now, he’s in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, which helped elevate his average to .258 with one home run and eight RBI.
“I think it’s good for me to finally start getting confident, especially just graduating high school,” Cutlip said. “When I first came up and I was a little bit slow to start, I think I wasn’t confident, I wasn’t carrying myself. So, once I got my first hit in Bellingham (June 9), I think it’s kind of carried through.”
Cutlip credits a lot of his recent success to wisdom imparted on him from older Raptors teammates. That group includes future Gonzaga teammate Kyle Memarian, a Skyview High School alumnus who just completed his redshirt freshman season with the ‘Zags.
“The learning experience that I’ve had from the boys in the dugout, especially just about approach and all of that, I think it’s definitely made me a better hitter,” Cutlip said.
“In high school ball in Idaho, it’s not going to blow you away. You can just kind of throw your hands at the ball. But then I had my first couple at-bats up here and I realized that I had to make some adjustments. So, I spent some time with some of the boys, some of the coaches and just made some swing adjustments. Now I feel a lot more comfortable. I can make adjustments mid-swing and it feels a lot better.”
While some baseball players opt to train privately over playing for a summer team, Cutlip took full advantage of this stretch to bridge the gap between high school and college. It’s also his first full-time experience living away from home.
“It’s kind of been crazy; this is like my first breath of freedom you could say,” Cutlip said. “It’s been fun. My host family is absolutely great. So, I’m having a good time. It’s not too bad waking up every morning and know you’re going to play baseball, so I can’t complain.”
Stat spotlight
Ridgefield started last week’s six-game homestand winning three of its first four behind a consistent string of performances from its pitching staff.
In three games against the Bend Elks June 25-27 plus the June 28 series opener against the Portland Pickles, the Raptors’ pitchers and defense held their opponents scoreless for 34 out of 36 innings.
Starting pitchers Dylan Stewart, Cole Tryba, Wyatt Nichol and Curtis Hebert combined for 19 shutout innings over the four-day stretch. In most cases, Raptors relievers made sure those performances didn’t go to waste.
In a 3-2 win over the Elks June 26, Dylan Richardson, Damian Pantoya and Zach Todd fought off an eighth-inning rally from the visitors one night after the Raptors gave up 10 runs to the Elks in a 10-4 loss. Todd finished the job the following night with his second consecutive save, striking out two of the final three batters in the ninth.
“I think that just shows how close of a team we are — no matter what the count is, no matter what the score is, we’re going to fight for each other,” Todd said.
The gem of the week came in a June 28 win over the Pickles, who were held to two hits in a 4-0 final. Hebert gave up just one hit in six innings of work before Tito Santos and Carson Kruckman upheld the shutout over the final three innings.
“I think it’s contagious,” Hebert said. “One guy goes out there and does what he’s supposed to, and the next guy is like, ‘Yeah, it’s that easy,’ but it’s really not. It’s been fun to pitch with it (and) fun to play in the field.”
Portland, however, bounced back to win the final two games of the series June 29-30, improving its record to 4-1 against Ridgefield for the season.
In their own words
“This place is awesome. I love it. It’s a small town, and the community really comes out and shows their support. … We had 2,000 people here last night (June 28). Even at (Oklahoma), that’s a big crowd, and that’s a big crowd anywhere you go, really …” — Raptors infielder Patrick Engskov, comparing the atmosphere at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex to college baseball venues like Oklahoma, where he’s played the last two seasons.
The week ahead
The Raptors will get their toughest test of the season thus far when they face the seven-time defending WCL champion Corvallis Knights, who are off to another strong start with a league-best 19-5 record, in a July 2-4 series. The first two games will be played in Corvallis and Ridgefield will host the July 4 series finale at 3:05 p.m.
The Knights rank second in batting average (.266) and lead the WCL with a 2.38 team earned-run average.
Following the Fourth of July home game, Ridgefield (10-13) will host a three-game series July 5-7 against the Cowlitz Black Bears (11-13). Cowlitz became just the third team to defeat the Knights this season when it swept a June 26 doubleheader at Corvallis.
