RIDGEFIELD — Going 19 days without losing a baseball game had the Ridgefield Raptors on cloud nine.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise the Corvallis Knights, the seven-time defending West Coast League champions, brought the Raptors back down to earth.
Corvallis led wire-to-wire in Tuesday’s 7-5 win at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex to end Ridgefield’s 13-game winning streak, a run that started on July 5 one day after Ridgefield was swept by the same Knights team in a July 2-4 series.
Similar to each of the three prior defeats, the Raptors gave the Knights a competitive game, but couldn’t get over the hump after giving up a pair of runs in each of the first two innings with Ridgefield starting pitcher Curtis Hebert on the mound.
Corvallis starter Kaden Segel earned his fifth win of the season and reliever Caleb Debban earned the save, allowing just two Ridgefield hits across the final four innings.
“We pitched behind in the count a lot tonight, which gave them a lot of hitting counts,” Ridgefield head coach Chris Cota said. “I think our guys competed well. It’s just one of those games where we lost by two runs and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
The matchup featured two starting pitchers — Segel and Hebert — who played in last week’s WCL All-Star game on the South Division team. Both players took some early lumps Tuesday.
At the top of the Knights’ order, Thomas Ferroggiaro and Ty Yukumoto got on base via a walk and base hit to open the first inning. Both went on to score, first from an off-target throw on a steal attempt, followed by a Kevin Takeuchi sacrifice fly. In the second, Ferroggiaro added an RBI single and Yukumoto drove in another run on a double for a 4-0 lead.
The Raptors twice trimmed the deficit to one run. They scored three runs in the bottom half of the second from a Luke Iverson RBI double, Julian Nunez RBI ground out and a Jack Salmon RBI single.
Then, trailing 6-3 in the fifth, Hunter Katschke followed a Kyle Memarian leadoff base hit by crushing a two-run home run to get the Raptors within 6-5.
However, following Segel’s exit at the end of the fifth in favor of Debban, the reliever stymied Ridgefield’s bats in four scoreless innings to follow with three strikeouts, no walks and two hits allowed. The Knights added an insurance run on a Blake Wilson RBI single in the seventh inning.
“They really pitch well,” Cota said. “They put the ball in play. They’re going to put pressure on you a lot with guys running. (Ridgefield catcher Justin Stransky) did a great job of throwing guys out and keeping the run game down. But, they kept trying to run and Stransky kept throwing them out. They’re just a team that’s going to put pressure on you. They’re well coached and they’re a tough team.”
Though the Raptors’ 13-game win streak is now history, the degree of difficulty required to pull off such a feat isn’t lost on them.
The three-week stretch effectively changed the course of their season, going from a sub-.500 team to playoff contender. The Raptors lead the WCL South Division second-half standings with a 13-1 mark and also sit fourth in the overall division standings. If current trends hold with 14 games remaining, either path would clinch Ridgefield a WCL playoff berth.
“I mean, we went from 10-16 to 23-16 like that,” Cota said. “They were comfortable, they were loose, having fun and they just kept playing. As coaches, you kind of just step back and let them play.
“It’s hard to get on a run like that, especially in this league. It’s a .500 league, and if you can finish above .500 you’ve done well. To be able to win 13 in a row, it’s a pretty good accomplishment for these guys.”
Three moments
Raptors celebrate host families – Prior to the start of Tuesday’s game, the Raptors held “Host Family Appreciation Night” to celebrate all the people who open their homes to out-of-town players during the summer. The gathering concluded with each host family throwing out first pitch to their player alongside each other.
Back, back to the bullpen – Trailing 6-3 with two outs in the fifth, the Raptors were in danger of wasting a Kyle Memarian leadoff base hit. Then, Hunter Katschke hit a two-run homer 315 feet that landed in the Raptors’ bullpen in left field. Ridgefield trimmed its deficit to 6-5 with Katschke’s team-leading fifth homer of the season.
Twice caught in a pickle – The Knights were primed to add on to their 7-5 lead in the eighth with two runners in scoring position in one out. Then chaos ensued.
Colter McAnelly was caught in a pickle between third base and home plate when Ridgefield third baseman Kyle Memarian chased and dove to tag McAnelly. With two Knights runners still caught between the base paths, the Raptors zeroed in on Kasen Khansarinia between second and third, where catcher Justin Stransky was able to track him down for the third out.
Three players
Hunter Katschke – The Utah Tech product continued a torrid stretch by hitting his third home run in five games. His .365 batting average currently ranks second in the WCL, trailing only Bend’s Easton Amundson (.372).
Caleb Debban – Four scoreless innings in relief delivered by the left-handed pitcher from George Fox left Ridgefield with just two baserunners on a pair of Justin Stransky singles. Debban struck out three and didn’t allow a walk to earn the save.
Thomas Ferroggiaro – The Knights’ leadoff hitter went 2-for-2 with an RBI single and two-run home run to drive in three of his team’s runs. He also scored two runs and earned three walks to get on base in all five at-bats.
Three numbers
1.5 – Average margin of defeat in Ridgefield’s four losses to Corvallis this season. Two games were decided by one run and the other two were decided by two runs, including Tuesday’s loss.
2 – Ridgefield batters to get on base over the final four innings.
4 – Corvallis baserunners caught stealing by Ridgefield catcher Justin Stransky. Ty Yukumoto’s two stolen bases were the only ones to get through the strong-armed Fresno State product.
BOXSCORE: CORVALLIS 7, RIDGEFIELD 5
