Raptors Road Trip: Walla Walla 4, Ridgefield 3

WALLA WALLA — The Ridgefield Raptors first road trip of the 2023 West Coast League season started on a down note Friday with a 4-3 loss to the Walla Walla Sweets.

Ridgefield (3-4) had a 3-2 lead going into the seventh inning where the Sweets (1-6) took the lead and held on for their first win of the season.

How the runs scored

— The Raptors got their 3-2 lead on a bases-loaded balk call in the sixth inning with two outs.

— Walla Walla tied the game in the seventh when Kennedy Hara singled to score Vicente Feliciano, who had tripled. The Sweets took a 4-3 lead two batters later on Ben Parker’s single.

— Ridgefield’s Andy Allenson (College of the Canyons) knocked in Jake Tsukada (Univ. of Portland) with a double in the first inning for a 1-0 Raptors lead.

— Tsukada’s fielder’s choice scored Andy Ambriz (College of the Canyons) in the second inning.

Top hitters

— Ridgefield’s Jack Salmon (Golden West College) was 2 for 4.

— Walla Walla’s Manny Casillas (Northwest Nazarene) was 3 for 4 with a run scored.

Pitching

— Sawyer Allen (Rockhurst College) in his second outing for the Raptors went five innings, giving up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts and a walk.

— Columbia River grad and Linfield College freshman Casey Struckmeier had his first outing on the mound, going 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Up next

The Raptors and Sweets play the second of their three-game series beginning at 6:35 p.m. Saturday at Borleske Stadium.

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SWEETS 4, RAPTORS 3

Ridgefield 110 001 000—3 6 1

Walla Walla 000 200 20x—4 10 3

Ridgefield (3-4)

Pitching — Allen 5 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 5 K, 1 BB; Struckmeier 1.1 IP, loss, 2 R, 6 H, 2 K, 0 BB; Monteforte 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K, 1 BB; Highlights — Tsukada 1R; Allenson 1-5 2B RBI; Beeson 1-4; Prokes 1-2 2B; Gomes 1R; Ambriz 1-2 1R.

Walla Walla (1-6)

Pitching — Polley 3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB; Berry 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB; Brunson 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 K, 0 BB; Aitken 1 IP, win, 0 R, 0 H; Aribal 2 IP, save, 0 R, 0 H, 3 K, 3 BB; Highlights — Hara 1-4 RBI 1R; Graham 1-5; Parker 2-4 RBI 1R; Casillas 3-4 1R; Meyer 1-3 2B; Carr 1-4 RBI; Feliciano 1-3 3B 1R.