RIDGEFIELD – Sometimes, “baseball happens.”
For all the skill needed to succeed, a little luck helps.
When fortune isn’t going a team’s way, you get what happened to the Ridgefield Raptors in a 3-0 loss to the Yakima Valley Pippins on Thursday at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.
Ridgefield was held to four hits in a game where its hitters found few breaks. Every line drive or hard grounder seemed to be right at somebody as the Pippins made three early runs stand up.
“We did a good job of putting the ball in play,” Ridgefield outfielder Luke Iverson said. “It was a game where both teams were putting the ball in play. Today, baseball happened and the ball fell their way a little bit more.”
Ridgefield couldn’t get to Yakima Valley starter Carson Judd. The left-hander from Washington State allowed three hits and three walks over eight innings. In his three starts, Judd has allowed two earned runs over 19 innings.
The Raptors (3-8) have started the season hitting .172 and are averaging 9.2 strikeouts per game. Thursday, Ridgefield struck out just four times.
Iverson is confident that Ridgefield’s fortune will turn as long as the Raptors keep putting the ball in play.
“That’s part of baseball,” Iverson said. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t fall your way. We put some good swings together and that’s what we took away. Keep swinging it and eventually it’s going to fall your way.”
Three moments
Leadoff power – Casey Wayne (Northwest Nazarene) gave Yakima Valley an early edge with a home run on the game’s third pitch. The outfielder lifted a high fly that rode the wind over the right field fence.
Hard hits, hard luck – Ridgefield’s best chance to get to Judd came in the fourth inning when Richard Tejada (USC) doubled with one out. But Justin Stransky then flied out to the warning track in right and Curtis Herbert followed with a liner right at the second baseman.
Don’t test him – Iverson kept Yakima Valley from extending its lead in the fifth inning. He threw out Julian Angulo trying to score from second base on a two-out single by Brennan Morgan.
Three players
Ryan McClaskey – The Camas High School grad pitched two innings of scoreless relief. He has yet to allow a run this summer in six innings over three appearances for Ridgefield.
Justin Stransky – The Raptors catcher singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to four games. The Fresno State product is 6 for 15 over that stretch and is hitting a team-high .333.
Tito Santos – The starting pitcher from Texas A&M allowed seven hits in four innings. But he kept Ridgefield in the game by escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth without giving up a run.
Three numbers
0 – Errors committed by Ridgefield one day after a sloppy five-error performance.
99 – Pitches thrown by Judd over eight innings, with 67 of them strikes.
12 – Runners stranded by Ridgefield’s pitchers, including five in scoring position.
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