When the Ridgefield Outdoor Sports Complex first opened in 2019, Ridgefield High School baseball coach Nick Allen thought it provided the perfect opportunity to host an early-season baseball tournament.
So that’s what Allen has done every year since.
And while the all-weather fields at the RORC were the big attraction for holding such an event, they weren’t really needed in past years.
“Five years doing this, and this is the first raindrop we’ve had,” Allen said.
A remarkable fact for an outdoor event held in March in the Pacific Northwest. The event has attracted teams like Lynden, North Kitsap and W.F. West since its inception.
“Usually they walk out of here, and they’re like ‘It doesn’t rain here, does it?’ ” Allen said. “It’s always sunny in Ridgefield.
“So that’s what I text them (on Friday). ‘Yep, it’s always sunny in Ridgefield.’ ”
The message was tongue-solidly-in-check. Friday was decidedly unsunny.
The Richie Sexson Bracket of the Baseballism Pacific Northwest Kickoff Classic got started Thursday with a couple games played through light rain.
But the rain turned heavy and persistent on Friday morning, creating a busy day for Allen as the tournament director at Ridgefield. The original schedule had six games played on two fields at the RORC on Friday.
“I took the day off from work, and I ended up working 14 hours,” said Allen, who teaches history at Ridgefield High School. “I got everything prepped for the day, and then looked at the weather and went ‘uh oh!’ ”
Friday’s schedule had to be revamped. Some games were played Friday, but in less-than-desirable conditions.
“It just dumped at the end of the 6 o’clock games,” Allen said. “W.F. West went home just drenched. They were soaked.”
Saturday’s weather was more cooperative. But postponed games meant a long day of baseball that started at 10 a.m. and didn’t wrap up until after 6 p.m.
Allen said he was happy to pair his event in Ridgefield with other events held at Evergreen Public School fields and put them all under one umbrella with one main sponsor.
The added benefit is Allen’s own team got to experience top-level games against quality competition.
The Spudders reached the championship game of the bracket with a 13-10 win over North Kitsap on Thursday, then erased a 3-0 deficit against Fife in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings Saturday, where Ridgefield won 4-3 in eight innings.
Ridgefield fell to W.F. West 13-2 in the title game when the Spudders’ inexperienced pitchers allowed the Bearcats to pull away with some big innings.
“Not the result we wanted today, but overall a good weekend for us,” Allen said. “We’re seeing glimpses of a team that can compete a little bit. Coming out against good teams and being able to fight, scratch and claw to get a couple of wins on a weekend like this is not a bad weekend overall.”
The tournament is a lot of work, but Allen said it’s a labor of love.
“It’s late nights and long hours,” Allen said. “But it’s so much fun because the kids coming from out of town, I mean, it’s the best baseball in the state at our level. And the kids just love it. The teams that come in, they just love coming here, love playing each other and competing at a high level. So it’s worth it to me.”
And the long days were only part of the cost to Allen.
While Allen was at the RORC on Thursday night, coaching the Spudders and running the tournament, his daughter Danica was running her first track and field meet of the spring.
“I got home really late that night, and Danica had already gone to bed,” Allen said. “So I asked my wife how she did. My wife says ‘Oh, she broke the school record in the 3,200.’ It was her first time running a competitive 3,200, and she breaks the school record. I was like ‘Oh, man.’ ”
But as any good coach knows, you can’t win them all.
