Knights stun Raptors 11-9 with late rally

Tuesday, July 8, Ridgefield, Wash. – The Knights erupted for five runs with two outs in the ninth inning to stun Ridgefield 11-9 in a wild South Division game at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.

A three-run homer by Maddox Riske (USC, pictured above) was the big blow, erasing a 7-6 deficit. The Knights tacked on two more runs before finally being retired and they held off the Raptors in the home half to post their 11^th straight win in the series.

Knights (24-10 all, 21-10 WCL, 4-0 second half) stretched their winning streak to 10 straight games in WCL action and 12 games in a row overall. Their last loss was at Yakima Valley back on June 25.

The Knights trailed 7-6 with two outs in the top of the ninth but Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) singled after falling behind 0-2 to keep them alive. Thomas Ferroggiaro (Santa Clara) worked a five pitch walk to put runners on the corners.

Riske then sent the second pitch he saw over the right-field fence, where it was caught in the Corvallis bullpen by a celebrating Knight. It was his first homer of the summer; he now has a team-leading 21 RBIs and a .344 average.

Corvallis refused to be retired, however, and Blake Wilson (Washington) was hit by a pitch, stole second and went to third on an error. Gavin Brubaker (NW Nazarene) snapped an 0-for-11 slump with an RBI infield single to score Wilson, making the score 10-7. A wild pitch scored another run for an 11-7 margin.

Ridgefield scored twice in the bottom of the ninth and had the tying run at the plate when the final out was recorded.

The Knights are 4-0 vs. the Raptors in 2025 and have beaten them three times in their final at-bats. Ridgefield has not defeated the Knights since Aug. 5, 2023, a span covering 11 regular-season and two playoff games.

Ketelsen was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Riske, Ferroggiaro had two hits each, as did Maverek Russel (UCLA), who drove in four runs.

Corvallis fell behind 7-0 after the second inning, but began its comeback the following frame on Ketelsen’s RBI single. Three singles loaded the bases in the fourth and Russell drilled a two-out double to clear the bases and draw the Knights within 7-4.

Russell and Trey Swygard (Portland) had RBIs in the sixth, enabling Corvallis to pull within 7-6.

In the meantime, reliever Michael Singleton (George Fox) blanked the Raptors for four innings, allowing only one hit and one walk. He fanned four and faced just 14 batters, only two over the four-inning minimum.

Incoming Oregon State freshman Tyler Bellerose threw scoreless seventh and eighth innings, striking out two. He became the winning pitcher when Brubaker closed the game by striking out the side while giving up two runs.

Game 2 of the series is set for 6:35 p.m. July 9. The scheduled starters are Van Froling of UCSB (1-0, 2.45) for the Knights and Dillon Kirksey of Central CC (2-1, 8.64) for the Raptors.

Nebraska lefty Chase Olson (1-1, 4.10) will start for the Knights in the series finale at 6:35 p.m. July 10, opposed by Oregon State lefty Max Fraser (0-1, 1.50) for Ridgefield.

Corvallis swept a three-game series from Ridgefield at Goss Stadium on June 20-22. All the wins were by one run and two were walk-offs.

The Knights conclude the road trip at Walla Walla on July 11-13. Their next home game is a July 15 non-conference matchup with the Corvallis Gerding Construction American Legion team.

The WCL All-Star Game at Bellingham follows on July 16. Infielder Mason Riske (USC), pitcher J’Shawn Under (Iowa Western CC), center fielder Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) and catcher Xavier Rios (CSUN) will represent the Knights on the South Division squad.

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