Tuesday, July 23, Ridgefield, Wash. – Corvallis ended two streaks by defeating Ridgefield 7-5 in a South Division West Coast League game at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.
First, the Knights (35-10 overall, 30-10 WCL, 8-5 second half) snapped a two-game tailspin by taking the opener of the three-game series. And they ended a 13-game winning streak by the Raptors, who had not lost since falling to Corvallis 2-1 on July 4.
The Raptors were unbeaten (13-0) in the second half of the WCL season before running into the Knights again.
Third baseman Thomas Ferroggiaro (Santa Clara, pictured above) was 2-for-2 with a homer, two runs, three RBIs and three walks to pace the offense. He reached safely in all five plate appearances and raised his average to .318.
Ty Yukumoto (Pacific) was 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI and Kasen Khansarinia (UCLA) and Quin Dufort (Portland) each had two hits and a run.
The pitching standout was lefty Caleb Debban (George Fox). He entered the game in the bottom of the sixth with the Knights clinging to a 6-5 lead and shut the Raptors down over the next four innings to earn his first save of the summer.
He gave up two hits, struck out three and did not issue a walk. He has not allowed a run in 13.1 innings over his last six appearances, lowering his ERA to 1.11 and has 13 strikeouts, four walks and just seven hits allowed in that span.
Corvallis took a 2-0 lead in the first when Ferroggiaro scored on the back end of a double steal and Kevin Takeuchi (USC) added a sacrifice fly.
They doubled the advantage with two outs in the second on an RBI single by Ferroggiaro and Yukumoto’s RBI double.
Ridgefield cut that lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the second inning but Ferroggiaro blasted his first homer of the summer, a two-run shot, in the fourth inning to give the Knights some breathing room at 6-3.
However, Ridgefield answered with a two-run homer in the fifth inning to draw within 6-5. The Knights replied with a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Blake Wilson (Washington) to take a 7-5 lead, closing the scoring.
The series returns to Goss Stadium at 6:35 p.m. July 24 for Wilson Motors Night; stop by the dealership at the corner of 5th Street and Buchanan Avenue for a free general admission ticket.
The projected starting pitchers are Grant Cleavinger (0-2, 4.15) of Nebraska for Corvallis and Blake Hammond (0-0, 2.45) of Northwest Nazarene for Ridgefield.
The series shifts back to Ridgefield for the 6:35 p.m. July 25 finale. Cohen Gomez (0-0, 5.09) of Stanford will get the ball for Corvallis, opposed by Jake Swenson (0-1, 4.82) of Linfield for the Raptors.
The Knights then open a key six-game WCL South Division homestand against the Portland Pickles on July 26-28 and the Walla Walla Sweets on July 29-31. The top promotion is Lil’ King Bobblehead Night against the Pickles at 6:35 p.m. on July 27.
Corvallis has clinched the first-half South Division championship and will advance to the West Coast League playoffs for the 17th consecutive season. The postseason starts on Aug. 10.