The Ridgefield Raptors return home Tuesday for a six-game homestand at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex. Photo by Paul Valencia

Ridgefield is 5-3 in West Coast League play

The Ridgefield Raptors return home this week after a winning trip to Canada, and they also have a player of the week from the West Coast League.

Ben Hart of Dixie State was named the WCL’s pitcher of the week. Hart threw six scoreless innings Friday night against the Nanaimo NightOwls. That gives Hart 11 scoreless innings in his two appearances for the Raptors this season.

The Raptors won three of five games in Canada against the NightOwls and the Kelowna Falcons. They are 5-3 in West Coast League games.

Ridgefield will take on the Edmonton Riverhawks in a three-game series at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex, with the first game Tuesday. The Raptors will remain home for a weekend series against rival Cowlitz. All games start at 6:35 p.m. except for Sunday’s matinee, with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

The Raptors are nearby for their next 15 games. After this weekend’s series, the team will play three in Portland against the Pickles, then return home for six more games.

Besides the strong pitching from Hart, the Raptors have had the knack for crushing the ball. In three of the team’s five wins, the Raptors have scored 16, 23, and 17 runs. They also scored 21 runs in the opening night exhibition game.

Will Chambers, who led the WCL in home runs last season, has three home runs and has driven in seven runs this season. Safea Villaruz-Mauai leads the Raptors with 10 RBIs,

Trent Prokes is hitting .478 on the young season. Former Mountain View High School standout Riley McCarthy is second on the team with a .355 average.

On the mound, Jeter Schuerman is leading the team in strikeouts. He has 12 in 5.2 innings of work. He had eight strikeouts in three innings of work against Kelowna last week.

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