PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles had the base runners it needed in a West Coast League baseball game with Ridgefield on Tuesday night, but the Lefties’ bats were lacking punch in a 6-2 defeat to the Raptors.
Eight base runners were left stranded by Port Angeles (1-3, 8-20) on a night that saw the Lefties manage just two base hits, one of them a leadoff bunt by Nick Oakley.
Ridgefield’s leadoff hitter Caden Connor singled off Port Angeles starter Christian Becerra to open the game and later came home on a sacrifice fly.
The Lefties notched the score at 1-all in the third when Luke Saunders drew a leadoff walk, stole second and eventually scored on a Javy Espinoza RBI ground out.
First start of summer
Becerra, making his first start of the summer, pitched into the fifth and recorded the first out on his fourth straight strikeout but was chased from the game by the Raptors’ potent offensive attack.
He allowed a solo home run to Tanner Jacques, a hit by Connor and a walk before he was pulled in favor of reliever Steven Brooks.
Brooks struggled to close the door, allowing an RBI single by WCL Offensive Player of the Week John Peck, another run-scoring single by Coby Morales and an RBI ground out for a 5-1 Ridgefield (6-1, 19-12) lead.
Peck went 7 for 14 with two homers and six RBIs in three wins against the Lefties last week, and the Pepperdine product produced once more Tuesday, going 3 for 4 at the plate.
Second run
Oakley accounted for Port Angeles’ other run, bunting aboard safely to lead off the fifth, advancing up the bases on a wild pitch and ground out and scoring on another wild pitch.
Port Angeles and Ridgefield play again tonight at 6:35 p.m.
Ridgefield 6, Port Angeles 2
RID 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 — 6 10 3
PA 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 — 2 2 1
WP: Walters. LP: Becerra.
Pitching
Ridgefield — Weeldreyer 3.1 IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K; Walters 5.2 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 8 K.
Port Angeles — Becerra 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; Brooks 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K.
Hitting
Ridgefield — Connor 3-5, 2 R, RBI; Jacques 1-3, R, HR, RBI; Peck 3-4, R; Chambers 1-4, 2B, RBI.
Port Angeles — Oakley 1-5, R; Crawford 1-3; Saunders 2 BB, R; Espinoza BB, RBI.
