The Columbia River Cup series will come to a close for the season as the Black Bears and the Ridgefield Raptors face off at David Story Field for the first time in 2025. The series is tied up at 2-2, with Cowlitz winning the first two and Ridgefield winning the next two to even the series.
The Bears are coming off a close series loss against the Bend Elks at Vince Genna Stadium.
Game one was a battle of offense, as the game was already 7-7 through four innings. Four scoreless frames out of the bullpen from Chris Moreno allowed the Black Bears’ offense to gain a comfortable lead. They scored two runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to win 13-7. Cowlitz had their most runs (13) and hits (20) in a game this season on Friday.
Game two was the opposite for the Bears, as the offense faltered. Carson Boyer threw 6.1 IP, only giving up one run, while the bullpen held them scoreless the rest of the way. Jack Laffitte, Brodey Bitove and Benji Solano all drove in two each as the Elks won 9-1.
Game three was another battle of offense, this time a lot closer late. The Bears took an early 5-0 lead after some bad defensive plays by the Elks. Bend would respond with a six-run fourth inning, finished off by a Zach Carlson bases-clearing double to make it 7-5. Cowlitz responded with four runs in retaliation, but the Elks would score two more in the sixth to tie the game back up at 9-9. After a few scoreless innings on both sides, Jace Miller would hit the first pitch thrown in the bottom of the ninth over the left field wall, winning the game and series for the Elks.
Will Jesske had a phenomenal series, going 9-13. He had a four-hit game on Friday and hit three doubles on Sunday, raising his AVG to .283. A few new additions to the squad, Jeramiah Crain, Indy Anderson, Martin Serrano and Andy Cisneros are all hitting over .300 to start their seasons. Serrano had two three-hit games on Friday and Sunday, Cisneros has eight hits in his last four games and Anderson has a hit in four of his first five games.
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Ridgefield has not played a regular-season game since the last time these two teams played; rather, they have played two non-league matches against the NW Star Nighthawks. They are currently 16-26 this season and 4-11 in the second half.
The Raptors were tied with NW Star in the fifth, but scored four runs in the next two frames and didn’t look back to win game one. Game two was a lot easier for Ridgefield, scoring five in the first and throwing eight scoreless innings to end the game 11-2 and sweep the series.
With Noah Karliner’s departure, the offense is now headed by Andrew Estrella, who has already led the Raptors to a victory over Cowlitz with his bat, hitting a grand slam on Tuesday, which was the difference in a 5-1 victory. He is hitting .323 with 7 HR, 25 RBI, 6 doubles, 17 runs scored and 15 walks. They also have Taylor Takata, who leads the team in hits (38) while hitting 7 doubles, scoring 31 runs and walking 16 times.
Landon Hood and Michael Hoefgen have been mainstays in the pitching rotation. Hoefgen was the only Raptors pitcher to be selected as a WCL All-Star. He has a 3.64 ERA in 24.2 IP with 27 strikeouts and has not given up more than 3 ER in any of his 9 appearances. Hood leads the team in strikeouts (28) while having a 4.18 ERA in 23.2 IP, maintaining an undefeated record at 3-0.
After this series, the Black Bears stay at home to play the Elks in their second of three series this season. The Raptors head back home for a tough six-game stretch against the Portland Pickles and Walla Walla Sweets.
The Raptors-Black Bears series begins on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at David Story Field. Games two and three will also be at 6:35 p.m. For more information about upcoming games, stats, or tickets, follow us on social media: X (Twitter) (@CowlitzBBears), Facebook, and Instagram (@cowlitzblackbears). To watch, listen live, or view the 2025 promotional schedule, go to our website, cowlitzblackbears.com.