Ridgeview baseball suffers extra-inning loss, but it won’t derail their championship ambitions
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — You'd better hit the diamond this year, because the competition is stacked. Five Central Oregon baseball teams are currently ranked in the top 10 statewide, setting the stage for a thrilling spring season.
And Tuesday night in Redmond proved exactly why — in what turned into an instant classic, top-ranked Ridgeview battled hard but ultimately fell short against Canby, losing 6-5 in extra innings.
Coming into the night as the No. 1 team in the state, the Ridgeview Ravens found themselves in a hole early, down 4-0 after the first inning. But they clawed their way back with grit and timely hitting.
Aiden Scott sparked the rally with a two-RBI single in the second inning, followed by two more RBIs from Portland commit Logan Nakamura later in the game.
“It was very good — they were playing a shift to the pull side, so I was just thinking, 'Sit on one and take it up the middle,'” Nakamura said. “That was my approach — and I got two singles out of it.”
The Ravens kept things close behind a strong relief outing from sophomore Dylan Hertel, who kept Canby’s offense in check.
“I’ve been preparing for this for a while,” Hertel said. “I was getting ready all game and just mentally stayed locked in.”
Ryden Nakamura came through in the clutch, tying the game at 5-5 and sending it to extra innings. But in the top of the eighth, Canby managed to score — and despite Ridgeview having a chance to answer back in the bottom half, they couldn't complete the comeback.
Still, it was a hard-fought battle and another sign of how tough Ridgeview has been to start the year.
“We’ve had a lot of tough teams on our schedule, and we know we belong,” Nakamura said. “We can play with any team in the state. That confidence is going to help when we get into league play and the playoffs.”
A season ago, Ridgeview reached the 5A state semifinals. And with most of the lineup returning, they have the talent and experience to make another deep run — and maybe go all the way.
“We feel really confident we can get the job done this year, especially with this group,” said head coach Shane Nakamura.
Logan added, “Us seniors are hungry. We want this really bad. We work hard every single day, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to get there."
Ridgeview now sits fifth in the state rankings and will host La Salle on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in their final non-league matchup.
Next week, league play begins for both baseball and softball. The Ravens will open their IMC schedule against Summit - both teams eventually reached the state semifinals a season ago.
