Ridgeview survives Top 10 showdown against Bend in 3-2 thriller

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — After a tense delay due to a nearby police standoff on Wednesday night, baseball was back at Vince Genna Stadium, and the fans were treated to a Top 10 showdown between Ridgeview and Bend High.

The fifth-ranked Ridgeview Ravens held off a late push from the 9th-ranked Bend Lava Bears, securing a tight 3–2 victory in a dramatic matchup on Thursday evening.

“We understand what our job is from here on out," said Shane Nakamura, Ridgeview's coach. "We’re just taking it one pitch at a time, trying to take care of business on the field and rock and roll from there.”

Olen Nofziger said, “We were getting a little too big with our overall picture and weren’t taking it one pitch at a time. Since then, we’ve been sticking to the little things, getting everything right so we can win these close ball games.”

Ryden Nakamura said, “Yeah, these games are really important. It’s a learning lesson every time. So the more we’re in these situations, the more comfortable we become. We know what’s going on, so we play more freely. We expect what’s going to happen.”

Diego Lopez said: “There’s no limit. We can go as far as we want—we just have to do it.”

Ridgeview and Bend are set to square off one more time on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Looking ahead, Bend will face fifth-ranked Summit in a high-stakes three-game series next week, while Ridgeview prepares to take on Mountain View.