The Ridgefield Spudders baseball team came out on top of the 2A Greater St. Helens League as the regular season closed last week with two wins against the Woodland Beavers.
The Spudders earned the first overall seed from the 2A GSHL after sharing the league title with the Columbia River Rapids, who both finished 14-2 in league.
The Spudders closed off their regular season against the Woodland Beavers with a 7-2 victory over the Beavers on Friday, May 3, and an 8-0 win on Wednesday, May 1.
Despite sharing the league title and clinching the first overall seed, Spudders head coach Nick Allen wants his team to continue to be confident and focus on completing each game.
“It’s such a young team, and they’ve just gotten better and better as they’ve gone throughout the year,” Allen said after the Spudders’ win on Wednesday. “Our goal is to try to just keep pushing on that. We need to play with confidence, and a little bit more focus, and we’ll be fine. We just have to keep getting better, and I think, if we do that — I think we can be competitive in the district tournament. You know, our district tournament is brutally tough, man. You have to play 21 outs and you have to compete. I think we’re in a good spot heading into districts.”
The Spudders had half of their 16 wins this season decided by three runs or fewer. Allen believes anybody on his roster can be the player of the game on any given day, which has helped the team all season in close moments.
“So, I think that we played a lot of close games, and every single one of them, you tip the cap to somebody different … and then big pitching moments, it’s a different guy every day,” Allen said. “That’s what I do like about our team is that we’re pretty balanced. You know, anybody on our team can get after you one day.”
Allen believes his roster on game day isn’t “one through nine” but “one through 12” as the depth of the roster allows him to combine guys in the lineup to perform certain roles.
After clinching the No. 1 seed, the Spudders played Rochester High School in the opening round of the 2A District 4 baseball tournament on Tuesday, May 7, but results were unavailable at press time. If the Spudders win, they advance to play the winner of R.A. Long vs. W.F. West high schools in the second round of the tournament at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 8, at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex. If the Spudders lose, they still advance, but to a loser-out home game played at the same time against the loser of R.A. Long vs. W.F. West.
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