The Raptors and Falcons squared off in Battle Creek on Tuesday in a conference softball matchup. Ridge View got on the board first with a run in the first inning and two more in the second for a 3-0 lead. OABCIG battled back, plating three runs in the third inning to tie the game at 3-3. The Raptors would answer, however, with four runs in the fourth inning for a 7-3 lead. In the fifth inning, Ridge View blew the game wide open, scoring 11 runs compared to the Falcons’ two scores for an 18-5 victory.
The Ridge View baseball squad traveled to Ida Grove on Tuesday, to take on OABCIG in a Western Valley Conference showdown. Both teams were hungry for a win after coming off tough losses, and the game would turn out to be a defensive showcase. The Raptors struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning for a 2-0 lead. As it turned out, that lead would hold up for most of the game, as the two squads held each other scoreless for the next four innings. A crucial series of plays came in the sixth inning, when the Falcons loaded the bases with no outs.
A big second inning proved to be the difference for the Ridge View softball team, as they defeated Westwood 6-1 on Thursday in Galva. After a scoreless first inning, the Raptors plated six runs in the second inning. The score would remain 6-0 until the Rebels managed to bring one run home in the sixth inning. That was all the Raptors allowed, however, as they came up with a 6-1 victory.
The Ridge View baseball squad matched up against Westwood on Thursday in Holstein, in a game that was rain-delayed from the previous night. The contest would come down to the final inning, with the Raptors pulling off a one-run victory. The Rebels struck quickly, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning for a 3-0 lead. That score would hold up until the fifth inning, when Ridge View exploded for six runs and a 6-3 lead. After a scoreless sixth inning, Westwood pushed two runs across home plate to trim the margin to 6-5.
Ridge View baseball coach Eric Myrtue is counting on his returning starters to propel the Raptors to a successful season. Myrtue talked about who he lost to graduation, as well as who he has coming back.
“We lost a couple of top notch guys in Cameron Spina and Tyhler Kolpin,” he said. “We have big shoes to fill losing them. Cael Myrtue, Tracin Price, Blake Myrtue, Caden Biede, Kinnick Jensen, and Gavin Vohs are our returning guys.”
Myrtue mentioned some younger team members he expects to play a bigger role this year.
The Ridge View softball team pulled away from Kingsley-Pierson in their season opener at Galva last week, dispatching the Panthers 16-6 in five innings. K-P got on the scoreboard early, taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Raptors responded with four runs of their own to retake the lead at 4-3 after one. Ridge View steadily pulled away from there, scoring two runs in the second inning, plating four runs in both the third and fourth inning, and tacking on two more runs in the fifth inning to ten-run rule the Panthers at 16-6 after five.
The Ridge View baseball team found itself in quite a battle on Thursday night in Cherokee. The host Braves jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one inning. Both teams plated one run in the second inning and again in the third, as Cherokee led 4-2 going into the fifth inning. The Raptors scored once in the fifth to trim the margin to 4-3. In a wild sixth inning, Ridge View scored five runs to take an 8-4 lead, while the Braves plated two of their own to cut the margin to 8-6. Cherokee then scored twice in the seventh to tie the game at 8-8 and send the contest into extra innings.
One run in the first inning was all the Raptor baseball team allowed, as they dominated the action against Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, earning a 7-1 victory. The contest was tied at 1-1 after two innings, when Ridge View exploded for four runs in the top of the third for a 5-1 lead. The Raptors would tack on one run in the fifth inning and one more in the sixth, while holding the Hawks scoreless the rest of the way to earn a 7-1 victory.
The Ridge View track and field squad qualified for the Iowa state track meet in numerous entries. The Raptors did well in Des Moines, placing highly in many of those events. Kolton Luscome won 10th place in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet. Luscombe also captured fourth place in the discus throw with a hurl of 166 feet, 3 inches. Shae Dutler took 14th place in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 2 inches. Dutler also placed 24th in the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 13.38 seconds. Jaycie Vohs placed 21st in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 11:43.02.
