Ridgefield Raptors baseball launching pad for college opportunity as 2026 season opens
May 28-The long, winding road of baseball leads home for a handful of players on the 2026 Ridgefield Raptors.
For Dylan Richardson, baseball has taken him halfway across the country. The Union High School alum is pitching for South Dakota State, which earned a berth in this weekend's NCAA Regionals by winning the Summit League tournament.
That means Richardson won't be in Ridgefield when the Raptors begin their season. The 2026 campaign starts with an exhibition game Thursday against NW Stars followed by Friday's West Coast League opener against Nanaimo.
But Richardson is an example of a local player for whom playing collegiate wood bat summer baseball has opened opportunities.
After earning Class 4A all-state honors as a Union senior, Richardson began his collegiate baseball career at Edmonds College.
Richardson joined the Raptors after both his freshman and sophomore seasons. The 6 foot-3 right-hander had 31 strikeouts in 24 innings last summer for Ridgefield.
That primed Richardson for his chance to join a four-year college program. He signed with South Dakota State, where he has made 17 appearances out of the bullpen with 19 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings this season.
Saturday, the Jackrabbits earned just their second NCAA tournament appearance by beating regular-season champ Oral Roberts in a winner-take-all Summit League championship game.
South Dakota State opens double-elimination play in the Lincoln, Neb., Regional against host Nebraska on Friday.
Ridgefield returns another familiar face in Liam Ostrom, a 2025 Ridgefield High graduate. He played just two games for the Raptors last summer, but played this spring at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif., where he batted .288 and tied for the team lead with 11 home runs.
Also returning is College of the Canyons coach Chris Cota, who has coached the Raptors since the team's inaugural season in 2019. Assistant coach Nick Allen, the head coach at Ridgefield High School, is back as well.
The season-opening homestand at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex begins with games Friday, Saturday and Sunday against Nanaimo followed by a three-game series starting Tuesday against Kamloops. First pitch for all games is 6:35 p.m. except for 1:05 on Sunday. Once again this season, kids under 12 get in free to Sunday games.
A change to this year's schedule is the absence of the Cowlitz Black Bears, which Raptors owner Tony Bonacci also owns. The franchise is taking the year off as it aims to relocate following the termination of its lease at Story Field in Longview.
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