Three series into the Intermountain Conference baseball season (with two three-game series remaining), and only two teams have made it through without a series loss.
That will change when Mountain View and Ridgeview, the only two teams with a winning IMC record, meet in the penultimate series of the regular season.
The Ravens and the Cougars will play three-game series on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Mountain View (15-3, 8-1 IMC) survived two one-run wins against Caldera in the first two games of the series before breaking out for a 12-1 win over the Wolfpack on Friday. While Ridgeview (15-5, 7-2) battled back after losing the first game of the three-game series to Bend High.
“We feel good, the boys feel good. We are firing on all cylinders,†said Ridgeview coach Shane Nakamura. “Mountain View is a good ball club. I think we will be ready for some good competition.â€
Said Mountain View coach Ryan Johnson: “We ended last week on a high note. It is always a good way to end a series and jumpstart you into a big series. I knew it was going to be a roller coaster of a season.
“There are going to be some highs and lows, this week is going to be another big test.â€
It is the second year in a row that the Ravens and Cougars have met late in the conference season with aspirations of league title. In 2023, Ridgeview looked primed to take a two of three games against Mountain View when the Ravens took a 12-3 lead into the sixth inning only to see the Cougars score 11 runs in the sixth inning to come all the way back and win the game 13-12 to take the series.
The end of that series set in motion a wild final week of the IMC season. Mountain View was in position to win the IMC, but Bend stole the final game of its series against Mountain View. Mountain View and Summit each finished with the same league record, and because Summit won the series against Mountain View, the Storm claimed the IMC title.
This season might not be as crowded at the top. Summit and Bend High are still lurking just three games back in the standings with six games remaining.
“There is no game we can take for granted in this league,†Johnson said.
Mountain View has won each of its last seven league games and holds the top spot in the IMC. A series win against the Ravens will put them in the driver’s seat to win a league title heading into the final week of the season. But Johnson hasn’t started calling his team the “Cardiac Cougars’’ because they have been rolling through teams. It has been the opposite.
In five of their eight IMC wins, two of the wins required a comeback when trailing in the fifth inning or later, while three of them ended with a walk-off win in extra innings. Senior Easton Herberger (home run in the ninth inning against Redmond on April 9), junior Ethan Bruce (single in the eighth inning against Summit on April 19) and freshman Ryder Carpenter (single in the 10th inning against Caldera on April 24) all came up with game-winning hits late.
“There have been so many close games we have been fortunate to be on the positive side of things,†Johnson said. “We work hard in our preparation in practice. In game time you believe in what you’ve prepped for. They don’t press or panic.â€
After one of their best seasons in program history, the Ravens picked up right where they left off, despite losing some cornerstone players.
The Ravens wanted to win 20 games (they are close with 15, with six games remaining). They wanted to win an IMC title (a series win over Mountain View will go a long way in making that happen). But, even more than that, they wanted to be a communicative, resilient team that has fun.
“We really feel like this group has been able to come together in that way,†Nakamura said. “I think this group takes it upon themselves to treat each other like family. Even when one is having a bad day.â€
The Ravens and the Cougars will play three-game series on April 30, May 1 and May 3. The first and third game will be played at Ridgeview, with the second game played at Mountain View. All three games start at 4:30 p.m.
Much is at stake next week, but both teams are trying to treat it like any other series.
“We are trying to go 1-0 like we preach,†Johnson said.
Added Nakamura: “There is no way you win a league title or championship title if you have to play up. We want their heads to be level and in the moment. I want them to think it is just another day. Trust the training. Hopefully we prepared the right way.â€
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