Since the start of the decade, Capital consistently took care of business against River Ridge. From 2021 to 2025, the Cougars won seven straight against the Hawks.
But since the second game of a double-header on April 9, 2025, River Ridge has won three straight against the Cougars, including a 7-6 victory at Capital Tuesday to complete the season sweep. The Hawks also defeated Capital 10-7 Monday afternoon.
Just like Monday’s series opener, River Ridge and Capital squared off in a back-and-forth battle. Bono Larkin picked up where he left off from Monday’s three-hit game with an RBI single on the first pitch he saw in the first inning to put the Hawks up 1-0 against Cougars starter Brooks Barker.
Isaac Linville took matters into his own hands in the bottom of the first. He sent a triple to right field, scoring Max Hanson, but an error in the infield on the throw to third base allowed Linville to score and give Capital a 2-1 advantage.
River Ridge tied the game in the third, and Tanner Barker’s sacrifice fly in the fourth put Capital back in front by a run. The Hawks broke out in the fifth, tying the game on an error by Capital. D’Vaughntae Sellman played hero for River Ridge, hitting a grounder just inside the third-base foul line to plate two runs. Two bases-loaded walks helped the Hawks seize a 7-3 lead.
Capital, however, nearly pulled off the comeback in the final three innings. The Cougars chipped away in the fifth with an RBI single by Cash VanZandt, and Lane Nixon scored on a passed ball.
Linville pitched the final 2.1 innings for Capital and held River Ridge in check to the tune of one hit while striking out four batters. Against freshman reliever Jax Fulton, scored one run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice groundout by VanZandt, but Fulton slammed the door with a pair of strikeouts in the final frame.
“It was a good come-from-behind win. We were trailing all the way through until the fifth,” River Ridge head coach Ben Rood said.
Sellman finished 2 of 4 at the plate with two runs batted in, a double and a run scored. VanZandt led Capital with two RBIs, while Hanson recorded two hits and scored twice.
River Ridge (8-3, 5-3 Puget Sound League) now has its most wins in a season under Rood, the Hawks’ fourth-year head coach. The Hawks get a week off and will return with a two-game set against North Thurston (6-4, 4-4 Puget Sound League) April 14 and April 15.
Capital (4-7, 4-5 Puget Sound League) will take on Tumwater (5-2, 3-0 EvCo) at Cheney Stadium Friday night.
