Ripon softball rallies to win Sac-Joaquin Section Division V crown

On cruise control for most of the season, the Ripon High School softball team had to work overtime for its first Sac-Joaquin Section championship.

The top-seeded Indians rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun Linden with a 7-6 walk-off victory in the Division V final Saturday at Arnaiz Stadium in Stockton.

Down to its final strike, Ripon mustered a two-out, two-run rally to seize the championship. Felicia Ceja singled an 0-2 count and was driven home by Shay Furtado, who doubled and took third on the throw.

It was sweet revenge for Furtado. She was hit by a pitch in her first two at-bats. Now representing the winning run, Furtado, who homered in the first game, raced home on a single by Taylor Jaquez, igniting a wild celebration by the Indians.

The blue banner was the first for a program long the bridesmaid in a league and division dominated by Hughson, the five-time Division V champion before moving up in weight class this spring.

Ripon used the heartache of a runner-up finish to fuel its push this season. The Indians were The Bee’s top-ranked small-school team all spring and backed that up with a perfect tour through the Trans-Valley League, beating playoff teams Escalon and Hughson along the way.

“They didn’t even celebrate when we won league,” Ripon coach Robert Vernon said Friday following a semifinal win over Marysville. “They’ve wanted to be one thing all season, and that’s section champion.”

Linden entered the day needing to beat Ripon twice to secure the title and forced a winner-take-all second game with a 4-2 victory in the opener. The Lions scored twice in the top of the seventh to complete a come-from-behind win.

The Indians would exact their revenge, beating the Mother Lode League titan for the second time in less than a week.

Sacramento State-bound senior Danielle Sperry started all three games against Linden in the postseason tournament but didn’t last long in the second game Saturday. She was rough up for six runs over two innings, forcing Vernon to reach into his bullpen.

The coach summoned sophomore Lillian Dillard, a Tracy High transfer, who shut out the Lions the rest of the way.

This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Ripon softball rallies to win Sac-Joaquin Section Division V crown."