Baseball Roundup: Knights remain positive despite dropping game against Linden
Ripon Christian went into the Dick Windemuth Tournament riding a 13-game winning streak. They have lost both of their tournament games this week by a total of four runs.
But not all losses are bad losses.
“We needed this,” Knights’ coach John de Visser said. “We were 15-2 coming into this tournament. We needed a little slap in the face. I detest losing, but sometimes this is okay. The only way our guys were ever going to learn is by failure.”
The Knights (15-4, 10-0 TVL) looked like they would bounce back from Monday’s 5-4 loss to Modesto. Facing Linden, the stage was set for one of the best small-school matchups this season. Ripon Christian squandered its one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, falling to the Lions Tuesday afternoon, 6-3.
“We knew these guys were gonna be well coached and that they got some guys on their team,” de Visser said. “I was expecting … a popcorn ball game. It’s gonna be a one-run game somewhere late, and it’s gonna come down to whoever makes the last pitch.”
With the game tied at two runs apiece, Grant Sonke laced a one-out double to left center field in the top of the fifth inning. Two batters later, Eli Terpsma singled to right center field, scoring Sonke, who had advanced to third on a passed ball earlier in the at bat, to put the Knights ahead 3-2.
De Visser said junior Micah English pitched his best game of the season. He went six innings, threw over 90 pitches and struck out four batters.
“They (Linden) could not get on a pitch; he really had them off balance,” de Visser said. “In that sixth inning it was just a little fatigue. We extended his pitch count a little bit today and you can just tell he was just pushing it a little bit at the end, but for six innings that’s as good as I’ve seen that kid throw.”
Linden loaded the bases with a single and two walks in the bottom of the sixth. The Lions came up with a two-run single to take their first lead of the game. They put up four total runs in the inning. The Knights rallied in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, but the rally fell just short.
“You cannot walk guys late in the game … that’s going to absolutely kill you because then they’re just one hit away,” de Visser said. “Give them credit because we filled up the zone. We didn’t give it up at the end, they had to go earn it and they did.”
Modesto 12, Big Valley Christian 0: The Panthers advanced to 2-0 in the Dick Windermuth Tournament with Tuesday’s shutout win over Big Valley Christian. They started hot, scoring six runs in the first inning. Eli McCabe pitched all five innings, striking out five batters.
Oakdale 13, Los Banos 3: Dominic Solorio, Landon Nunes and AJ Sapwell each had two RBIs in the Mustangs’ six inning game. Oakdale (14-6, 6-2 VOL) scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to put it ahead by 10 runs.
Hughson 12, Waterford 5: The Huskies (16-5, 7-1 TVL) went 2-0 on Tuesday at the Art McRae tournament in Ceres on Tuesday. Four players had multiple RBIs, led by Gavin Stone, who finished with three hits and two RBIs against the Wildcats.
Turlock Christian 6, Beyer 1: The Eagles (12-3, 3-1 CCAA) gave up their only run of the game in the first and held the Patriots (3-12, 3-7 WAC) scoreless for the final six innings. Turlock Christian scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to break the game open.
Gregori 10, Ripon 0: Felix Daclan and Dylan Rosa had two hits, one home run and four RBIs apiece as the Jaguars (14-10, 7-5 CCAL) beat Ripon in Tuesday’s tournament game in Atwater. It was the first of two games on the day for Ripon.
Hughson 5, Riverbank 1: Caleb Wilson had a triple and two RBIs to lead the Huskies (16-5, 7-1 TVL) to victory against Riverbank. The Huskies are in first place in the Trans-Valley League with two league series remaining.
Downey 8, Turlock 7: The Knights (14-9, 5-7 CCAL) beat Turlock in their second game of the Oakdale Tournament on Tuesday, setting up a matchup with Oakdale in Wednesday’s championship game.
Ceres 10, Millennium 4: The Bulldogs (9-13, 7-3 WAC) put up seven runs in the sixth inning against the Falcons to break the game open. They finish out the Art McRae Tournament with two games on Wednesday against Waterford and Hughson.
Mountain House 4, Ripon 3: Ripon (11-10, 6-2 TVL) barely lost its second game on Tuesday at a tournament in Atwater. The Indians can put an end to their four-game losing streak on Wednesday against Atwater.
Patterson 4, Escalon 3: The Tigers (6-9, 2-6 CCC) narrowly escaped Escalon to win Tuesday’s game in the Dick Windemuth Tournament at Modesto High. Pitchers Jacob Guevarra, Brady McClerry and Guy Allard combined for eight strikeouts.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 11:57 AM.
