No. 9 hitter Karla Calderon No. 1 in the heart of Ripon High softball fans

Karla Calderon had her concerns with her coach’s lineup to start the season.

The Ripon High senior was penciled into the ninth position, a spot typically reserved for a pitcher at the big-league level — and historically, pitchers struggle with the bat.

With a furrowed brow, Calderon tapped head coach Robert Vernon on the shoulder following a game. Why ninth, coach?

In a word, speed.

“The next practice I hung the lineup up and told her ‘Tell me what you see here,’ ” Vernon recalled. “She said I don’t see anything. ‘Fast, fast, fast, fast, slow, slow, slow, slow, fast. I can’t put you in the middle of that. You’re going to be protected down there.’ And sure enough, she had an awesome day.”

The decision paid off Friday during a thrilling 6-5 victory over No. 2 Marysville in the semifinal round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs at Arnaiz Stadium.

Calderon went 3 for 4 and scored the game-winning run on a throwing error in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“I’m definitely not going to question him on that again,” Calderon said in between bites of a cookie. “It was a good choice. It gives us speed and helps out a lot.”

Top-seeded Ripon (21-3) returns to the D-V final for a second straight year.

Last season, the Indians moved through the loser’s bracket and beat five-time defending champion Hughson in the first game of the final. They were ultimately denied by the Huskies, a Trans-Valley League nemesis, fueling their drive this spring.

Ripon will face Linden at noon on Saturday. The Lions defeated Marysville, 8-7, and will need to beat Ripon twice to secure the title.

“Last year was a little bittersweet. Obviously, no one likes being in second place,” Calderon said, “but we’re hungry to get the first title in program history. We’re excited.”

For most of Friday’s game, Marysville ace Cassidy Clavelle was a mystery. She retired the first eight batters.

And then the game changed with the No. 9 hitter.

“I went into the box confident. Before the game there was a lot of talk about the pitcher and her statistics and how she’s good,” Calderon said. “I have routine and I stuck to that.”

Calderon doubled into the right-center field gap, awakening Ripon’s lumber from its slumber.

“She’s become a leader on this team,” Vernon said. “She’s the motivator. She’s the mom on the team. She’s a senior that’s stepped up.”

Ripon loaded the bases in the fourth and finally broke through with a four-run fifth inning. Felicia Ceja (2 for 4) drove a two-run double into the gap. Shay Furtado (2 for 4) followed with an RBI single, and Taylor Jaquez made it 4-3 with a double.

“We struggled. It took four innings before we could even get the bat on the ball,” Vernon said. “We had some miscues out here that we have to tighten up. We had ‘C’ pitching. We had ‘C’ hitting, but we’re right where we want to be.”

Marysville went ahead 5-4 in the sixth, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.

Jaquez (2 for 4) sent the game into extra innings, plating Furtado (walk) with her second double.

Starter Danielle Sperry gave up a two-out double in the top of the eighth inning, but induced a grounder to escape the jam.

Calderon led off the bottom of the eighth with a single down the left-field line. She advanced to second on Hana Lee’s bloop single in shallow left field.

Vernon called for a bunt, hoping to advance the runners. However, Hoku Lee’s speed forced Marysville to rush the throw. The ball lipped off the first baseman’s glove and rolled away.

“That was a pressure situation and they didn’t come through with it,” Vernon said. “I was trying to move two runners over and give our No. 3 hitter (Mikayla Ferriera) a chance to hit a fly ball somewhere to win it. But hey, we’ll take it that way too.”

Calderon never broke stride around third, showcasing the speed that Vernon loves at the bottom of his lineup.

“It was nice coming through,” Calderon said. “We faced this team my freshman year and they knocked us out. It was nice to get a little revenge.”

Sierra, Los Banos no match for Bear River

After pitching 22 innings in 24 hours, Sierra High sat ace Lindsey Walljasper for Friday evening’s elimination game.

Bear River showed no mercy, sending the defending D-IV champions into the offseason with a 17-2 mercy-rule victory.

The Bruins advanced to the final on Saturday, where they’ll clash with Casa Roble. The Rams knocked Walljasper and Sierra into the loser’s bracket with a 3-2 victory earlier in the day.

Walljasper tripled and scored on a passed ball to give the Timberwolves a 1-0 lead, but Casa Roble flipped the scoreboard with a three-run fifth.

Kendelle Messersmith belted a solo home run against the Rams.

Bear River also got the best of Los Banos.

Nerissa Eason showed why she is headed to Oregon State, styming the Tiger offense like few others have. She scattered four hits and shutout Los Banos for just the second time this season as the Bruins eliminated the Tigers from the D-IV playoffs with a 3-0 victory.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "No. 9 hitter Karla Calderon No. 1 in the heart of Ripon High softball fans."