Baseball Game Preview: Escalon Cougars vs. Ripon Indians

The Escalon Cougars will venture away from home to take on the Ripon Indians at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

On Friday, Escalon didn't have quite enough to beat Hughson and fell 2-1.

Escalon saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Drew Hagan, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Meanwhile, Ripon waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They were the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over the Warriors.

Fabian Nuno made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI and one double. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high.

In other pitching news, Frank Carter-Castro looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Ripon is 10-4 when Carter-Castro allows one or fewer earned runs, but 3-5 otherwise.

Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Hunter Weber, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Haines, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run.

Ripon's record now sits at 13-9. As for Escalon, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-6.

Escalon skirted past Ripon 4-3 when the teams last played back in April of 2025. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.