The Colfax Falcons will face off against the Ripon Christian Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Colfax is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by an 18-2 margin over Western Sierra Collegiate Academy. The Falcons' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jaimeson Rawlins was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in both of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that he has snagged this season.
In other batting news, Colfax got a massive performance out of Tyler McCabe, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most hits McCabe has posted since back in March. Garrett Lewis was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
Colfax always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .647. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Ripon Christian, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They put the hurt on Millennium with a sharp 9-3 win on Tuesday. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 games by six runs or more this season.
Mateo Ceja spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Jordan Luisi was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Ripon Christian's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-10 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Talen Tameling, who went 2-for-3 with three runs.
Ripon Christian pushed their record up to 14-10 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.6 runs over those games. As for Colfax, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-10.
