The Hughson Huskies will take on the Ripon Indians at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hughson will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
Hughson's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Orestimba as Hughson made off with an 18-0 victory. Considering the Huskies have won six matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Max Mankins made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over 4.2 innings pitched. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in February of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in February.
In other batting news, Bryce McDaniel was incredible, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most hits he has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Beau Blake, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4.
Hughson always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Orestimba only posted an OBP of .111.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Ripon, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They skirted past Sonora 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Indians have posted since May 3, 2024.
Ripon also got a great performance from Fabian Nuno as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 12 over 5.2 innings pitched. Nuno also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Ripon is 3-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 2-5 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Ripon's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Isaiah Martinez, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base.
Hughson pushed their record up to 12-2 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Ripon, their win bumped their record up to 5-6.
Ripon's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hughson hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .338. It's a different story for Ripon, though, as they've only averaged .235. Will they be able to contain Hughson's hitters?
Everything went Hughson's way against Ripon in their previous meeting on March 11th, as Hughson made off with a 9-3 victory. Will Hughson repeat their success, or does Ripon has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
