The Ripon Indians will take on the Escalon Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Escalon took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Ripon, who comes in off a win.
Ripon took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They never let Sonora get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory. The contest marked the Indians' most dominant win of the season.
Addison Naranjo and Izabelle Spurzem did most of the damage at the plate: Naranjo went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Spurzem went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most RBI Naranjo has posted since back in February of 2024. Clara Townsend was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Ripon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They are 5-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Escalon was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They fell 7-2 to Hughson.
Escalon saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Madison Babasa, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Babasa is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played.
Ripon has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Escalon, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.
Escalon's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ripon has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Escalon, though, as they've been averaging 9.7 hits. Given Ripon's sizable advantage in that area, the Cougars will need to find a way to close that gap.
Ripon took their win against Escalon in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 7-0 score. Will the Indians repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
