The Ripon Indians will venture away from home to take on the Hilmar Yellowjackets at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ripon will be strutting in after a victory while Hilmar will be coming in after a defeat.
Ripon will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Edison on Saturday. The Indians' pitchers stepped up to hand the Vikings a 10-0 shutout. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Indians' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Joseph Molthen
| 04/19/25 @ Edison | 3 |
| 04/11/25 vs Orestimba | 1 |
| 03/28/25 @ Sonora | 1 |
| 02/28/25 vs Manteca | 1 |
| 02/19/25 @ Mountain House | 1 |
Joseph Molthen was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has become a key player for Ripon: the team is 3-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 6-10 otherwise. Molthen was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs and one double. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Ripon got a big performance out of Jack Peters, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Brayden McDowell, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
Ripon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .423. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, after a string of five wins, Hilmar's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took an 8-4 hit to the loss column at the hands of Hughson.
John Labno made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayleb Amaya, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Hilmar's loss dropped their record down to 15-3. As for Ripon, their record is now 9-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ripon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hilmar struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ripon came out on top in a nail-biter against Hilmar in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Indians repeat their success, or do the Yellowjackets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
