Every run scored by fourth-seeded Ripon Christian and No. 5 Millennium was a result of miscues in their Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI baseball playoff opener Wednesday.
The host Knights made fewer mistakes and prevailed 4-1 for their ninth win in 10 games.
“Playoff baseball,” Ripon Christian coach John de Visser said. “Both teams are going to be able to pitch, and it is going to be tough to score. You are not going to be out here lighting it up like you were in the regular season, and it is going to come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.
“I was reading something about high school baseball where a coach said that you lose more games than you win. You have to try to not lose games, to execute your game plan and go out and win it.”
Luke Crivello went the distance on the hill for the Knights (20-8), allowing four hits with two walks while striking out 10 and allowing one unearned run. At one point, he retired eight in a row.
“Luke did a phenomenal job on the mound,” de Visser said. “We knew we were going to have to get breaking balls over on this team, because they hit fast balls really well. If he wasn’t going to be able to get those breaking balls over, that was going to be a tough deal.
“Offensively, we just did enough. We left a few out there. We have to execute our bunt game better, but I thought we ran the bases quite well. We got some stolen bases, and we had an absolutely phenomenal game by Josh Crivello at shortstop with some absolutely ridiculous plays out there.”
The Falcons (13-7) of Tracy led off the game with a walk and a single followed by an outfield single by Max Delgadillo (2 for 3). Damien Muscat went from second to third on Delgadillo’s single, but when it was misplayed in the outfield Muscat was able to come home for the lone Millennium run of the game.
“I came out in the first inning and I was a little outside myself,” Luke Crivello said. “But I got out of it with the help of my teammates, and they got me out of it a few innings later too.
“I tried to lock in after the first inning.”
David Koolhaas reached on an error for Ripon Christian in the fourth inning and scored on an error off the bat of Dustin Hoekstra. Noah De Bruyn singled in Hoekstra to give the Knights the lead for good at 2-1.
“It just came down to us executing,” De Bruyn said. “We did what we did in the field, which worked out well for us.
“We were able to execute some runs, not as much as we could though.”
Ripon Christian added two more runs in the sixth inning when Kayden Anderson and Josh Buffalow both reached on errors and both scored on passed balls.
Ripon Christian will host Argonaut on Monday starting at 4 p.m. to begin a best-of-three semifinal round. The No. 8 Mustangs upset top-seeded Bear River, 5-2.
