STOCKTON — The Ripon Christian Knights’ run at a third Sac-Joaquin Section title ended on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-1 to the Amador Buffaloes in the Division VI final at Delta College.
“Credit to them; their (pitcher) was really, really good,” Ripon Christian Head Coach John DeVisser said. “Ultimately, they made a few more plays than we did, but I could not be more proud of the way our guys battled not only today, but all season long.”
Top seeded Ripon Christian (28-4) made a habit of pulling out tight games all season long, going 5-0 in one-run games. Senior standout Brad Blankenheim and second-seeded Amador (25-5-1) were no stranger to close games themselves, going 2-1 in on their way to a third-place finish in the Sierra Valley Conference.
Down 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Ripon Christian showed the resolve that earned it the Trans Valley League title and top seed. Knights hitters worked three straight one-out walks off of Blankenheim (6 2/3 Innings, 10 strikeouts). The senior right-hander induced a shallow flyball and a strikeout to get out of the jam and send Buffaloes fans into a frenzy.
The Knights got one more shot at Blankenheim in the seventh inning.
A leadoff single by Jack Strickland was followed by a one-out base hit by Ethan Vander Plaats. Jackson Howell then drove a ball deep to right field that nearly got over the head of right fielder Tommy Gunn, who made an over-the-shoulder catch for the second out. Sophomore first basemen Talen Tameling kept the rally alive with an infield single to load the bases, bringing up designated hitter and offensive leader Maxx Anderson.
Blankenheim had reached his pitch limit in the at-bat against Tameling, and Amador head coach Charlie Blankenheim was forced to go to the bullpen and bring in John McPartland to face Anderson.
Like he had done all game long, Anderson forced a prolonged at-bat, fouling off pitches and taking pitches just out of the zone, before ultimately popping out to McPartland to strand the runners and end what was a fantastic run by Ripon Christian.
“Maxx was the reason we were in that spot late with Blankenheim out of the game thanks to the long at-bats he was taking when the rest of the team wasn’t,” DeVisser said. “It was only fitting for him to come up in that spot. He’s been gutting it out for us on what might be a broken thumb, but he still gave it all for us, and I can’t thank him enough.”
The youth that excites DeVisser and others around the program was on full display on the mound Saturday afternoon, as sophomore Trenton Cloward limited Amador bats to just four hits while striking out five over seven innings.
Pitching with the lead after Ripon Christian manufactured a run in the top of the first, Cloward worked around trouble in the second inning before Amador was able to strike for two runs in the top of the third inning. Cloward would bounce back throwing a scoreless fourth and fifth innings before the Buffaloes scratched across two more on a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice to complete the scoring.
“You can’t say enough about the way nine (Cloward) pitched today,” DeVisser said. “He mixed speeds and let his defense work behind him, which we did really well aside from a few plays that made the difference in the game.”
The season-ending loss marks the end of the Ripon Christian careers of Howell and Anderson, the lone seniors on a team full of underclassmen.
“I respect the heck out of those two guys,” DeVisser said. “They are leaders in every sense of the word and showed this young group what playing baseball is all about. That is done not through words and lip service, but in doing things the right way and not cutting corners.”
DeVisser’s record in section title games now moves to 2-3, but the future is bright with the chances for another opportunity likely on the horizon with the current state of the program.
“Getting to this game is really, really hard,” he said. “But the best part about this one has been the journey. I’ve had more fun with this team than I have coaching in a really long time. The good news is a lot of these guys will be back next year, so I have that to look forward to.”
