Ripon Christian continues to prove its coach wrong.
John de Visser couldn’t be prouder.
His Knights are now a win away from garnering their third Sac-Joaquin Section pennant after getting past fifth-seeded Colfax in a Division VI best-of-three semifinal.
On Friday, they leaned on the efforts of ever-steady sophomore pitcher Ethan Vander Plaats, some big-time defensive plays, clutch hitting and aggressive base running in a 10-2 game 3 victory at home.
Seeded No. 1, Ripon Christian (28-3) they’ll face No. 2 Amador (24-5-1) for the championship next Saturday, May 23 starting 10 a.m. at Delta College.
It’ll be the fifth title-round appearance for the Knights, all under de Visser. He has admitted all along that he envisioned this group to be this competitive next year. His lineup on Friday included five sophomores and three juniors, and his only two seniors are transfers.
“I said it from the beginning, I thought we were a year away, and this team keeps surprising me,” de Visser said.
As young as these Knights are, they responded well after dropping the series opener on Tuesday. That setback ended a 17-game winning streak.
Ripon Christian traveled to Colfax on Thursday and evened the series behind three solo homers and a stellar pitching performance from Trenton Cloward, another sophomore.
“We came in against a really good, very well-coached squad in Colfax and had it absolutely handed to us in the first game,” de Visser said. “Coming back with a brilliant start yesterday gave us momentum for today.”
The finale was vintage Ripon Christian, which used everything in the toolbox — especially its unique and versatile athletes — to pressure Colfax (13-16-1) into committing eight errors.
It was leadoff batter Jackson Howell who came through with the clutch hits, all with two outs. He finished 3 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs.
Meanwhile, clean-up hitter Stadtler Postma affected the game with his speed, scoring twice during hitless innings for the Knights.
“We did a lot of good things today offensively that I was super happy with,” de Visser said. “Stadtler on the bases was an absolute menace. We executed almost everything we wanted to today — bunts, steals.”
Postma did manage get a pop fly to drop for an RBI single in the sixth inning, but his damage was done on the base paths.
Ripon Christian jumped ahead for good with a four-run rally in the bottom of the second inning. The Knights were held to just one hit the next three innings but still found a way to tack on two more insurance runs on the long strides of Postma. He led off the third with a walk, stole second and third and scored on a fielder’s choice after Cloward was thrown out at first on a dropped third strike.
In the fifth, Postma reached on an error and advanced twice on two separate miscues on pickoff attempts.
“I take a lot of pride in it,” Postma said of base running. “I try to do the most I can. Today, I didn’t get the bat on the ball very well, so every time I got on base, I had to do something. That’s my mentality.”
Jack Strickland, Maxx Anderson, Talen Tameling and Cloward each drove in a run. The Knights scored four in the sixth and threatened to end it via mercy rule, but Colfax reliever Matteo Smiley got out of a bases-loaded jam with a three-pitch strikeout.
Vander Plaats got the win in long relief, replacing Howell in the mound with two outs in the second inning. With runners on the corner, Vander Plaats came through with the strikeout. That was the start of his 5 1/3-inning appearance in which he gave up one run on six hits and a walk.
With only two strikeouts, he relied on some outstanding defensive sequences, including two doubles plays. The defense also picked off two runners during Howell’s starting stint.
“I just pitched to contact, let my defense work,” Vander Plaats said. “Our defense is the main reason we’ve been so successful this year.”
The Knights did it with a makeshift defense with Anderson, normally the starting catcher, playing as a designated hitter with an injured the thumb the past two games. De Visser lauded juniors Noah DeBruyn and Jack De Jong for their work at catcher and second base, respectively. De Jong, in fact, had a hand in turning both double plays.
“Yesterday, I had to move my whole infield around, and everybody just steps up,” de Visser said. “Every time I write the lineup card, someone else is stepping up.”
Leadoff hitter Cole Hudson plated both of Colfax’s runs and went 3 for 4. He was driven in each time by Tyler McCabe in the first and third innings.
Ripon Christian will look to earn its first section crown since 2023 in Division VII. The first championship was earned in 2018 (Division VI).
“It’s exciting,” Vander Plaats said. “Experiencing this now just means we’ll get even better later, so this is just a start.”
