Ripon’s softball team is hoping the fourth time is the charm against Hughson.

The Indians will have another crack at their Trans-Valley League rival in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinal after running past Calaveras 6-1 and Bear River 3-2 on Wednesday at Arnaiz Softball Complex.

Hughson is the division’s four-time defending champion and beat Ripon 3-2 in eight innings in a consolation bracket game last season. This year, the Huskies (20-0) went 3-0 against Ripon in the regular season en route to capturing the TVL championship. They’ll meet again Friday at 5 p.m.

The third-seeded Indians came out swinging in their playoff opener Wednesday, rapping out 14 hits against No. 6 Calaveras (19-9). Felicia Ceja plated the game’s first run in the second when Ripon staked a 3-0 lead, and she later capped the final score with a solo homer in the third. The sophomore finished 3 for 4, as did Mikaela Ferreira. Jennica Baldwin and Karla Calderon were each 2 for 4. Danielle Sperry pitched a two-hitter while striking out four.

Ripon followed with one of its most impressive wins of the season in the nightcap, taking advantage of its speed to edge out No. 2 Bear River (21-7) and its dominant pitcher Nerissa Long.

UC San Diego bound Darian van der Maaten set the tone for the Indians on the game’s first play. She bunted toward the third baseman and beat out the errant throw to first. She scooted around the base paths and scored.

Van der Maaten accounted for Ripon’s only two hits of the game. She later drilled a line drive down the third-base line on a full count with two out in the fifth inning, plating Kattya Calderon for the winning run.

Sperry was again the winning pitcher but was backed by some clutch defensive plays behind her. The Bruins scored both of their runs in the fourth inning but could have tacked on more. Catcher Cara Brown picked off a runner at third base, and with the bases loaded Ripon was able to get the second out at home plate. Then in the sixth, Karla Calderon turned a double play to preserve Ripon’s one-run cushion.

“It was a really exciting game,” Ripon coach Robert Vernon said. “That was a very good pitcher that we faced and we put enough pressure on them to scratch across some runs.”