Clinging to a one-run lead Wednesday going into the bottom of the sixth inning No. 6 Ripon opened the frame with three consecutive doubles and six consecutive hits, capping it with a three-run, walk-off home run by Izzy Spurzem for an 11-1 mercy-rule win over visiting Woodland Christian to open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V softball playoffs.

“I was down on myself for my previous at-bats,” Spurzem said. “I needed a hit.

“I knew it was there, so I just swung as hard as I could. It was a line drive, and I didn’t think it was going over, but it sure felt good.”

The Cardinals (20-5) loaded the bases in the fifth and came away empty. They got runners on the corners in the sixth with one out, but second baseman Addy Wilmshurst made a stellar play on a hard-hit grounder to end the frame.

“Our girls do a great job of adapting throughout the game,” Indians coach Tanner Jordan said. “I think the top of that inning really helped us out when Addy (Wilmshurst) made a great play at second with a runner in scoring position to end the inning. I think that out gave our team a real boost.

“And we just carried that over to the bottom of the inning. Alana (Hernandez) started the inning with a double that got the team feeling really great and got the energy going, and we just kept rolling.”

And roll Ripon (19-7) did. Hernandez (RBI), Angie Martinez (2 for 3, two RBI) and Mikayla Dietrich (RBI) led off the sixth with doubles, followed by a Chloe Lautenslager single, an Ava Hernandez double, a Clara Townsend single, an Addi Naranjo walk and Abby Stewart’s RBI single to set the stage for Spurzem’s walk-off.

Martinez went the distance in the circle, striking out eight, walking four and sprinkling six hits with one unearned run.

“I pitched knowing my defense would back me up,” Martinez said. “They have been doing so well. I worked for grounders a lot.

“At the plate, I just tried to put the team in the best position to score.”

Naranjo did the job of a leadoff hitter, starting the game off with two consecutive doubles and walking twice.

“I do whatever I can to help the team by getting on,” Naranjo said. “Getting on in the first inning is ideal. That’s basically my job.

“And every time after that I try the same thing.”

Naranjo scored following her leadoff double in the first inning on Hernandez’s sacrifice fly and Spurzem made the score 2-0 when she came in on Martinez’s single.

The Indians travel to No. 3 Livingston on Friday for a quarterfinal contest at 4 p.m.