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Indians complete sweep of struggling Orestimba
Orestimba-Ripon baseball
Hunter Weber throws a pitch during the game against Orestimba High School on Friday. - photo by Navtej Hundal
Navtej Hundal
Bulletin correspondent
Published: Apr 12, 2025, 8:29 AM

 After beginning its series with a 6-1 win on Wednesday, Ripon High School’s baseball team completed its series sweep against Orestimba High School with a 7-4 win Friday at Mistlin Sports Park.

Ripon (4-4 TVL, 8-9 overall) strengthens its fourth-place lead in the Trans Valley League standings. Meanwhile, Orestimba (0-8 TVL, 3-19 overall) continues to struggle with its fourth consecutive loss. The Warriors have yet to win a series this season.

Early on in Friday’s matchup, Orestimba didn’t look like the same team that lost on Wednesday, as it had a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth inning. Ripon assistant head coach Preston Gookin encouraged his players not to let their heads down. That encouragement may have inspired a four-run inning in the fifth, which shifted momentum for the Indians.

Orestimba-Ripon baseball
Ripon’s Brayden McDowell swings bat towards ball against Orestimba High School. - photo by Navtej Hundal
“We knew we were a good team and they’re (Orestimba) also a good team over there, as well, just to keep battling and it was going to start falling eventually,” Gookin said. “We were hitting balls hard the whole day.”

First baseman Josh Husband opened the bottom of the fifth with a triple, setting up a possible run opportunity. Later, infielder Jack Peters struck an RBI single to bring Husband home for a run and tie the game at 2-2. With bases loaded, infielder Hunter Weber added an RBI single of his own, which brought infielder Landon Espinola to home plate to give Ripon its first lead.

Scoring didn’t stop for the Indians, as an error from the catcher and Orestimba players miscommunicating with each other resulted in Ripon scoring two more runs from Peters and first baseman Joseph Molthen for a 5-2 lead heading into the sixth inning.

The bottom of the sixth inning brought more or less the same results for the Indians. With a 5-3 lead, Husband struck the ball towards the middle of the field for a single RBI that brought outfielder Landon Kackley towards home plate to extend Ripon's lead to three.

Similar to the bottom of the fifth inning, Peters struck a ground ball down the middle for his second RBI of the afternoon, allowing Husband to bring in another run to give Ripon a 7-3 heading into the final inning.

Peters finished Friday’s contest by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a leadoff triple.

Orestimba scored a run in the top of the seventh inning, but it was not enough as Ripon went on to win its third consecutive matchup against the Warriors dating back to February 2022.

Ripon will host Argonaut High School on Tuesday at 4 p.m. for a non-league matchup. The following day, the Indians will host a pivotal two-game series against Escalon High School at 4 p.m. Escalon (4-3 TVL, 10-9 overall) are currently the third seed in the TVL standings.

“We’re still battling, trying to make a playoff run,” Gookin said. “We had a tough week last week, and we’re just looking forward to next week.”