Maclaira Camper had the big bat for Ripon Christian softball on Wednesday and ended the game with an RBI double that enforced the mercy rule in a 13-3 six-inning win over visiting Delhi in Southern League action.
That double was the second of the day for Camper, the lone senior for Ripon Christian (3-3 SL, 3-7 overall). She finished 3 for 5 with a triple, two doubles and three RBI.
“I have been working on my hitting all season,” Camper said. “It’s been a four-year struggle to be aggressive at the plate.
“Today, we came out and played to the best of our abilities. I made adjustments and got the job done.”
Emma DeBruyn (2 for 3, double, two runs) started off the scoring parade for the Knights with a leadoff double in Ripon Christian’s four-run second inning. She came in on Hailey Henderson’s single, Ally Brown scored on an error and Henderson scored on a Katie Van Unen groundout. Teagan Chapman (2 for 3, RBI, two runs) singled in Libby Woltjer for the 4-0 Ripon Christian lead.
“I was leading off the inning,” DeBruyn said. “I knew that my job was to get on and start things off.
“I’m a junior so I like to lead as much as I can. We only have one senior (Camper) and the rest of us are sophomores and juniors.”
Taylor Postma (2 for 4, two RBI, double, run) was part of a Knights five-run fifth. After Woltjer scored on a passed ball, Camper tripled in Shelby Terra and Chapman, Camper came in on a Postma double and Postma scored on a passed ball for an 11-3 Ripon Christian lead.
“You have to want it at the plate,” Postma said. “Coach always tells us if you are going to swing, swing hard.
“That’s what you have to do.”
Camper, Postma and DeBruyn – the No. 3, 4 and 5 batters – were a combined 7 for 12 with five RBI, a triple, three doubles and four runs. No. 2 batter Chapman’s 2-for-3 outing with two RBI cemented the Knights attack.
“That part of the lineup really needs to carry us,” Ripon Christian coach Steve de Graaf said of his 3-4-5 hitters. “They have been on and off all season struggling with pitching and looking at them knowing that I trust them, the team trusts them and that they have a job to do.
“We have been working on being patient and putting the ball in play, being smart about what we are doing and playing for each other.”
Shelby Terra started inside the circle for the Knights and went five innings, allowing three hits with three runs, one earned. Chapman came on for one inning in relief, striking out the side in a 1-2-3 sixth.
Paris Sanchez singled in a run and score on for the Hawks (1-5, 1-6) in their three-run fifth.
Ripon Christian travels to Newman on Friday to face Orestimba at 4 p.m.
