Logan Sauer knows when to step it up.
After helping spearhead Ripon Christian’s come-from-behind win in Newman against Orestimba on Wednesday with outstanding play in the field and a 2-for-3 outing at the plate, Sauer ignited an eight-run sixth inning Friday with a clutch two-RBI single on the way to an 11-7 come-from-behind win for the host Knights over the Warriors in Southern League baseball play.
Ripon Christian (11-1 SL, 17-5 overall) entered the bottom of the sixth trailing 5-3. Micah English and David Koolhaas led off the frame for the Knights with back-to-back walks – both on four pitches – bringing No. 9 batter Sauer to the plate. The recently called-up sophomore made the best of his opportunity and belted a two-RBI single to right to tie the game and open the floodgates.
“I was just looking for a strike,” Sauer said. “And when I saw it I hit the ball.
“I don’t get many chances, but these last couple of games I have been hot, so it is good for the team.”
Leadoff batter Grant Sonke (double, three runs) followed Sauer with one of his three walks and put the Knights ahead for good when he scored on a single by Josh Buffalow (two RBI, run).
“We knew coming into the game that they were going to throw one of their better pitchers,” Sonke said. “And we needed to get him to a high pitch count so we could get into their bullpen where we thought we could hit off of them.”
Dustin Hoekstra (2 for 3, RBI, double, run) started on the hill for Ripon Christian and pitched into the third inning when he was forced to leave the mound when his arm acted up. Eli Terpsma came on in relief with one across in the inning, the bases loaded with two outs and Orestimba leading 4-2. Terpsma got out of the jam with one pitch, inducing an infield pop fly to end the Warriors threat.
Terpsma pitched into the seventh, retiring the first seven batters he faced and nine of the first 10.
“I was doing my best to pick up Dustin (Hoekstra) because something happened with his arm,” Terpsma said. “We needed someone to come in and I did my best to fill his shoes a little bit, and when I ran out of gas, Micah (English) did a good job of picking me up.”
In the seventh Orestimba (9-3, 11-6) got two runs across and had two runners on with two outs when English relieved Terpsma. Like Terpsma, English ended the threat pitching to just one batter, notching a strikeout to finish out the game.
“I knew I had to throw strikes,” English said. “I did the same thing on Wednesday. I came in and helped my boy out. I did my job, that’s what I was there for.”
The walks to English, Koohass and Sonke were three of 11 total walks for the Warriors. The Knights issued 11 walks as well.
“There were 22 walks between both teams,” Ripon Christian coach John de Visser said. “It was not a well-pitched game. Both teams did a not-so-great job of getting in the zone, but we only struck out one time. For a baseball purist, it was a hard game to watch. There were a lot of not-well-pitched balls.
“When you show up and not play fundamentally sound baseball early you have to fight back, and we put ourselves in a really bad hole early doing some not-good things mentally. And it was just a long, arduous, not-great baseball day, but sometimes you have to win those, too. The good thing is we righted the ship and got some good things going.”
Alex Millan picked up two of the three Orestimba hits, going 2 for 3 with a walk and scoring three runs.
The Knights were tied Friday with Le Grand for first place in the Southern League and enter the final week of league competition with a two-game series against Mariposa with the first game on the road Wednesday at 4 p.m., while Le Grand and Orestimba wrap up the season with a two-game set.
