Dodgers bounce back from defeat to capture Ripon minors championship

The Dodgers bounced back from Monday’s heartbreaking extra-inning loss to the Yankees with a convincing 10-2 five-inning mercy-rule win over the Yankees on Tuesday to claim the Ripon Little League minors championship at Thiemann Athletic Park. The Dodgers will participate in the District 67 Tournament of Champions against Tracy on Saturday morning at 9 at Brock Elliott School.

Harper Downs led the charge for the Dodgers from the plate and the mound. He went 2 for 3 with three RBI, a double and a run and he pitched into the fifth inning, giving up two unearned runs before he left the game, striking out nine and allowing two hits. Trent Koolhaas relieved Downs with the bases loaded and hit the first batter he faced before striking out the next two to end the game. Koolhaas had the big bat as well, going 2 for 3 with four RBI, a double and a run.

Keagan Heuvel knocked in the first run for the Dodgers on a first-inning single, plating Downs. Ryan Perez (two runs) got a two-run second inning going with a two-out single down the right-field line. He scored on a Downs single and Jase Blanco (two runs) scored on a bases-loaded walk to Koolhaas for a 3-0 lead.

Koolhaas belted a two-run double in the fourth, plating Blanco and Robbie Nieweg (2 for 3, RBI, double, three runs) and Koolhaas was singled in by Kaden Hitt for a 6-0 lead. Downs had the big hit in a four-run fourth, rapping a two-run double to score Luke Sanders and Perez. Nieweg doubled in Downs and Nieweg scored on a Koolhass groundout for a 10-1 lead.

Hayden Peelman and Luke Mayfield reached on back-to-back errors for the Yankees in the fourth inning and Peelman came around to score on a passed ball to make the score 6-1. The Yankees got their last run in the sixth inning when Sahib Dhindsa scored after Troy Eskes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. That brought the Yankees within 10-2, but they could not close the gap to less than eight runs, the trigger point for the mercy rule after five innings.  

Spreckles Park majors

White Sox 12, Marlins 2

The White Sox capped their perfect season on Thursday with the 10-run win over the Marlins to claim the majors championship.

The White Sox will open the District 67 Tournament of Champions against Manteca Little League at Mossdale Park in Lathrop on Saturday morning at 10.

Softball

The Ripon major and minor teams won the District 67 Tournament of Champions on Monday night at the Tracy Softball Complex with the majors defeating Tracy 24-1 and the minors downing Tracy 15-5.

These were the first banners for Ripon Little League since its chartering in 2019.