Box Score vs. Allegheny
Box Score vs. Rowan

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Ripon baseball team squared off against a pair of good teams Thursday afternoon, falling to Allegheny 4-3 and to 10th-ranked Rowan University, 8-2.

In the fist game of the day, Ripon (1-7) didn't trail until the eighth inning. The Red Hawks got on the board in the top of the fourth when Mitchell Busch drove in Michael Polcyn with a sac fly after Polcyn tripled to right center. Allegheny (7-3) tied things up in the bottom of the inning, as a run crossed the plate while Ripon turned a double play.

The Red Hawks took another lead the following inning when Tom Sawyer singled down the right field line, scoring Dakotah Kirchenwitz and Robbie Schuettpelz. Allegheny cut that lead in half with a run in the sixth, as Ripon took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning.

Allegheny tied the score on a throwing error and took the lead for good on a sacrifice bunt, spoiling a tremendous start by Jeff Schuurmans.

Schuurmans allowed two earned runs on four hits in seven innings of work, striking out two. Sawyer and Polcyn led the Red Hawks at the plate with two hits apiece.

In the second game of the day, Rowan showed why they are ranked in the top 10 in the Division-III Top 25 poll, jumping on the board early with an RBI double in the top of the first. The Profs added two more runs in the third on an RBI triple and a run-scoring single. Rowan made the score 5-0 in the fifth on a two-run double before Ripon finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth. Sawyer drove in both team's runs with a single through the right side, allowing Schuettpelz and Busch to score.

Polcyn led the Red Hawks with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, with a trio of doubles, while Kirchenwitz added two hits. Tom Fish (0-2) went all nine innings, allowing six earned runs on 13 hits, while striking out three.

The Red Hawks will conclude their trip to Florida on Friday when they'll battle Grinnell College at 9 a.m. ET at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fla.