Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon softball team dropped the first game of Friday's doubleheader against Marian by a score of 4-3, but were able to redeem themselves in the second game, which saw Stephanie Cartwright single in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the Ripon fans home happy.

In the first game of the day, Marian (11-17) jumped on the board early with one run in each of the first two innings and two more in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Ripon (8-21) held down the Marian offense after that point, as they attempted to stage a comeback in the late innings. The Red Hawks got on the board in the third when Anna Kasperr drove in Cassie Olson from third on a fielder's choice. They would score two more runs in the inning on an RBI single by Jordan Hester and a run-scoring groundout off the bat of Ashley Gnacinski.

Ripon had a golden opportunity to tie the game or take the lead in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs, but a lineout to the Marian pitcher would get the Sabres out of the jam.

The Red Hawks recorded eight hits in the contest, with a team-high two coming from Cassie Bilotto. Haylea Hoskins pitched well in relief, allowing two earned runs on four hits in five innings of work.

Marian totaled six hits, with two coming from Brie Hechimovich out of the lead-off spot. Emily Gorges (5-11) picked up the win, going the distance, while striking out two batters.

The taste of that loss went away with the sweet taste of victory in the second game, in which Ripon never trailed. The Red Hawks got on the board first in the bottom of the third when when a Hester single scored Courtney Bloomer from second base.

After a Marian run tied the game in the sixth, things looked bleak for the Red Hawks in the bottom of the seventh, which saw the first two Ripon batters retired. That was followed by a two-out rally that began with Hester's second hit of the game. She advanced to second on a wild pitch and after a walk to Gnacinski, Cartwright delivered her game-winning hit.

Ripon finished with nine hits, with two apiece coming from Hester, Cartwright and Korrine Peterson. Gnacinski (6-12) earned the win, with her only run allowed coming unearned, while recorded two strikeouts and zero walks.

The Red Hawks will hope to use the momentum of that walk-off win on Monday when they'll host Carroll University. That doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. at Tracy Field in Ripon.