Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's baseball team never got an opportunity to play in Saturday's Midwest Conference Championship game. The Red Hawks lost an elimination game 4-2 against Grinnell in the game before the championship round, ending their season with a 24-15 record, which marks the third time in the last five years and and 10th time in school history that they've reached that win total.

Saturday's game was a pitcher's duel from start to finish with just 11 combined hits and one earned run allowed between the two teams. Grinnell broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning, which was the only frame that saw Grinnell cross the plate, scoring all four of their runs at that time. The Pioneers recorded two hits and were aided by three Ripon errors in the inning.

Ripon recorded their first run in the sixth on an RBI single by Nick Schmitt. They added another in the seventh on a double by Tom Sawyer, which scored Nick Uhen from second base, but Dakotah Kirchenwitz was gunned down at the plate in a bang-bang play to end the inning and the scoring threat. The Red Hawks would put runners on the corners with one out in the eighth, but couldn't get any runs home, ending their last legitimate rally.

Schmitt finished the game with a team-high two hits. Matt Hecht (6-3) took the loss, despite allowing zero earned runs in his 3.2 innings of work.