Box Score vs. Cornell College
Box Score vs. St. Norbert College

RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon baseball team will enter the second and final day of the 2014 Midwest Conference Tournament with their backs against the wall. After defeating Cornell handily Friday morning by a score of 11-6, the Red Hawks saw their comeback bid fall short in a 7-5 loss to St. Norbert. That puts the Green Knights in tomorrow's MWC Championship game, while Ripon must win three straight to earn the 21st conference crown in school history.

Against Cornell (21-16), Ripon's bats were alive and well, namely the one in the hands of Michael Polcyn. The Ripon High School product got the Red Hawks off on the right foot with his 12th home run of the season in the top of the first inning, giving his team a 1-0 lead. By the end of the sixth, Polcyn would complete the cycle, going 5-for-5 on the day with a single, triple and two doubles, in addition to his long ball. He also scored five runs, while driving in three more. 

Ripon (24-14), which never trailed and led 10-2 at one point, also received a big game from Nick Schmitt, who was a home run shy of the cycle himself. Schmitt finished 3-for-4 with a game-high four RBI, while connecting on his 18th double, which ranks second in school history for a single season. Mitchell Busch, Jake Reinke and Nick Uhen each added two hits, while Busch drove in two runs and scored three more. Combined, Ripon's 3-5 hitters went 10-for-14 (.714) with nine RBI and nine runs scored. Tom Fish (3-3) picked up the win, allowing six runs in seven innings, while striking out three.

Needing to win their second game of the day to advance to Sunday's Championship game, Ripon lost to St. Norbert (22-14) for their first loss in the double-elimination tournament. The game was a pitcher's duel early on until the Green Knights broke a scoreless tie with a four-run fifth. Ripon got on the board with a run in the sixth on an RBI single by Busch, scoring Polcyn, who had doubled again one batter earlier. St. Norbert tacked on two more runs in the sixth and another on a solo home run by Alex Larsen in the seventh, making it 7-1 before Ripon started their rally.

The Red Hawks cut the lead to four with a two-run eighth, which saw an RBI single by Polcyn and a run-scoring double by Schmitt. Dakotah Kirchenwitz and Busch each doubled home another run in the ninth, making the score 7-5 with a runner on second and two out. The rally wouldn't continue however, as a called third strike ended the game.

Polcyn finished 3-for-4 at the dish, making him 8-for-9 (.889) in the two games combined. Kirchenwitz and Busch each added two hits, while Busch also drove in a team-high two RBI. Patrick Van Daalwyk (3-3) suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs while striking out four in his eight innings of work.

Ripon will play Grinnell tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., with the winner of that game playing St. Norbert at 1 p.m. in the MWC Championship Game. A second championship game will be played if necessary. LiveStats for all of tomorrow's games can be found at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal with Tournament Central at http://redhawks.ripon.edu/news/2014/5/1/BB_0501140601.aspx.