AUBURNDALE, Fla. -,Ripon continued their strong start to the 2015 season Sunday, earning a split with Allegheny College. The Red Hawks dropped the first game, 7-2, before winning the second 10-5.
In the first game, neither team scored during the first three innings, with the two squads combining for just three hits in that span. That changed in the top of the fourth when Allegheny (1-1) plated four runs on a trio of RBI singles and another on a run-scoring double. Allegheny added another run the following inning on a solo homer over the left field wall.
Ripon finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when
Nick Uhen scored on a wild pitch.
Bradley Knoblock added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to cut the lead to 5-2. Allegheny got those two runs back in the seventh on a pair of RBI singles to seal the victory.
The Red Hawks recorded four hits in the game, coming from Uhen,
Dakotah Kirchenwitz,
Nate Siudak, and
Randy Finger.
Marshall Zahn (0-1) started the game, allowing five earned runs, while striking out six batters in 4.2 innings of work.,
The second game of the day saw Ripon get on the board first, as
Jake Reinke scored in the top of the first on a triple off the bat of
Mitchell Busch. Allegheny then plated three runs in the bottom of that inning on a ground out, a single, and a bases loaded hit by pitch. Ripon then tied things up in the fourth when Knoblock drove in a run with a single and
Robbie Schuettpelz added an RBI double.
The Red Hawks then exploded with a five-run fifth to take the lead. In that inning, the first six Ripon batters reached base. Reinke scored the first run in that frame on an error, while
Nick Schmitt scored on a bases loaded walk and Busch scored on a wild pitch.
Nick Kita added a two-run single to give Ripon an 8-3 lead. The two teams traded runs in the sixth, while Ripon added another insurance run in the seventh to cap the scoring.
Kita and Knoblock led Ripon with two hits apiece, while Kita and Busch each recorded a team-high two RBI. Reinke led the Red Hawks with three runs scored, with Finger and
Josh Oswald each crossing the plate twice.
Michael Anderson (1-0) picked up the win, allowing two earned runs and striking out five batters in three innings of work.
The Red Hawks will be in action again on Monday when they'll play Anderson University at 9 a.m. (ET). That game will be played at Chain of Lakes Field number one.
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