Clermont, Fla. - In what was their final day of competition on their 12-game slate in Florida, the Red Hawks split a pair of games. They began the day with an 8-0 loss to Elmhurst, before finishing the trip on a strong note with a 5-3 win against Carthage.
,
The first game's score was misleading, as Ripon (3-9) and Elmhurst (3-1) each went scoreless in the first three innings, combining for four hits in that span. Elmhurst then got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on a wild pitch. The Blue Jays would break open the game with a five-spot in the following inning, keyed by a two-run double. They would add two more runs in the sixth to put the mercy rule into effect.
,
Ripon finished with three hits, coming off the bats of
Korrine Peterson,
Rebeccah Jones and
Haylea Hoskins.
Ashley Parkkonen (0-3) pitched well, before running into trouble in the final two innings. Six of Elmhurst's nine hits came after the fourth frame.
,
The second game saw Ripon fall behind early, as Carthage (0-1) plated two runs in the top of the first on an RBI single and run-scoring double. The Red Hawks got one of those runs back in the bottom of that inning, as Peterson scored on a wild pitch.
,
Ripon tied the game in the third when Hoskins scored on a Carthage fielding error, and the Red Hawks took their first lead of the day with a two-run fourth that saw
Tene Robinson score on a double steal and Peterson drive home another on a sacrifice bunt.
,
From that point, Ripon never trailed. Carthage cut the lead to one on an RBI single in the fifth, but Ripon got that one back in the bottom half of that inning when
Meg Krautsch hit a leadoff triple and scored two batters later on an RBI single by Parkkonen.
,
Ripon finished the game with six hits, with Krautsch and Parkkonen each recording two.
Ashley Gnacinski (3-2) picked up the win, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and striking out four without walking a batter in her seven innings.
,
The Red Hawks will now fly back home before taking part in next weekend's Augustana (Ill.) Invitational, where they'll face Augustana and Coe on Saturday at 9 and 11 a.m., respectively.
,
