RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's baseball team opened their conference season Saturday afternoon by splitting a doubleheader against Lawrence Universtiy in what was also Ripon's first home games of 2017. The Red Hawks started the day on a high note, winning 6-4, before Lawrence edged them in the nightcap 7-6.
The first game saw Lawrence (4-10, 1-1 MWC) strike first with two runs in the top of the second inning coming on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Ripon (2-11, 1-1 MWC) tied things up in the bottom of that inning, as a Lawrence error allowed two runs to score on a sac fly by 
David La Tour.
Lawrence took the lead again in the top of the seventh on a two-run single, but Ripon again answered with two runs in the bottom of that frame, scoring on a wild pitch and a throwing error. One inning later, the Red Hawks took their first lead of the game when 
Josh Oswald scored on a groundout by 
Bennett Groves. Ripon added an insurance run on a sac bunt by 
Robbie Schuettpelz and retired Lawrence in order in the ninth to secure the victory.
Ripon finished with nine hits, with two apiece coming from Oswald and 
Michael Barnes, whom each scored two runs as well. 
Matt Hecht (2-1) picked up the victory in relief, allowing just two hits in 2.1 scoreless innings.
Lawrence also finished with nine hits, led by Rudy Mueller-Schrader's two base knocks. Kyle Duex suffered the loss, allowing three earned runs in seven innings of work.
The day's second game also saw Lawrence score first thanks to a sac fly in the top of the third. Ripon took their first lead of the contest with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on singles by Groves, La Tour, and Schuettpelz. The Red Hawks added two more runs in the fifth on a run-scoring double play and an RBI single off the bat of 
Riley Erickson.
That lead lasted until the sixth when Lawrence's bats exploded for six runs on seven hits. The inning was led off by a solo home run from Travis Weber, while also scoring runs on a double and a trio of singles to take a 7-5 lead. Ripon cut that lead in half on an RBI single by 
Nick Taranto in the sixth, but that would be all the scoring the game would see.
Ripon finished with 13 hits, with three coming from Taranto and two apiece from La Tour and 
Isiah Ramos. Lawrence also recorded 13 hits, led by three from Mueller-Schrader.
These same two teams will be back at it on Sunday in another doubleheader at Lawrence. That twinbill will begin at 1 p.m. in Appleton, Wis.