RIPON, Wis. - After a nearly two-week layoff due to inclement weather, the Ripon College baseball team took to the field Wednesday, falling to Carroll University by a score of 9-7. Both teams finished the game with eight hits.

Ripon (3-11) struck first with one run in the bottom of the first, scoring on an RBI double by Nick Taranto. Carroll tied the game in the top of the second with a lead-off homer over the left field wall, before taking the lead with a two-run third inning thanks to an RBI double and a run-scoring single. Ripon answered with three runs in the third to take the lead. Taranto drove in one run with a single up the middle, while Keegan Johnston drove in the other two, giving the Red Hawks the lead with a two-run single with two outs in the inning.

Michael Barnes added to Ripon's lead with an RBI double in the fourth inning, before driving in two more runs on another double in the sixth, giving the Red Hawks a 7-3 lead. Carroll then scored six runs, all unearned, on four hits in the seventh inning to take a 9-7 lead, which is where the score would stay for the remainder of the contest.

Barnes, Taranto, and Johnston each finished the game with two hits for the Red Hawks, with Josh Oswald and Hector Aguinaga collecting Ripon's other two base knocks. Eric Hietpas and Tyler Nelson scored a team-high two runs apiece, while Barnes led the way with a game-high three RBI.

Ripon will be back in action on Thursday when they'll travel to Appleton, Wis. to battle Lawrence University in a Midwest Conference matchup. That doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m., with a live audio broadcast available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lawrence/.