RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's baseball team split a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, falling to Beloit 5-3 in game one, before salvaging the split with an 8-0 victory in which freshman Austin Fox pitched a one-hit shutout.

Fox (4-2) was brilliant for all nine innings in the nightcap, taking a no-hitter into the ninth, before Beloit broke it up with a one-out single to left field. He faced just three batters in five of the nine innings, and didn't allow a baserunner past second base until the ninth, which saw him strand the bases loaded to secure the shutout. Fox struck out eight batters in the contest, helping to lower his season ERA to 2.58.

The Red Hawk offense collected 10 hits in that second game, including two apiece by Nick Taranto, Hector Aguinaga, Keegan Johnston, and Josh Oswald, who also led the team with three RBI. Aguinaga added two RBI, while Taranto, Michael Barnes, and Riley Erickson also each drove in a run. Taranto and Aguinaga led the team with two runs scored apiece.

The day's first game did not go as smoothly, as Beloit (16-13, 4-6 MWC) led from start to finish. The Buccaneers scored twice in the top of the first, before doubling that lead with two more runs in the third. Ripon (9-16, 5-5 MWC) would get on the board with an RBI single by Johnston in the fourth, but Ripon's only other run would come in the seventh when they'd score on a throwing error.

Ripon out-hit Beloit 8-7 in the first game, with Aguinaga leading the way with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Drew Slade (1-3) allowed just two earned runs on seven hits in his eight innings of work, striking out six.

These same two teams will do battle again on Sunday with a doubleheader in Beloit, which will begin at 1 p.m. Live video will be available for both games at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.