ROCHESTER, Minn. - Ripon's softball team opened the 2019 season Saturday with a split of two games at the ACM Dome Tournament. The Red Hawks won their season opener 4-0 against Rockford University, behind 12 strikeouts by Senior Lexi Reetz, but the team lost the nightcap 8-0 in five innings against UW-La Crosse.

In the day's first game, Ripon (1-1) got on the board with a run in the top of the second inning when Julia Sanchez scored from first on a double to left field by Camryn Hamilton. The Red Hawks added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI double off the bat of Micaela Encarnacion, which was followed by a run-scoring single by Isabella Osborn. Ripon capped the scoring in the sixth when Encarnacion drove in her second run of the game on a single, allowing Molly Potter to cross the plate.

Encarnacion picked up where she left off last season when she was named to the All-Region Team, as she finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Sanchez also racked up two hits, while Kayley Grabowski was a perfect 2-for-2 at the dish with one run scored.

Reetz was in mid-season form in the circle, firing a five-hit shutout, in addition to her 12 strikeouts, which ties a career-high and is tied for 10th in program history for a single game. That also marks Reetz's 46th career complete game, which is tied for fourth in program history.

The day's second game was a completely different result, as UW-La Crosse (1-2) defeated Ripon 8-0 in five innings, with the Red Hawks' only hit coming off the bat of Addison Lindsey. UW-La Crosse scored three runs in the top of the second, before adding three more in the fourth and plating two more in the fifth. Six of the eight runs were earned.

Ripon will be in action again on Sunday when they'll play their second and final day at the ACM Dome Tournament in Rochester, Minn. The Red Hawks will face Macalester College at 8 a.m., before taking on #10 Luther College at Noon.