CLERMONT, Fla. - Ripon's softball team played two close games Thursday afternoon, falling to Carleton 2-1, before losing to Elmhurst by a score of 11-9.

The day's first game of the day was a pitcher's duel, as the two teams combined for just eight hits. Carleton (6-1) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run home run over the right field fence by Sam Kile. Ripon (4-8) made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh, cutting that lead in half on an RBI groundout by Bre Ollech. Carleton would get out of the jam however, retiring the final batter with runners on second and third.

Lexi Reetz (4-2) suffered the hard luck loss, allowing two runs on six hits, while striking out eight in a complete game effort. Ripon's two hits came from Isabella Osborn and Kayley Grabowski.

In the second game of the day, Ripon fell behind early after Elmhurst (1-3) scored twice in the top of the first and once more in the third. The Red Hawks then took their first lead of the game with a seven-run third inning, which featured two RBI by both Cortney Bols and Camryn Hamilton, and one apiece from Taylor Natzke and Emyli Kreiser.

Elmhurst cut the lead to 7-6 with three runs in the fourth, but Ripon got two of those runs back in the bottom of that inning on a sac fly by Teara Morgenroth and an RBI single by Bols. That lead vanished in the fifth, as Elmhurst scored three runs on two hits to tie the score at nine. Two innings later, they would take the lead for good with an RBI double, followed by a run-scoring single.

Ripon finished with eight hits, with two apiece coming from Kreiser, Osborn, and Bols. Osborn and Claire Luebke each scored two runs, while Bols led the team with three RBI.

The Red Hawks will end their Spring Trip to Florida on Friday when they'll play Manchester and Springfield at Noon ET and 2:15 p.m. ET, respectively. Both games will be played at Osceola Field in Kissimmee, Fla., with LiveStats available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.