JANESVILLE, Wis. - Ripon's bats came alive Friday night, hitting as many home runs (7) in their second game against Grinnell as they had in the previous two seasons combined. That resulted in a wild 21-17 loss to the Pioneers, which was preceded by a 6-4 Grinnell victory.

In the first game of the day, Grinnell (17-19, 12-4 MWC) struck first with a run in the top of the first, but Ripon (9-25, 4-12 MWC) answered with a run of their own in the second when Kayley Grabowski scored on a single by Lexi Reetz.

Grinnell would take the lead again in the fifth with four runs, which included a pair of home runs, including a two-run shot from Darice Wheeler. Ripon cut the lead in half with a pair of runs in the sixth, with both coming on Grinnell errors. After another Grinnell run in the top of the seventh, Ripon rallied with a run in the bottom of that inning on an RBI single by Cortney Bols, but that wasn't enough, as the final out was recorded with the tying run at the plate.

Ripon finished with six hits, with two coming from freshman Emyli Kreiser. Grinnell recorded seven hits in the game, led by Maddi Matsubara's 3-for-4 performance with two RBI and two runs scored.

The second game of the doubleheader proved to be one of the wildest games of the year. Ripon began the scoring with three runs in the top of the first, breaking a scoreless tie when Micaela Encarnacion scored on a Grinnell error. That was followed by a two-run homer off the bat of Kreiser. Grinnell then flashed some power of their own, as Wheeler connected on a two-run homer of her own to cut Ripon's lead to one.

The Red Hawks then took control of the game for a moment with a seven-run second inning, which included a three-run homer by Julia Sanchez, her first of the season and second of her career. Kreiser followed suit one batter later with her second home run in as many innings, giving her a team-leading three dingers on the year. Two batters later, Taylor Natzke went yard with a two-run shot for her first career home run, and Ripon's third of the inning. Addison Lindsey would add an RBI single in that frame. Grinnell added four runs of their own in the second, cutting the Red Hawks lead to 10-6.

Ripon continued to pour it on in the third, with two more home runs, as Claire Luebke's three-run shot marks her first in a Red Hawks uniform, and Hayley Rierson's two-run homer also marked the first of her career. Trailing 15-6 in the fourth inning, Grinnell mounted a comeback with a seven-run frame, which included a three-run homer by Matsubara. The Pioneers added another run in the fifth to whittle Ripon's lead down to one. The Red Hawks extended that lead in the sixth with two runs on Sanchez's second home run of the gamej, but Grinnell was able to come from behind with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth. That included a two-run homer by Wheeler, who finished the doubleheader with three long-balls.

The Red Hawks recorded 16 hits in the game, led by Encarnacion, who went 4-for-4 with four runs scored, both of which ties the single game school record. Kreiser added three hits, three RBI, and three runs scored, while Sanchez went 2-for-5 with three runs and five RBI, which ties a career-high and is tied for second in school history for a single game. Natzke, Rierson, and Lindsey also each finished with two hits.

Grinnell's 21 runs came on 23 hits. They were led by Matsubara's 5-for-6 performance, with four runs and four RBI. She was one of eight players to finish with more than one hit.

Ripon will now wrap up their 2019 season on Sunday when they'll travel to Knox College on Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Galesburg, Ill.