CAROL STREAM, Ill. - Ripon's baseball team faced their stiffest competition of the young season Sunday afternoon, as they lost both games of a doubleheader to #6 North Central College. The first game saw the two teams go into the fifth inning with North Central leading 1-0, before they pulled away for a 12-0 victory. The Cardinals also won the nightcap 12-1 in the battle of the birds.

Andrew Kurcz allowed just one unearned run on two hits in the first four innings for the Red Hawks, before running into trouble in the fifth, which saw North Central score seven times to break the game wide open. The Cardinals added four more in the sixth to cap the scoring.

Ripon's lone hit came off the bat of Jake Pankratz a double to left center in the sixth inning to ruin NCC's no-hit bid. All-American Charlie Klemm tossed five hitless innings for North Central, striking out nine batters.

The day's second game saw North Central get on the board early with three runs in the bottom of the first and two more in the second. They would add a seven-spot in the sixth, before Ripon pushed a run across in the seventh, as Nick Tenny scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on a single.

Ripon recorded three hits in the game, coming from Tenny, Nick Terrell, and Jimmy Woller. North Central registered 12 hits in the contest.

The Red Hawks will try to rebound on Wednesday when they'll travel to Carroll University. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Waukesha, Wis.