APPLETON, Wis. - Ripon's softball team narrowly missed sweeping Friday's doubleheader at Lawrence, losing the first game 3-2, before winning the second by a 13-5 margin. The Red Hawks finished with more hits than the Vikings in both games, with Ripon finishing the twinbill with 23 hits combined.

The Red Hawks struck first in game one, breaking a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning on an RBI single off the bat of Brennah Bronk. Lawrence tied things up in the third before Ripon grabbed the lead back with a run in the fifth when Bronk scored from third on a wild pitch with two out and the bases loaded. That lead lasted until the following inning when the Vikings tied the score on a wild pitch. They would score the go-ahead and deciding run later in that inning on a two-out RBI single.

Bronk and Claire Luebke each had two of Ripon's eight hits. Alyssa Banta suffered another hard-luck loss, allowing two earned runs on four hits, while striking out five in a six-inning complete game.

The day's second game saw Lawrence score first, plating two runs in the bottom of the second. That lead lasted until the fourth, which saw Ripon score four runs on four hits and a pair of Lawrence errors. Mikaela Lawrence got the Red Hawks on the board with an RBI single to shortstop. That was followed by an RBI single from Anna Bauer to tie the game, before Bronk singled to right to drive in another run and give the Red Hawks the lead. Bauer would cap the scoring in that inning when she scored on a fielding error by the left fielder.

After Lawrence tied the game with a two-spot in the bottom of the fourth, Ripon took the lead for good in the fifth when Victoria Duran drove in Addison Lindsey with a sacrifice fly. Ripon added two more in the sixth on RBI from Abby Gilbertson and Kayley Grabowski, before blowing the game wide open with six runs on six hits in the top of the seventh. Margaret Herrin and Grabowski each recorded two RBI in that inning, while Gilbertson and Banta drove in one run apiece.

Ripon finished the second game with 15 hits, with three coming off the bat of Lindsey, which included two doubles. Bronk, Grabowski, and Lawrence each finished the game with two hits, with Grabowski also registering a game-high three RBI. Lilli Smith (2-3) earned the victory, allowing just three earned runs on nine hits, while striking out five in a seven-inning complete game.

The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll travel to Lake Forest College. That doubleheader will begin at Noon in Lake Forest, Ill., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/, with LiveStats available at https://www.goforesters.com/sports/sball/2020-21/boxscores/20210417_i3do.xml.