RIPON, Wis. - Ripon and St. Norbert combined for 45 runs in their two games Thursday afternoon, which saw St. Norbert win both games of the doubleheader. The Green Knights narrowly won the first game 11-10, before also taking the second by a score of 16-8.

SNC struck first with three runs in the top of the first, before Ripon got on the board in the bottom of that inning with an RBI single from Claire Luebke. After St. Norbert scored two more runs in the second, Ripon tied the game with a four-spot in the bottom of that inning, with the big blow coming on a bases loaded double by Micaela Encarnacion, which cleared the bases. Brennah Bronk followed that with an RBI groundout to tie the game.

After St. Norbert scored three times in the third, Ripon did their best to keep pace, adding two runs of their own in the bottom of that inning thanks to RBI singles by Margaret Herrin and Kayley Grabowski. Both teams scored once in the fourth, with Ripon's run coming on an RBI single from Abby Gilbertson.

The Green Knights took an 11-8 lead with two more runs in the fifth. Ripon answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, scoring on a sac fly from Addison Lindsey and an RBI double by Herrin, but the Red Hawks would fall one run short of victory.

The two teams combined for 28 hits in the game, with Ripon out-hitting SNC 15-13. Luebke led Ripon with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Encarnacion, Bronk, Gilbertson, and Grabowski each finished with two hits.

Game two saw St. Norbert score early and often, posting 13 runs on 12 hits in the opening inning to take control of the contest. Ripon tried to crawl back into the game with five runs on five hits in the second. Encarnacion and Bronk recorded back-to-back two-run doubles, while Mikaela Lawrence added an RBI single.

St. Norbert added two more runs in the third, before Ripon scored three times in the fourth on RBI from Lindsey, Luebke, and Anna Bauer. The Green Knights then added a run in the fifth to end the game in five innings.

Bauer finished with a career-high three of Ripon's 12 hits. Encarnacion and Lawrence each added two hits.

Ripon will be in action again on Saturday when they'll host Lake Forest College in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Tracy Field. Those games can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/, with LiveStats available at https://static.riponredhawks.com/custompages/LiveStats/Softball/xlive.htm.