CAROL STREAM, Ill. - Ripon's baseball team couldn't have opened their 2022 season with a much tougher opponent than the seventh-ranked team in Division-III, North Central (Ill.) College. The Red Hawks proved they could compete with the best however, narrowly losing the first game of Saturday's doubleheader by a score of 14-11, before North Central completed the sweep with an 11-2 win in game two.

Ripon (0-2) wasted no time getting on the board, as they scored twice in the top of the first on a Brock Warren RBI single and a fielder's choice by Jake Pankratz. That lead was short-lived, as North Central scored three times in the bottom of that inning, before Ripon answered with three of their own in the top of the third. That inning was highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Pankratz, while freshman Samuel Ott also drove in a run with a double.

North Central (7-0) then scored five runs on six hits the following inning to take control of the contest. Ott drove in another run in the fifth, while Pankratz scored on a throwing error in the seventh, but North Central scored five runs in the bottom of that frame to take a 14-7 advantage. Ripon then mounted a comeback with a run in the eighth on a solo home run off the bat of Nick Terrell, who also hit a two-run homer in the ninth to cut the lead to three, but North Central was able to close things out.

Terrell finished the game 4-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored, while Nick Tenny, Keegan Johnston, and Ott each recorded a pair of base knocks. Mauricio Huesca Villegas pitched well in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out three in 1.1 innings of work.

The day's second game saw North Central score early and often, taking a 2-0 lead into the second inning, which saw them plate four more runs. The Cardinals added another run in the fifth, before Ripon got on the board on an RBI single by Ott, which scored Terrell from second base. Terrell would also score the Red Hawks' only other run, crossing the plate on a throwing error.

Ripon finished the game with four hits, coming from Tenny, Ott, Huesca Villegas, and Cormac Madigan. North Central finished the game with 13 hits.

The Red Hawks will try to rebound on Tuesday when they'll play a doubleheader against Benedictine (Ill.) in Carol Stream, Ill. beginning at Noon.