FOND Du LAC, Wis. - Ripon's baseball team built an early lead Thursday at Marian University, before ultimately falling to the Sabres by a score of 15-5.

The Red Hawks (11-13) saw their bats come alive early, as all six of their hits came in the first four innings. They would take the first lead of the night in the opening inning, scoring twice on a Samuel Ott double to right center field. Marian scored once in the bottom of that inning, but Ripon got that run back in the second when Cormac Madigan crossed the plate via a Nick Terrell single to left center.

Marian tied the score one inning later after scoring one run each in the second and third inning. The Sabres would take their first lead of the contest in the fourth, which saw them score three runs, before adding another in the fifth.

Ripon mounted a comeback in the sixth, scoring a run on a Marian error, and adding another on a balk to cut the lead to 7-5. The Sabres would break the game wide open with six runs in the bottom of that inning, which was led off with a solo home run down the left field line.

All six of Ripon's hits went for singles. Ott led the Red Hawks with two hits and two RBI, while Madigan scored a team-high two runs from the lead-off spot.

Ripon will try to rebound on Saturday when they'll travel to Knox College. That doubleheader will begin at Noon in Galesburg, Ill., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.