APPLETON, Wis. - Ripon's baseball team has survived to see another day. After losing their opening game of the Midwest Conference Tournament on Friday against University of Chicago by a score of 16-14, the Red Hawks ended Illinois College's season with a convincing 10-2 victory. That advances Ripon to Saturday's first game when they'll try to redeem themselves against Chicago at 9 a.m.

Friday's first game saw the two teams combine for 30 runs on 27 hits. Ripon (20-22) started the scoring in the top of the first on an RBI single by Brock Warren. After Chicago (22-14) got on the board with two runs in the third, Ripon answered with an RBI double by Jake Pankratz and a run-scoring single by Nick Tenny to take the lead right back. Chicago then matched that with two runs of their own in the fourth, before Warren drove in another run with a single to tie the game at four. Two batters later, Tenny smashed a grand slam over the left field fence, giving Ripon a four-run lead.

The Red Hawks would score twice more on a two-run double by Samuel Ott in the sixth, before adding another in the seventh on a run-scoring single off the bat of Cam Stampfl. Trailing by six entering the bottom of the seventh, Chicago's bats came alive, tying the score with six runs on three hits.

Ripon would add three more runs in the eighth, scoring on an error and twice on a single by Tenny. Chicago would score twice in the bottom of that inning to enter the final frame trailing by one. That set the stage for a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give Chicago the victory.

Tenny led the Red Hawks with a 4-for-5 performance, scoring two runs and recording seven RBI, which is tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. Nick Terrell added three hits, while Warren was 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in two more. 

Ripon then played an elimination game against Illinois College, with the Red Hawks allowing just six hits, while recording 15 of their own, including four home runs. Pankratz got them on the board with a two-run shot in the top of the second, before adding a solo homer in the fourth. Terrell and Cormac Madigan would each add a two-run bomb.

Madigan and Pankratz led Ripon with three hits apiece, while also each driving in three runs and scoring twice. Tenny, Ott, and Kaleb Burns each added two hits. Mau Villegas (3-1) earned the win, allowing just two runs on five hits, while striking out two in eight strong innings.

Ripon's game against Chicago on Saturday will be played at Whiting Field in Appleton, Wis. First pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m., with the game available via live webcast at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/. The losing team will see their season come to an end, while the winning team will advance to play Lawrence University in the MWC Tournament Championship game later in the day.