RIPON, Wis. - For the first time since 2019, Ripon's baseball team has punched their ticket to the Midwest Conference Tournament. The Red Hawks did so by splitting a pair of games with Cornell on Saturday, winning game one 6-5 in come-from-behind fashion, before losing the nightcap 2-1 in a 12-inning marathon.
Cornell (16-23, 11-13) took the first lead of the day, scoring once in the top of the first. Ripon (17-20, 13-11 MWC) would tie the game in the second when 
Brock Warren crossed the plate on a single by 
Kaleb Burns, but Cornell retook the lead with a run in the top of the third. Ripon then took their first lead of the game in the following inning, scoring on a sacrifice bunt by Burns and on an RBI single off the bat of 
Cormac Madigan.
In what turned out to be a see-saw battle, Cornell grabbed the lead once more with a pair of runs in the fifth, before adding another in the seventh to take a 5-3 advantage. Warren would cut that lead in half with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, before Madigan tied the game at five with a two-out double to left center. One batter later, 
Cam Stampfl recorded a single to left, scoring Madigan with the go-ahead run.
Ripon finished the game with 14 hits, led by Stampfl's 3-for-4 performance. Madigan, Warren, 
Samuel Ott, and 
Jake Pankratz each added two hits, while Madigan and Burns led the team with two RBI apiece. 
Brock Turkington earned the win, allowing zero earned runs on just two hits in three innings of relief, while striking out three.
The day's second game saw the two teams combine for just eight hits in the first nine innings of play, before heading to extra innings in a scoreless tie. The score remained tied until the top of the 12th when Cornell pushed across two unearned runs on two hits, with both runs scoring on a two-out double to center field. Ripon made things interesting in the bottom of the 12th, as 
Remington Cox recorded a two-out single to right, scoring Ott from third, but the next batter would be retired to end the game.
The Red Hawks finished with six hits, with two coming from 
Nick Terrell. Warren was spectacular on the mound, allowing just three hits in nine scoreless innings, while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts in the no-decision. Turkington also continued his great play, pitching two perfect innings of relief, while striking out two.
Ripon will bring their regular season to a close on Sunday when they'll host Carthage College in a single game at Noon. That game can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/. They will then take part in the 2022 MWC Tournament, which will begin Friday in Appleton, Wis., hosted by Lawrence University.