RHINELANDER, Wis. – The Ripon softball team wrapped up the first weekend of the 2023 campaign on Sunday afternoon, coming away with its second doubleheader split in as many days. The Red Hawks dropped Sunday's Game 1 by a final of 10-5 against UW-Stevens Point before regrouping and coming away with a 10-4 victory over Northland in the weekend finale.
 
How It Happened:

• UW-Stevens Point came out on fire in the opener, combining five walks with four base hits in the first inning to jump out to an early 5-0 lead.
• Ripon responded with two runs in the home half, with second baseman Maddie Hablewitz providing a big double to plate Jayden Markus and cut the deficit to three.
• The offenses continued to pack a punch through the second inning, with the Pointers bringing another four runs across in the frame.
• The Red Hawks got big back-to-back knocks from Brenna Bronk and Abby Gilbertson to cap a three-run bottom of the second, but the bats were slowed for the duration of the game.
• UWSP scratched across one more in the third, and the two teams exchanged zeroes the rest ot the way.
• In a rematch from Saturday, Northland struck first in Game 2, scoring one in the first before adding two more in the second.
• Mikaela Lawrence beat out an infield single in the top of the third, paving the way for Bronk to blast a two-run homer to get the Red Hawks on the board and within a run.
• The Lumberjills added a run to their lead in the bottom of the inning, but Ripon again answered with Bronk plating a run on a fielder's choice in the fourth.
• Five Red Hawks recorded a hit in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead, and Ripon kept the offense rolling with another three runs in the seventh to earn the 10-4 win.

Stats From The Day:

• Lawrence racked up six hits from the leadoff spot over Sunday's twin bill, and she now leads the team with eight after just four games.
• Ripon belted out 19 hits to close out the weekend, their highest game total so far on the young season.
• Six of those 19 went for extra bases, with two coming off the bat of Andrea Mihaljevich.
• Catherine Skoglund picked up her first win of the year in the circle, striking out seven Northland hitters while tossing all seven innings.

Beyond the Box Score:

• Lawrence, Anna Bauer and Abby Gilbertson have each hit safely in all four games to open the 2023 season.
• Four Red Hawks have gone deep so far this spring, while 12 have already picked up their first base knock.
• The Ripon pitching staff of Skoglund, Bronk and Kalen Berger has totaled 15 strikeouts to date.
• The Red Hawks are .500 after the season's first weekend for the first time since 2019.
• Ripon has scored 27 runs through four games, making the offense one of the most potent in the Midwest Conference so far.

On Deck: 

• Ripon returns to the diamond on March 12, when they open The Spring Games in Winter Haven, Fla. with an early doubleheader. First pitch of the opener against Roger Williams is slated for 9:30 a.m. EST, with a game versus Augsburg set to follow.