RIPON, Wis. – The Ripon College baseball team opened the home season up with a doubleheader sweep over conference foe Monmouth College this afternoon. With the wins, the Red Hawks even out their overall record to 6-6 and start conference play at 2-0 while the Fighting Scots fall to 4-9 and 0-2 in the Midwest Conference.

Brock Warren finished the day 5-for-9 with three runs scored, four RBIs, a home run, a double, and a stolen base for the Red Hawks.

Ripon is back in action this Tuesday when it is Lawrence University in a conference doubleheader. Game one is slated for 1 pm with game two follow.

Game 1: Ripon 5, Monmouth 4 – 10 Innings
Following four scoreless innings, Ripon broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. The Red Hawks used a pair of walks, a hit-by-pitch, two fielder's choices, and a single to plate the three runs.

Monmouth chipped away at the lead as it got a run back in the top of the seventh to make it 3-1 before pushing three runs across in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead.

Down to its final three outs, Jack Anderson leadoff single to right for the Red Hawks got things started in the bottom of the ninth. He later was lifted for pinch runner Remington Cox.  Cox then moved into scoring position taking advantage of a wild pitch. He later was able to move up another 90 feet to third off of a sacrifice bunt from Kyler Hickman. Cox took advantage of a second wild pitch to score and tie the game, 4-4. The Red Hawks left a pair of runners on before the inning ended.

After Monmouth went down in order in the top of the tenth, Cormac Madigan got the Red Hawks going with a lead-off walk. He later moved to second off of Cam Stampfl's sacrifice bunt. Warren was intentionally walked for a potential double-play ball but Alex Pankratz had other plans as his game-winning RBI single through the right side scored Madigan from second for the 5-4 victory.

Ripon starter Blaine Wahlen allowed a walk while striking out three in two innings of work to earn his first win (1-0) of the season.

Game 2: Ripon 12, Monmouth 11
Trailing 10-1 with two outs going into the bottom of the fifth, Warren doubled to right center to keep the Red Hawks inning live. Anderson followed up with a walk to put runners on first and second. Hickman's RBI single to right scored from Warren from second to make it 10-2 and send Anderson to second. Both Anderson and Hickman later scored off of Nick Tenny's double to left center to make it 10-4 before the inning ended.

Ripon tacked on another three runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-7. Monmouth was able to get one of the six runs back in the top of the seventh off a home run to push its lead to 11-7.

The Red Hawks with the momentum on their side plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth to take their first lead of the game. Aiden Sparkman and Michael Sheehy both drew back-to-back walks and then executed a double steal perfectly to put themselves in scoring positions. Madigan's flyout to right wasn't deep enough to drive in Sparkman but Stampfl was able to plate both runners when he doubled down the right-field line to make it, 11-9.  A wild pitch allowed Stampfl to advance to third before scoring off of Warren's RBI single to right to make it a one-run game.  

Following Anderson's flyout to center for the second out of the inning. Hickman doubled to keep the inning alive sending Warren to third. An error then by the Monmouth third baseball allowed Nick Tenny to reach first but allowed both runners to score to give Ripon a 12-11 lead before the inning ended.

Reliever Hunter Thompson allowed a hit in an inning of work while striking out two to earn the win (1-0).  Sheehy pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save on the season. He allowed one hit in the process.