Beloit, Wis - The Ripon College baseball team fought off elimination with a 9-6 victory over the University of Chicago in the Midwest Conference Baseball Tournament. With the win, the Red Hawks advance to the championship series against host Beloit College this afternoon. Ripon will have to win two games against Beloit to earn the automatic qualifier.

The Red Hawks improve to 24-16 while Chicago finishes the season out with a 25-18 mark.

Up 1-0 going into the top of the third, Ripon was able to put a four-spot up on four hits. It all started when Kaleb Burns doubled down the left-field line. He later advanced to third when Cormac Madigan singled through the right side to put runners on the corners. Madigan then stole second to put himself into scoring position.  Burns later scored off Cam Stampfl's RBI single through the left side to make it 2-0. Madigan moved up to third on the play. Stampfl stole second to take away the double-play ball from the Maroons.  

With still no outs in the inning, Evan Olson loaded the bases when he walked. Kyler Hickman pushed the lead to 3-0 when his RBI single scored Madigan and keep the bases loaded. Nick Tenny reached first on an RBI fielder's choice that allowed Stampfl to score to push the lead to four and send Olson to third. Hickman was out at second on the play for the first out.  Remington Cox, who had the big hit in the last game got in on the action when he drove in Olson on an RBI fielder's choice to make it 5-0 before a flyout to right ended the inning.

Chicago used a walk and a pair of singles to get one of the five runs back in the bottom of the third to make it, 5-1.  The Maroons kept chipping away as they drove in another two runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 5-3 game.

The Red Hawks added some insurance in the top of the seventh as they plated two runs off of four free passes and a double to make it, 7-3.

Ripon then in the eighth added two more runs to go up, 9-3, but Chicago added a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it, 9-4.

The Maroons made it a three-run game off a walk and a two-run home run but were unable to do any after that as the inning ended on back-to-back outs.

Starter Blaine Wahlen picked up his third win of the season to improve to 3-3 for Ripon. He allowed four hits and three runs (all earned) over five innings of work. Reliever Michael Sheehy picked up his second save of the season as he worked the final four innings and allowed three runs (all earned) on three hits.

Madigan paced all hitters as he finished the day going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and RBI while Stampfl registered a game-high three RBIs while going 1-for-4 with two runs scored.