AUBURNDALE, Florida – Playing twice in one day for the first and only time this week, the Ripon baseball program fell to #18 Wheaton (Mass.) 6-2 before dropping a tight 3-2 decision to Rutgers-Camden on Sunday at the Lake Myrtle Park Complex.
In the opener, Ripon (2-4) struck first in the second inning after putting pressure on Wheaton (1-1) in the opening frame as well. With one out,
Brock Peterson reached on an error before patience paid off for the Red Hawks; three consecutive walks by
Kaleb Burns,
Alex Pankratz and
Jack Anderson brought in the first run of the game for Ripon.
The Lyons evened things up in the bottom of the fourth. A two-out rally featuring a wild pitch and an RBI single got Wheaton on the board, though Burns would throw out a would-be base stealer at third to end the threat moments later.
Ripon countered in the fifth, utilizing a double steal by
Kyler Hickman at second and
Nick Terrell at home to retake the lead. However, a one-out, two run single with no outs in the bottom half put Wheaton in front 3-2, though
Blaine Wahlen would strand a pair of runners to keep it a one-score game heading into the sixth.
Three more runs in the bottom of the seventh gave Wheaton its biggest lead of the day, 6-2, and Ripon was unable to move the needle further in the final two innings.
Offensively,
Crete Slattery led Ripon with two hits and a double. Burns,
Remington Cox, Anderson and Terrell each had hits as well. Ripon was patient at the plate, totaling seven walks, but the Red Hawks left 10 runners on base.
Wahlen took the loss on the mound for Ripon, going five complete innings and scattering seven hits with three earned runs. He punched out three and walked none.
In the nightcap, both
Caleb Mammoser and Rutgers-Camden (6-3) starter Ethan Carpenter were dealing from the start – there were just four total hits through the first three full innings. However, the Scarlet Raptors struck first, going in front in the bottom of the third thanks to a sacrifice fly after a one-out single and double.
Rutgers-Camden then doubled its lead in the bottom of the fourth on a walk, single and wild pitch to go up 2-0.
Ripon clawed back in the top of the sixth, however. Anderson doubled with one out and on the next at-bat, Slattery drove him home to even the score. Following a walk and a throwing error, Ripon had runners at first and third with one out. Unfortunately, the Raptors got a double play to end the inning and the Red Hawk threat.
Down to their last six outs, the Red Hawks evened the score in the eighth. Burns led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher via an attempted pickoff. Pankratz laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Burns over, and then a wild pitch scored him from third. Ripon would go down quietly after that and it was 2-2 after seven and a half.
In the bottom half of the eighth, a leadoff walk set the tone for the frame for Rutgers-Camden. Following a sacrifice bunt, Steven Shaffer – who didn't enter the game until the seventh – cranked the game-winning, RBI double into the right centerfield gap.
Ripon went 1-2-3 in the top half of the ninth as Rutgers-Camden emerged with the win.
Slattery again had a multi-hit game – going 2-for-4 with an RBI – for his fourth multi-hit game of the young season. Tenny also was 2-for-4, while Pankratz, Anderson and Burns all recorded base knocks. Though he didn't receive a decision, Mammoser was outstanding in 5.1 innings on the mound – in 97 pitches, the sophomore gave up just four hits and two earned runs while striking out five and walking two.
Michael Sheehy took the loss, his first of the season.
NEXT UP: Ripon takes on UW-Stout on Monday (March 11) at 11:45 a.m. CT from Davenport.
FOLLOW: Follow Ripon College Red Hawks Athletics on Facebook and @RiponRedHawks on Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to riponredhawks.com for all information, releases and schedules.
