RIPON, Wisconsin – The Ripon softball program had little trouble on Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action, sweeping past Maranatha Baptist by scores of 15-1 and 8-0, both in five innings, at Tracy Field.
 
The 15 runs scored in the opener are the most for Ripon in a game since scoring 17 against Grinnell on April 26, 2019.
 
Ripon (5-17) wasted no time jumping all over Maranatha (0-22) in the opening inning of the opening game. Anna Bauer doubled home Kayla Cruz, who led off the game with a double, to open the scoring. Following Bauer was Nadiyah Huizar, who singled home Bauer to double the lead. Moments later, Hadley Berendsen tripled home Huizar to start a string of four consecutive at-bats that produced runs: Abrianna Anderson followed with an RBI single while Maddie Hablewitz and Sydney Swanson joined the party with RBI doubles as Ripon put up a six-spot in the inning.
 
Two more runs came home in the bottom of the third thanks to a two-run double by Cruz. The defense continued to back the offense as Maranatha Baptist was limited to a trio of three-up, three-down innings over five total in the first game.
 
Though Maranatha produced a run on a groundout in the fourth, that would be the only offense for the Sabercats all day. Another seven runs crossed home in the bottom of the fourth for Ripon - Huizar singled home Bauer, while Samantha Nicholson doubled home Huizar and Berendsen followed that with a two-run single. Another run came home on a wild pitch and Jayden Markus added yet another with an RBI single, the first run driven in of her career. Savannah Barajas put the exclamation point on the opening game with another RBI single as the Red Hawks scored all seven runs in the inning with less than two outs – and six runs with nobody out.
 
Delaney Sherry worked a perfect fifth on the mound to secure the Ripon win.
 
Offensively, Swanson (2-for-2, RBI, run), Cruz (2-for-4, 2 RBI, run), Bauer (2-for-3, RBI, 2 runs), Huizar (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Nicholson (2-for-4, run) and Berendsen (2-for-4, 3 RBI, 3 runs) all had multi-hit games. Barajas (1-for-4, RBI), Anderson (1-for-2, RBI, run), Hablewitz (1-for-2, RBI, run) and Markus (1-for-1, RBI, run) each contributed hits as the Red Hawks had a total of nine players with an RBI and 10 players with a hit.
 
In the circle, Kalen Berger picked up her second win of the season, tossing 4.0 innings while scattering three hits and one earned run. She also struck out a season-high five batters.
 
In the second game of the twinbill, Bauer drew a walk with the bases loaded in the first inning as Ripon again struck first. Two more runs scored in the bottom of the third thanks to RBI singles by Hablewitz and Cruz.
 
Berendsen drove home two more with a single in the bottom of the fourth to push Ripon closer to victory, and a three-run fifth inning sent Ripon home happy: With two outs, Daniella Orozco got the rally started with a single and after a walk by MariaFernanda Lerma, Bauer singled home Orozco. After Bauer stole second to put two runners in scoring position, Nicholson reached on a Maranatha Baptist error which scored two runs to end the game.
 
Offensively, Cruz (3-for-3, RBI, run, walk) and Bauer (3-for-3, 2 RBI, 3 runs, walk) each had perfect days at the plate. Orozco (1-for-2, 2 walks, run), Lerma (1-for-3, 2 runs, walk), Berendsen (1-for-3, 2 RBI), Anderson (1-for-2, run, walk) and Hablewitz (1-for-3, RBI) also collected hits.
 
Kenzie Pahang had the best start of her young career on Tuesday, tossing a complete-game, one-hitter with a career-high seven strikeouts. She earned her third win of the season in the process.
 
NEXT UP: Ripon heads to Marian for a doubleheader against the Sabres beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 18.
 
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.