RIPON, Wisconsin – In a wild afternoon at Tracy Field, the Ripon softball program earned a pair of hard-fought, one-run victories over Mount Mary on Tuesday, defeating the visiting Blue Angels 12-11 in game one and 10-9 in game two.
 
In the opener, Ripon (7-19) raced out to a 7-0 lead after the first inning, but Mount Mary (9-22) roared back to lead 11-10 in the sixth inning. However, Abrianna Anderson delivered a go-ahead, two-run, inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the sixth to give Ripon the win.
 
In the second game of the day, it was Mount Mary who held a big lead at the onset, pulling in front of Ripon 8-0 through just an inning and a half. However, Ripon slowly chipped away and a six-run sixth inning, punctuated by a game-winning, two-run double by Anna Bauer, gave Ripon the important non-conference sweep.
 
The Red Hawks made a statement early in game one, scoring seven runs on five hits in the opening inning. Bauer delivered the first run on a sacrifice fly before Samantha Nicholson singled home Nadiyah Huizar. With two outs, Maddie Hablewitz cleared the bases with a double to put Ripon up 5-0, and on the next at-bat, Sydney Swanson doubled home Hablewitz. An error by Mount Mary on a ball hit by Kayla Cruz allowed the seventh Ripon run of the inning to come home before the inning finally ended.
 
The Blue Angels chipped away slowly, scoring three times in the third before a big six-run, fifth inning put the visitors in front 9-7 in the later innings.
 
Ripon got the lead right back in the bottom half of the fifth, however. After Cruz singled to load the bases with two outs, Huizar tallied a three-run double to give Ripon a 10-9 lead with two innings to play.
 
Mount Mary took the lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI double and an RBI single, but Anderson's two-out homer gave the hosts the lead for good in the bottom half.
 
Pitcher Kenzie Pahang tossed a scoreless seventh to preserve the win for the Red Hawks.
 
Huizar (3-for-4, 3 RBI, run), Daniella Orozco (3-for-3, run) and Hablewitz (2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 run) all had monster days at the plate, while Cruz (1-for-4, 2 run), Nicholson (1-for-4, RBI), Berendsen (1-for-4, 2 run), Anderson (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 3 run) and Swanson (1-for-3, RBI, run) all swung the bat effectively for Ripon as well.
 
In the circle, Pahang got the win, throwing 2.1 innings in relief. She surrendered just two hits and two earned runs.
 
In game two, Mount Mary plated two in the opening inning and six in the top of the second – all with two outs – to take an 8-0 lead, albeit early. Ripon's first run of the game came home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second to give the Red Hawks momentum, and another scored in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Orozco.
 
The Blue Angels tallied their final run of the day in the top of the fifth on an RBI double, but Ripon starter Kalen Berger stranded runners at the corners to end the inning.
 
Ripon started its rally in the bottom of the fifth. After Cruz opened the inning with a double, Savannah Barajas singled and Cruz came around to score on an error. With runners on second and third and one out in the inning, Bauer scored Barajas on a sacrifice fly and Ripon headed to the sixth down 9-4.
 
After Berger tossed a scoreless sixth, Ripon got right to work in the bottom half. With runners on first and second, Cruz singled to score Anderson and Ripon remained in business. Following a walk to load the bases, Orozco scored another on an RBI single before MariaFernanda Lerma plated two more on an RBI single the next at-bat. One batter later, Bauer hit the game-winning double to put Ripon in front 10-9.
 
Mount Mary never advanced past first in the seventh as Ripon slammed the door to finish the sweep.
 
Orozco had her second three-hit game of the day, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Cruz (3-for-4, RBI, 2 run) and Barajas (3-for-3, run, walk) also had three-hit outings, while Lerma (2-for-4, RBI, 2 run) and Bauer (2-for-3, 3 RBI) also had multi-hit games.
 
On the mound, Berger got the win, pitching the final 5.1 innings while giving up five hits and just one earned run.
 
NEXT UP: Ripon returns to action on Saturday, April 27 for a doubleheader at Lawrence beginning at 1 p.m.
 
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