RIPON, Wisconsin – The Ripon baseball program raced out to a 3-0 lead on Tuesday afternoon, but Carthage rallied to post a 9-5 midweek win over the Red Hawks at Francis Field.
 
Jack Anderson blasted his first career home run while Eli DiCarlo drove in the first run of his career to highlight the afternoon for Ripon (6-11).
 
After starter Brandon Burge tossed two scoreless innings to open the game, the offense got going in the second. Following a leadoff single by Nick Terrell, Anderson crushed a home run to right field to put Ripon ahead. After Gabriel Zielinski singled to keep the momentum, moved to second on a balk and Kyler Hickman was hit by a pitch, DiCarlo singled to center to score his classmate and push Ripon's lead further.
 
Carthage (15-7) took the lead for good in the next half inning, however. With the bases loaded and one out, a hit by pitch brought home the Firebirds' first run of the day. The next at-bat, a two-run double tied the game up and on the at-bat after that, a Ripon error brought home the go-ahead run for Carthage, who led 4-3 after three complete.
 
The Firebirds added to their lead in the fourth, going up 5-3 on a one-out, sacrifice fly. Two more runs came home in the top of the fifth via a bases-loaded hit by pitch and another sacrifice fly, giving Carthage a 7-3 cushion through four and a half.
 
Ripon wouldn't go down quietly, halving its deficit in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on first and second, Kaleb Burns singled home DiCarlo and Ripon was in business. The next at-bat, Nick Tenny scored Alex Pankratz on an RBI single and the Red Hawks were right back in it.
 
Carthage responded in the next half inning, scoring twice on a two-run home run for the final runs of the afternoon.
 
Ripon was held without a hit for the final three innings to close out the game.
 
Burns (2-for-5, RBI) and DiCarlo (2-for-4, RBI, run) each had multi-hit outings, while Tenny (1-for-3, RBI, two walks), Terrell (1-for-4, run, walk), Anderson (1-for-4, 2 RBI, run) and Zielinski (1-for-4, run) also found the hit column.
 
Burge took the loss on the mound, tossing 3.0 innings while surrendering five hits and three earned runs. He also struck out four. Dallan Lopez, Matt Miller, Orion Rieden and Matthew Stuczynski combined to throw six innings in relief, allowing just four hits as a group.
 
NEXT UP: Ripon visits Lawrence for a Midwest Conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 10 beginning at 3 p.m.
 
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