DAVENPORT, Florida – The Ripon baseball program wrapped up its spring break trip with a win, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 7-0 victory over Wooster at NorthEast Regional Park.
 
In the process, the Red Hawks produced their first shutout in nearly two years – a 1-0 victory at Cornell on May 6, 2023 was the last time Ripon allowed zero runs by an opponent.
 
Mitchell Lukasik starred on the mound for Ripon in the spring break finale. He threw seven complete innings of shutout baseball, nearly striking out as many batters (four) as hits given up (five).
 
In a low-scoring pitcher's duel for the second consecutive game, Ripon (4-8) struck first in the bottom of the third. Gabriel Zielinski reached on an error before Michael Sheehy singled to put two on base. After an error moved two runners into scoring position, Alex Pankratz drove home Sheehy and Owen Gerhardt to give Ripon a 2-0 lead.
 
Wooster (5-10) threatened in the sixth  – putting runners at second and third with two outs – before Lukasik struck out the final batter in the inning to preserve the shutout.
 
The Red Hawks extended their lead in the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, a Scots' fielding error brought home Gerhardt to make the score 3-0. On the next at-bat, Jason Clark singled to center and brought home Alex Ramus and Pankratz as the lead grew to 5-0.
 
The Scots again put two baserunners on in the seventh before Lukasik induced a popup to end the inning. Ripon tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth on a two-run single by Zielinski, and Rex Bayer shut the opposition down in order in the ninth to secure the shutout.
 
Clark led Ripon offensively, going 2-for-5 with a pair of runs driven in. Chase Hanselman also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Pankratz (1x2, 2 RBI, run, 3 walks), Zielinski (1x5, 2 RBI) and Sheehy (1x3, run, walk) also had hits for Ripon. Bayer pitched the final two innings on the mound, allowing just one hit and punching out three.
 
NEXT UP: Ripon plays at UW-Platteville on Tuesday, March 25. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
 
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