RIPON, Wisconsin – The Ripon baseball program scored 18 runs across two games at Francis Field on Saturday afternoon, but settled for a home-opening split against Midwest Conference foe Cornell.
 
The Red Hawks (7-11, 3-2 MWC) used a six-run eighth inning to defeat the Rams (9-13, 2-3 MWC) 11-7 in the opener before falling 15-7 in the nightcap.
 
Ripon couldn't have asked for a better start to its home slate, using five hits in the opening inning to plate three runs. Evan Olson doubled home Chase Hanselman and Owen Gerhardt before stealing third and scoring on an error. In the second, two more runs came home on a two-run single by Hanselman.
 
Leading 5-0, the Red Hawks saw their lead whittled down in the  third. Three consecutive at-bats produced runs for the Rams, who trailed 5-3 going into the fourth. Then, Sean Alvarez hit one of his two two homers on the day to even the score at five.
 
The offense went quiet from there until a solo shot by Kale Rose gave Cornell a 6-5 lead in the seventh. However, Ripon would not be down for long. With a runner on second and two outs, Hanselman battled for a game-tying RBI single with two strikes, one of six Red Hawk runs in the inning. Jason Clark produced the eventual game-winning run on an RBI single before Kyler Hickman doubled home another on the next at-bat. Two batters later, Jack Anderson scored Clark with a single and Brock Peterson drove home two more with another single as the floodgates opened.
 
With a five-run cushion in the ninth, the Rams used another solo homer to trim its deficit. However, Orion Rieden struck out three batters in the inning to preserve the win.
 
Hanselman had a monster game offensively, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Hickman also had a three-hit day, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Gerhardt (2x4, 2 runs, walk), Olson (2x5, 2 RBI, 2 runs) and Clark (2x4, RBI, run, walk) contributed multi-hit games as well as the Red Hawks pounded out 16 hits as a team.
 
Blaine Wahlen got the start on the mound, though he settled for a no-decision. He went six innings, allowing 10 hits and three earned runs. Rieden picked up the win in relief, tossing three innings. He allowed just two hits and two earned runs while six of his nine outs recorded came via strikeout.
 
Cornell responded at the onset of game two, scoring three runs in the opening half inning against Ripon starter Mitchell Lukasik. The Red Hawks got one back, though, in the bottom of the third as David Kleier doubled home Alex Pankratz.
 
The Rams pushed ahead with two more runs in the fourth, though Ripon answered with the same total in the bottom half. Clark singled, and Olson scored on an error before Clark scored on a wild pitch moments later.
 
Trailing 9-3 in the sixth, Ripon found life with three runs. Kleier scored two more on another double, and Gerhardt produced a run on a sacrifice fly. However, two runners were stranded in the inning.
 
The Rams scored once more in the seventh and four times in the eighth to go up 14-6, putting to rest any hopes of a Ripon comeback. Anderson doubled in the eighth and a Cornell error helped Pankratz score, but the Red Hawks were unable to score further and fell 15-7.
 
Olson and Hickman each had two-hit outings, as both went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Pankratz (2x4, 3 runs, walk) and Kleier (2x4, 3 RBI) helped Ripon total 11 hits as a team.
 
On the mound, Lukasik got the loss. He pitched four innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs over 82 pitches. Matt Miller, Griffin Klein, Matthew Stuczynski and Brett Tetzlaff also saw action out of the bullpen.
 
NEXT UP: Ripon rounds out its series with the Rams on Sunday (April 6). First pitch is scheduled for noon.
 
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