GALESBURG, Illinois – The Ripon softball program started Midwest Conference play with a bang on Saturday, sweeping Knox in a doubleheader at the Knox Softball Field.
 
Ripon (4-14, 2-0 MWC) defeated the host Prairie Fire (0-21, 0-2 MWC) 8-5 in the opener before Alayna Sadowska tossed a complete-game shutout in game two to help the Red Hawks win 12-0.
 
Offense came early in game one, as each team put up two runs in the first inning. Karissa Jenz scored on a two-out wild pitch before Jayden Markus singled home Maddie Heisler to give Ripon the early lead.
 
Jenz was back at it in the second, scoring Nadiyah Huizar on a single to reclaim the lead for Ripon. Leading 3-2, the Red Hawks broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning. Maddie Hablewitz singled to score Huizar before Jenz brought home Ashlyn Schultz on a single. Then, Hablewitz scored on a wild pitch and a Knox error plated Jenz as Ripon led 7-2 through four innings.
 
The Prairie Fire scored once in the fifth, but Ripon got the run right back in the sixth on an RBI single by Emily Kasuboski. Knox made things interesting in the seventh – scoring twice – but Ripon slammed the door shut to pick up its first MWC win.
 
Jenz led the charge offensively, going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Huizar also had a three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Five different Red Hawks had two hits each in the game: Hablewitz (2x4, RBI, run, walk), Heisler (2x5, RBI, 2 runs), Kayla Cruz (2x3, walk), Markus (2x4, RBI) and Sydney Swanson (2x4).
 
On the mound, Brooklyn Cooper got the start and the win. She went four innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs. Ashlynn Donahue pitched well in relief to pick up the save, scattering seven hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts over three innings.
 
In game two, Sadowska starred. She pitched all seven innings, not allowing a hit until the fifth. Striking out four, she had a trio of three-up, three-down innings.
 
The offense left its mark, too. Schultz doubled home two in the opening inning before singles by Cruz and Sadowska extended the advantage to 5-0 through three innings. Schultz connected on an RBI double in the fourth to score Jenz as the lead grew to 6-0.
 
Putting the exclamation point on the sweep, Ripon erupted for six runs in the seventh. Sadowska singled home Hadley Berendsen before four consecutive at-bats produced runs: run-scoring singles by Hablewitz and Schultz – coupled by a Cruz two-RBI double and a run-scoring Knox error – gave the Red Hawks an insurmountable 12-0 lead.
 
Sadowska was efficient in the seventh, retiring the final two batters to secure the win.
 
Schultz was perfect at the dish, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Sadowska went 3-for-4 offensively with 3 RBI, while Heisler (2x5, run), Hablewitz (2x5, RBI, 2 runs), Jenz (2x5, RBI, 3 runs) and Cruz (2x5, 3 RBI, run) all had multi-hit games.
 
NEXT UP: Ripon stays on the road for a doubleheader at Illinois College on Sunday (April 6). First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
 
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