WESTFIELD, Ind. -- A six-run fourth inning gave Ripon a brief lead, but North Central (Ill.) responded late to hand the Red Hawks a 13-9 loss Friday afternoon at Grand Park.
Ripon (0-4) showed resilience throughout, erasing a 4-1 deficit with its biggest offensive frame of the young season. After North Central plated single runs in the first and second before adding two more in the fourth, the Red Hawks answered emphatically in the bottom half.
The rally began with patience at the plate, as Ripon drew 10 walks in the game and forced North Central's pitching lineup into high-pressure situations. Freshman Raidan Shibayama (Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou School), junior Owen Gerhardt (Greenville, Wis., Fox Valley Lutheran HS), and senior Kyler Hickman (Tracy, Calif., Merrill F. West HS) each worked bases-loaded walks to trim the margin. Seniors Alex Pankratz (Waupaca, Wis., Waupaca HS) and Jack Anderson (Oconomowoc, Wis., Oconomowoc HS) followed with RBI opportunities that capitalized on defensive miscues, and junior Crete Slattery (Lake Geneva, Wis., Badger HS) added an RBI fielder's choice as Ripon surged ahead 7-4.
Shibayama led the Red Hawks with two hits and two RBI, while Hickman added a pair of hits and scored once. Freshman Nolan Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill., Crystal Lake Central) tripled and crossed the plate twice, and freshman Trey Page (Land O Lakes, Fla., Land O Lakes HS) delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning as Ripon kept pace in a back-and-forth contest.
North Central answered in the sixth, stringing together four runs to regain the lead at 8-7. The Red Hawks tied the game at 8-8 in the seventh on Shibayama's RBI single to center, and Page's run-scoring base hit in the eighth knotted the score again at 9-9 after a solo home run by the Cardinals in the top half.
The decisive blow came in the ninth. North Central tallied four runs on five hits, highlighted by a two-RBI triple and an RBI double, to pull away for good.
Junior Matt Miller (Orland Park, Ill., Carl Sandburg HS) started on the mound for Ripon, working 5.1 innings with two strikeouts. Senior Adam Mellema (Park Ridge, Ill., Maine South HS) provided two innings of relief, while senior Griffin Klein (Green Bay, Wis., Notre Dame Academy HS) was tagged with the loss.
Despite being outhit 19-7, Ripon stayed competitive by drawing walks and capitalizing on three North Central errors. The Red Hawks also turned two double plays defensively.
Ripon continues its weekend slate Saturday with a pair of games against Benedictine University and Franklin College as it looks to secure its first win of the season.
