RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College Baseball team (3-18, 2-6 MWC) closed out its regular season series against the Buccaneers of Beloit College (15-12, 8-3 MWC) this Tuesday, April 14, falling 1-12 after seven innings of action. 

The Red Hawks troubles started in the second inning, with Beloit carving out a six run lead behind a steady stream of hits into the gaps. While the Red Hawks defense would slow the Buccaneers' scoring output as the game progressed, Beloit continued finding on-base opportunities, batting .485 as a team, while Ripon maintained just .160 batting as a team.

The Red Hawks found some offense in the 4th, with second baseman Alex Pankratz (Waupaca, Wis., Waupaca HS) doubling down the right field line before left fielder Crete Slattery (Lake Geneva, Wis., Badger HS) brought him home with a single up the middle. Another single and a fielder's choice put Ripon runners at second and third with two outs on the board, but Beloit escaped the inning with a strikeout on four pitches. 

Although Ripon's defense held the Buccaneers scoreless across the final two innings, cold bats would continue to plague the hosts, and an infield fly and a pair of ground outs ending the game in a 1-12 loss in the 7th. 

The Red Hawks return to action tomorrow, April 15, at Lawrence, concluding their previously scheduled contest before closing out the series. Ripon currently leads 8-7 at the top of the 8th in the game still to be finished from April 8, originally postponed for darkness. Lawrence won the first game of the series, 13-20, and enters the rest of the series with an 8-19 overall record and a 4-6 record in conference play.