STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- The Ripon College baseball team fell 9-4 on the road Tuesday afternoon against UW-Stevens Point at Zimmermann Field.

The Pointers built an early lead with two runs in the first inning and added two more in the second to move in front 4-1. Ripon got on the board in the second when senior Jack Anderson (Oconomowoc, Wis., Oconomowoc HS) launched a solo home run to right field, trimming the deficit to one run at the time.

UW-Stevens Point pulled away with a four-run fourth inning and added another run in the fifth to take a 9-1 advantage.

Ripon continued to battle late in the game. Senior Kyler Hickman (Tracy, Calif., Merrill F. West HS) connected on a solo homer in the eighth inning, then the Red Hawks added two more runs in the ninth. Junior Crete Slattery (Lake Geneva, Wis., Badger HS) delivered an RBI single, and Hickman drove in another run as Ripon closed out the scoring.

Ripon finished with 10 hits in the game. Hickman led the offense by going 2-for-5 with a double, home run, and two RBI. Junior Owen Gerhardt (Greenville, Wis., Fox Valley Lutheran HS) added two hits and scored a run, while Anderson also homered and drove in a run. Slattery chipped in an RBI hit, and freshman Landyn Freeman (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., Manitowoc Lincoln HS) added a pinch-hit double.

Sophomore Ryan Splitt (Bolingbrook, Ill., Bolingbrook HS) took the loss for Ripon, while junior Dallan Lopez (Wauwatosa, Wis., Wauwatosa East HS) tossed two scoreless innings in relief.

Ripon returns to action Thursday, April 30, with a doubleheader at the College of St. Scholastica beginning at 12pm.