DULUTH, Minn. -- Ripon College baseball earned a split in Thursday's nonconference doubleheader at St. Scholastica, falling 5-1 in the opener before responding with a 6-3 victory in game two at Wade Stadium.
The Red Hawks moved to 6-29 on the season with the split.
Ripon struck first in game one, taking a 1-0 lead in the opening inning when freshman Payton Nackers (Land O Lakes, Fla., Land O Lakes HS) grounded out to bring home senior Kyler Hickman (Tracy, Calif., Merrill F. West HS), who had doubled earlier in the frame. St. Scholastica answered with a four-run third inning and added another run in the fifth to pull away for the 5-1 win.
Hickman, junior Crete Slattery (Lake Geneva, Wis., Badger HS), graduate student Gabriel Kennedy (DeForest, Wis., Northwestern St. Paul) and freshman Nolan Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill., Crystal Lake Central) each recorded one hit for Ripon. Junior Matt Miller (Orland Park, Ill., Carl Sandburg HS) took the loss after allowing five runs over five innings, while freshman Zach Le Mieux (Suamico, Wis., Sacramento City College) tossed three scoreless innings of relief and struck out two.
The Red Hawks bounced back in game two despite falling behind 2-0 in the first inning. Ripon chipped away with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings before adding two more in the seventh and another insurance run in the eighth.
Slattery led the offense by going 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and run scored. Senior Jack Anderson (Oconomowoc, Wis., Oconomowoc HS) added two hits and scored once, while sophomore Bailey Schepp (Oakfield, Wis., Oakfield HS) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Hickman drove in a run, and Ripon also received sacrifice flies from junior Owen Gerhardt (Greenville, Wis., Fox Valley Lutheran HS) and freshman Trey Page (Land O Lakes, Fla., Land O Lakes HS).
Freshman Gavin Brady (Oneida, Wis., Bay Port HS) earned his first win of the season, throwing eight innings while allowing three runs. Senior Griffin Klein (Green Bay, Wis., Notre Dame Academy HS) closed out the ninth inning to secure his first save.
