MOUNT VERNON, Iowa -- Ripon College softball split its regular-season finale Sunday, rallying for a dramatic 7-6 walk-off victory in game one before falling 9-0 in five innings to Cornell College in the second game of a Midwest Conference doubleheader played in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Despite serving as the designated home team, the Red Hawks closed the regular season at 25-11 overall and 12-4 in conference play.
In the opener, Ripon erased a four-run deficit and won in extra innings behind sophomore Maddie Heisler's (Appleton, Wis., Appleton East HS) walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. Cornell struck first with a four-run fourth inning, but the Red Hawks answered immediately when freshman Nora Lowney (Racine, Wis., Case HS) delivered an RBI single.
Ripon surged ahead in the fifth with five runs on four extra-base hits. Junior Nadiyah Huizar (Buena Park, Calif., Buena Park HS) started the rally with an RBI double, senior Kayla Cruz (Anaheim, Calif., Anaheim HS) followed with a two-run double, and freshman Desirae Kallstrom (DeForest, Wis., DeForest HS) added another RBI double before Lowney capped the inning with her second run-scoring hit of the game.
Cornell responded with single runs in the sixth and seventh to tie the contest, but Heisler ended it in the ninth with her game-winning blast to left field. Lowney finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Cruz went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Huizar added two hits. Peyton Vandeloo earned the win to improve to 14-4.
In game two, Cornell jumped ahead early and never looked back, scoring in each of the first five innings to secure the five-inning win. The Rams were paced offensively with two home runs and four RBIs.
Ripon managed two hits in the contest, one each from senior Arianna Alirez (Anchorage, Alaska, Alaska Middle College School) and sophomore Hannah Vargas (Tustin, Calif., Foothill HS). Sophomore Alayna Sadowska (Oshkosh, Wis., Oshkosh West HS) took the loss in the circle, moving to 10-6 on the season.
The Red Hawks now turn their attention to the Midwest Conference Tournament, where they earned the No. 3 seed. Ripon will open postseason play Friday, May 8, at 10am against No. 2 seed Lake Forest at Illinois College.
