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De PERE, Wis. - The Red Hawks never trailed in either game of Friday's opening day of the Midwest Conference Tournament, putting them in the driver's seat for their fourth consecutive conference tournament championship. Ripon disposed of Monmouth College 13-5 in their first game, before defeating St. Norbert College 7-3 later in the day.
Ripon wasted no time against Monmouth in the first game of the day, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Chad Olson led the game off with a single, which was followed by another single by Kyle McFarland. Monmouth's right fielder mishandled the ball on the play, allowing Olson to score all the way from first for the initial run of the game. McFarland would later score on a passed ball. Monmouth got on the board with a run in the bottom of the first, but Ripon was able to get that run back the next inning, as Olson scored on another error.
Olson was at it again in the top of the fourth. The senior singled again, advancing to second on the throw for his third hit of the game. McFarland then singled once more, driving in Nick Whitty and Olson. Leading 5-2 in the sixth, Olson drew a two-out walk, which was followed by a McFarland single. Mac Shumann then drove both players home with a double. That was more than enough runs for the Red Hawks, who would score six more times over the final three frames.
Olson set the tone all game for Ripon, reaching base every time he came to the plate. Olson was 4-for-4 with two walks and five runs scored in the lead-off role for the Red Hawks. McFarland recorded three hits, while John Dunlavy finished with four of his own. Shumann led the team with three RBI. Greg Basthemer picked up the win, his fifth of the season. Basthemer pitched eight innings, striking out nine batters, while walking no one.
The second game was a little tougher match up, against the host of the tournament, St. Norbert College, but it started out very similar to the first game. Ripon jumped all over Green Knight pitching in the first inning, scoring five runs, all unearned, and knocking St. Norbert starter Tony Jandron out of the game without pitching one full inning. After the first two batters went down in order, Shumann doubled to left centerfield. He would score one batter later on an error by the first baseman, allowing Dunlavy to reach base, and opening the gates for the Red Hawks. Bo Johnson would drive in Dunlavy two batters later to make the score 2-0. Whitty, Brandan Birschbach, and Bryant Bullock would follow with RBI singles.
Ripon added a run in the top of the sixth on sacrifice fly by McFarland, which scored Birschbach from third. Just when it looked like Ripon may run away with the game, St. Norbert scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make things interesting. They had a chance to do even more damage that inning, but left two runners stranded to end the inning.
After Ripon scored again in the eighth, St. Norbert matched them with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. They couldn't capitalize on their opportunities however, as they left two more runners in scoring position.
Jordan Baitinger continued his strong season on the mound, pitching a complete game nine-hitter for his sixth win of the season. Shumann led the Red Hawks with three hits, including two doubles, while Olson, Dunlavy, Birschbach, and Bullock all finished with two hits apiece. St. Norbert helped Ripon out at times, committing four errors in the game.
The Red Hawks will now play in the Championship game Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in De Pere. Their opponent will be decided earlier in the day. The winner will punch their ticket to the NCAA Division III Regionals.
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