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De PERE, Wis. - One day after Ripon split a doubleheader with St. Norbert, the two teams battled each other once again for Midwest Conference supremacy. They entered the day tied for first in the MWC North Division, but the Green Knights ended the day all alone at the top of the standings after sweeping the Red Hawks. St. Norbert won the first game 3-2, before taking game two, 6-3 to win the MWC North Division title, and the right to host the MWC tournament next weekend.
St. Norbert (24-9-1, 14-2) wasted no time, taking the lead in the bottom of the first. The inning was led off with a single by Adam Frost, who advanced to third on a wild pitch to the following batter. Frost would score one batter later, on a Brian Perszyk single. St. Norbert scored another run in the third, thanks to a lead-off walk to Frost. He would score again, this time on a Dan Weitzel single.
The Red Hawks (18-13, 12-4) would finally have an answer in the fifth inning, as they tied the game with two runs of their own. Brandan Birschbach drove in the first run with a double, before Chad Olson singled home Alex Duros to even things up.
The two teams were each held in check the next three innings, but St. Norbert got a rally going in the bottom of the ninth. Teddy Fleming led the inning off with a single, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Frost and Perszyk both reached, Weitzel knocked in his second run of the game with a one-out single, giving SNC a one-game lead on the Red Hawks with one to play.
Game two started out like deja vu, with St. Norbert scoring once in the bottom of the first. With two outs in the inning, John Maki doubled to drive in Persyk with the first run of the game.
Ripon delivered their biggest blow of the day in the third inning, as they took their first lead of the day. After Nick Whitty and Bryant Bullock both singled, Kyle McFarland crushed the ball over the wall for his second home run of the season, giving the Red Hawks a 3-1 advantage.
That lead was quickly taken away in the bottom of the fourth. The first three St. Norbert batters singled, including an RBI by Fleming. Brian Charles gave the Green Knights the lead with a two-RBI single with one out in the inning. Frost and Perszyk would get into the action one last time, each knocking in a run with a single to finalize the 6-3 victory.
The Red Hawks will now travel to De Pere again next weekend for the Midwest Conference tournament as the number two seed out of the North. They will play Monmouth College in their first game of the tourney.
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