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TAMPA, Fla. – While the snow continues to cover the ground and the temperatures continue to dip below freezing in Wisconsin, the Ripon College baseball team is taking a break from the bitterness of the recent weather, escaping to sunny Florida for their first slate of games in the 2008 season. The Red Hawks had a rough beginning to the season, losing to Rensselar Polytechnical Institute 10-0 in their first game of the day, but rebounded with a 5-2 victory over Husson (ME) in their second game.
Ripon was aggressive in the first inning, as their first batter of the year, Nate Paul, reached base on an error by RPI's pitcher. After the next two batters recorded outs, Nick Whitty singled to left, advancing Paul, who would later be tagged out trying to score from third base. That would be as close as Ripon would come to scoring all game, as they recorded just three hits against RPI.
RPI got on the board in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single. That was followed up by a six-run third inning, giving them a 7-0 lead. That third inning featured three Ripon errors, allowing RPI to break the game open. They would add three more runs the following inning thanks to a three-run homer by Andrew Mondo. The two teams played evenly for the remainder of the day, with neither team crossing the plate the rest of the game.
In addition to Whitty's first inning single, Ripon also received hits from Nick Beaman and Alex Duros, both singles. Mike Lloyd took the loss for the Red Hawks, allowing 10 runs, but just five earned. Freshman Bob Bruce allowed one hit in two innings of relief, striking out one batter.
Things started to go Ripon's way in the second game of the day, a 5-2 win over Husson University. After three scoreless innings, Whitty started the Red Hawk's first rally of the season, singling to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. Will Gillis followed that up with a home run to right center to take a 2-0 lead. Husson would then tie things up in the top-half of the fifth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
Ripon took the lead back for good in the sixth with three more runs. The inning began with back-to-back singles from Gillis and Brett Wegner. Two batters later, Scott Gillespie broke the 2-2 tie with an RBI single, scoring Wegner from second. John Henrickson and Nate Paul each added an RBI to cap the scoring.
Gillis led all players with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, including two RBI and one run scored. Wegner, Gillespie, and Mac Shumann each finished with two hits apiece. Sophomore Matt Dwyer picked up the win, throwing seven innings of five-hit ball, allowing two runs, while walking three and striking out seven.
Ripon will continue to enjoy the fun and sun in Florida, as they'll face Arcadia (PA) in a single game on Monday. That game will be played at Pasco-Hernando Community College and will begin at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
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