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JANESVILLE, Wis. - The Red Hawks began the Midwest Conference Softball Classic with a whimper, but ended the tournament with a roar. Ripon dropped the first two games they played, before finishing strong by winning their final three contests, giving them the second-best record in the two-day tournament.
Ripon (10-8, 3-2) lost their first two games, both in six innings, to Illinois College and Lake Forest by a combined score of 19-3. The Red Hawks first win came in Sunday's final game, a 5-4 win over Monmouth. That momentum then spilled over to Monday, as they won both games they played to finish the tournament with a 3-2 record. Monday's wins came over Knox, 6-3, and Grinnell,
2-0.
Natalie Geenen was a key reason for Ripon's strong finish. In the five games, Geenen batted .412 (7-17) with three home runs, five RBI, seven runs scored, and a stolen base. Most of her damage was done in the Illinois College and Monmouth games, as she went 3-for-4 in each game. Against the Fighting Scots, Geenen hit two home runs, including a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give the Red Hawks the lead. She also finished that game with three runs scored and four RBI, setting the tone for the rest of the tournament.
Jackie Reichhart came up big in the win over Knox, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, in a game that saw Ripon pound out a season-best 11 hits. The Grinnell game was just the opposite, as the Red Hawks played small ball and managed just two hits off Pioneer pitching. Those hits both came in the top of the seventh inning of a scoreless game, thanks to Bethany Mehlberg and Mary Friend. Both base knocks also resulted in RBI's.
Jen Mueller picked up two wins in three decisions, with Andrea Knorr picking up the other victory in a complete game shutout of Grinnell. Knorr struck out a combined 13 batters in her four appearances.
Ripon will now travel to St. Norbert to take on the Green Knights Wednesday afternoon. That doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. in De Pere.
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