vs. Lake Forest Box Score

vs. Illinois College Box Score

DE PERE, Wis. - Ripon entered Friday's Midwest Conference Tournament with visions of going further than the third game, which is where their season ended last year. They had their work cut out for them in the opening game, losing 6-3 to the five-time defending MWC Champion Lake Forest Foresters. Ripon then defeated Illinois College 2-1, in what is a double-elimination tournament.

The Red Hawks struck first against the Foresters, scoring a run in the top of the first. Tara Rabideaux drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Krista Shafer. Rabideaux scored one batter later, as Jen Mueller delivered an RBI single.

The Foresters took the lead the following inning, scoring two runs. The first run crossed the plate thanks to a Ripon throwing error, while the second run scored on an RBI single. Lake Forest added two more runs in the third, scoring on an RBI double and on another Red Hawk error.

The Red Hawks narrowed the gap in the top of the fifth, cutting the lead to one, thanks to a two-run homer by Mueller. That excitement was short-lived, as Lake Forest led off the bottom of the inning with a home run of their own. They added another run in the inning on a passed ball and held that lead for the rest of the game.

Ripon's fate was sealed by five errors in the field. Mueller allowed two earned runs on the mound, while giving up six hits and striking out four. She also had all three RBI for the Red Hawks. Mueller and Shafer each had two hits in the game.

After that loss, the Red Hawks advanced to play Illinois College, who lost to St. Norbert earlier in the day. The Lady Blues wasted no time, scoring a run in the top of the first on an RBI double. The two teams held each other in check for the next three innings, before Ripon took their first lead of the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Sara Rabideaux tied things up, as she came home to score on an error by the Illinois College centerfielder. Tara Rabideaux would then score the go-ahead run a single by Shafer.

The Red Hawks received another nice outing on the mound in the second game. Andrea Knorr picked up her sixth win of the year, allowing one run on four hits. Jackie Reichhart and Jessica Goudreau each had two hits to lead the way for Ripon, who finished the game with eight total hits.

That second game eliminated Illinois College from the tournament. Ripon will now play Lake Forest on Saturday at 10:00 p.m. The winner of that game must defeat St. Norbert twice to win the championship.