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RIPON, Wis. - Ripon had a chance to fine tune their game on Sunday against non-conference opponent Lakeland College, before heading into next weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament. They did just that, defeating the Muskies 3-2 and 3-1 for the doubleheader sweep in their 2008 regular season finale.
The Red Hawks (17-11) got on the board first in the opening game, scoring in the third inning on a ground out by Ashley Kirst, which allowed Kylie Ainslie to cross the plate. Ripon added a pair of runs in the fifth, thanks to RBI singles from Natalie Geenen and Jessica Goudreau.
Ripon looked to be coasting to a victory, until the top of the sixth, when Lakeland got back in the game with two runs of their own. After KC Blahnik walked to lead off the inning, Chelsea Coenen drove her home with a triple to left centerfield. Coenen would score one batter later on a sacrifice bunt, cutting Ripon's lead to one.
Lakeland managed one hit in the seventh, but Ripon pitcher Andrea Knorr (11-7) wouldn't give them anything else, as she picked up the win, pitching a complete game, while allowing seven hits and striking out three Lakeland batters. Ripon managed five hits in the game, from five different players.
The second game of the day was just as tightly contested as the first. Lakeland struck first, scoring their only run of the game in the top of the third, thanks to an inside-the-park home run by Coenen.
Ripon's Natalie Geenen gave the Red Hawks the lead for good with a two-run homer to straight away centerfield. That is Geenen's seventh home run of the season, and the 14th of her career. The Red Hawks added another run later in that same inning, getting an RBI double from Abby Richeson, which scored Bethany Mehlberg from first.
Krista Shafer was the lone Red Hawk with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 on the day. That is one hit less than the entire Lakeland team managed, as Brittnee Peotter (6-3) shut them down by pitching all seven innings, while recording four strikeouts.
Ripon will now prepare for the Midwest Conference Tournament, which will begin Friday, May 2nd. They will face the host of the tournament, MWC South Division winner Lake Forest College, in the first round of the double-elimination tournament at 12:00 p.m. The Red Hawks defeated the Foresters 12-10 in an eight inning game earlier this season.
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