RIPON, Wis. - Two days after defeating Ripon College, Beloit's baseball team remained hot Saturday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader at Ripon to win the season series against the Red Hawks, 2-1. The Buccaneers won the first game in convincing fashion, 9-3, before dropping the nightcap by a score of 6-1. That ends Beloit's winning streak at 11 games, which entered the day as the fourth-longest current streak in Division-III, while also marking the first-place Bucs' first conference loss of the year.
The Buccaneers wasted no time getting on the board, jumping all over Ripon pitching early and often with four runs on four hits in the top of the first.
Connor Vogel got the scoring started with an RBI double to right center.
Garrison Ferone would later cross the plate on a Ripon error, which was followed by a sac fly off the bat of
Evan Zenger, and an RBI single by Devin Irwin. Beloit added three more runs in the third, by way of RBI singles by Zenger and
Preston Matson, and a run-scoring double off the bat of Irwin.
Ripon finally got on the board in the fourth when Kyler Hickman drove in a run with a single through the left side of the infield. The Red Hawks would add another run in the sixth on a solo homer by Nick Tenny, but Beloit put the game away with two more runs in the seventh on a double to right center by Zenger, who finished the game 2-for-4 with a game-high four RBI.
Beloit's 10 hits came from five different players. In addition to Zenger, Ferone and Irwin also recorded two base knocks apiece, while Vogel led the Bucs with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
Tommy Murray earned the win, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out a pair in four innings of relief.
In the day's second game, Ripon jumped out to the lead after four scoreless innings with a five-run fifth inning, which saw the Red Hawks record five hits. Beloit tried to mount a comeback with a run in the sixth on an RBI double by Irwin, but that's the only run the Buccaneers could push across the plate in the game. Ripon added another run in the seventh to cap the scoring.
Eamon Burke (2-2) allowed four earned runs on seven hits, while striking out three.
Caleb Lasher and
Micah Wilk then combined to allow just one Ripon hit in the final three innings. Mitchell Lukasik (2-1) earned the win for Ripon, allowing one run on nine hits and striking out seven in eight innings of work.
Despite the loss, the Buccaneers still sit atop the Midwest Conference standings, two and a half games ahead of the University of Chicago, who sits in second place. That sets up a huge doubleheader between those two teams on Tuesday in Beloit. Those games will begin at 1 p.m. at The Ballpark at Strong Stadium.
