The Knox College softball team earned a conference split today against Ripon on senior day.
Both teams started the game strong with one run each in the first inning. The Fire came out ahead in inning two with three additional runs going into the third. Ripon started inning three with five runs, putting them ahead 6-3. The Prairie Fire produced no runs in the bottom of inning three but were determined to get back in the game. The Fire shut Ripon down in the top of fourth and tied the game back up 6-6 going into the fifth. Once again, Ripon found some holes and put themselves back on top with three additional runs. Knox once again was unphased by the deficit and unwilling to go down without a fight. The Prairie Fire were able to string together a few hits and with that four more runs. With only one inning left Knox leads 10-9. The top of inning seven began with a walk, but was quickly turned into three outs and a Prairie Fire 10-9 win.
Game two started off a bit slower than game one with a scoreless first inning. The Fire quickly found a strong lead with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Ripon opened up inning three with four runs, taking the lead 4-3. Ripon continued to rally their bats and continued to score runs. The Red Hawks led 8-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Fire worked hard to come back, but ultimately lost game two 8-4.
Taylynn Kizer leads the team with four hits. Liv Dunn, Maya McEwen, and Haylee Carpenter trail right behind with three hits a piece. Mimi Scweitzer earns a complete win in the circle.
“I am super happy we got to see the sun today, and play some fun, competitive games for our senior day” said head coach Erin Clark . “We are going to miss our three seniors, but I’m glad now that a memory they will have is a big split with Ripon. We are ready to get back to work and hopeful to see a few more big wins for the team during the remainder of our season.”
Knox softball will continue play on April 19th for another conference match-up against Illinois College.