The Ripon High School Tiger softball team got a major lift from the bottom half of its lineup in a 13-3, five-inning non-conference road victory over the Portage Warriors Saturday.
The Tigers’ No. 5 through No. 9 hitters combined for seven of the team’s eight hits and five of its seven RBIs.
Ripon (15-2 overall) took control in the second inning. The No. 5 hitter, freshman Kennedy Johnson, reached base and later scored when the No. 8 hitter, senior Addison Pick, delivered an RBI single down the right-field line. Sophomore Brena Carlson, running for the No. 6 hitter, senior Hayden Baker, also scored on the play following an error.
Pick later came home on another error to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.
Ripon added to its lead in the fourth inning when the No. 3 hitter, sophomore Lily Kwakkel, doubled to open the frame and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kennedy Johnson.
The Tigers then broke the game open with eight runs in the fourth inning behind four singles and six walks. Ripon added another run in the fifth inning to end the contest early via the 10-run rule.
Kennedy Johnson led Ripon offensively, going 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Pick went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Baker added a hit and two RBIs, while Kwakkel contributed a hit and one RBI. Junior Bella Klettke had Ripon’s other hit.
Quinn Goldapske earned the win in the circle. The Ripon pitcher worked out of trouble in both the first and third innings with two Portage runners left on base in each frame.
Goldapske allowed one unearned run in the fourth inning and two earned runs in the fifth after Ripon had built a double-digit lead. She surrendered five hits, walked four batters and hit one while striking out six.
Ripon will have a tough test Monday, when it travels to Waupun to face a former conference foe. The Warriors enter the game 15-2 overall and are coming off a 14-2 win over Laconia, which handed Ripon one of its two losses.
The Tigers then will travel Tuesday to Berlin for one of its final two conference games. They are in the driver’s seat, with a one-game lead in the loss column over Adams-Friendship and a two-game lead over Nekoosa.
Both games will start at 5 p.m.