CHICAGO – The University of Chicago baseball team split a home doubleheader with Ripon College on Tuesday, breaking out the big bats in game one before falling in game two.

The Maroons ran their record to 16-8 overall and 12-3 in the Midwest Conference. The Red Hawks moved to 11-12 (7-7 MWC).

Game One – UChicago 9, Ripon 1

Dylan White set the tone on the mound early and carried it through seven full innings. The junior righty fanned five of the first seven batters he saw and struck out the side in the second inning. Ripon batters couldn't catch up with White's high fastball and only recorded three hits off him while striking out nine times.

On the other side, the Maroons put up four multi-run innings offensively. UChicago was particularly effective with two outs, scoring six of their nine runs when facing that scenario.

The bottom of the first inning featured RBI singles through the right side by senior Brett Riegler and junior Blane Soper. Then in the third inning, Soper plated two more with a single to right center, increasing the lead to 4-1.

Senior Carson Weekley delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth. He then stole second base and scored the very next batter thanks to sophomore Max Chou's RBI single to left center.

In the bottom of the sixth, Soper's single to right field was bobbled, allowing Riegler to round third and score. Sophomore Dominick Angellotti's fielder's choice closed out the scoring to make it 9-1.

UChicago finished with 16 hits, four stolen bases and three errors. Weekley was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, a steal and two RBI. Soper batted 4-for-5 with three RBI. Sophomore Noah Nelson and Chou both hit 2-for-5, with Chou stealing two bases.

White improved his season record to 3-1 record. Sophomore Dean Casey threw two scoreless innings of relief to close out the contest.

Game Two – Ripon 11, UChicago 1   (8 innings)

The momentum grinded to a halt in game two as the UChicago offense dried up. The Maroons were limited to one hit in the game – a single down the right field line by Soper in the fifth inning. After two errors loaded the bases, Soper came home to score on first-year Jackson Slipock's sacrifice fly to right.

A nightmare second inning burned the Maroons as six unearned runs scored on only three Ripon hits, all coming with two outs. The visitors put up three more in the sixth and eventually ended the game after eight innings via run rule.

First-year pitcher Edmund Hogan (2-1 record) was saddled with the loss in 1.2 innings of work. Three Maroons made relief pitching appearances – first-year Ethan Doctor went four innings (3 R, 3 K), junior Cole Silva threw 1.1 innings (2 K) and first-year A.J. Horkan tossed one inning (1 R).

NEXT GAME:

• Thursday, April 21 @ 6:00 PM – UChicago vs. Illinois Institute of Technology (at Guaranteed Rate Field)