2008 Woodie Awards
Ripon drops two against Gordie's St. Francis Saints
John Bailey
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Sports
"We definitely want to go down there and win games. It will be a great atmosphere to play in," says first year Scott Gillespie. "We do have two Gillespie's on our side so we should be ok."
Having lost three of their last four meetings versus Gordie's St. Francis Saints, Bob's Red Hawks were hoping that having the additional Gillespie would turn the tide.
In the first game, Ripon was well on their way to a narrow victory, before they handed the Saints six unearned runs on three two-out errors in the sixth inning to fall behind 7-2.
Behind junior Alex Duros, the Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead after he singled in sophomore Bryant?Bullock in the top of the first inning. The Saints would come back to tie up the game in the bottom of the second after an error by junior Brett Wegner.
The score would remain the same until Gillespie's single to kick off the fourth inning. After a sacrifice by Wegner, Gillespie found himself in scoring position at second base. First year Kurt Roeder wasted no time doubling in the go-ahead run.
The double was the last positive offensive production that Bob Gillespie's offense would experience for the remainder of the day. Ahead 2-1, with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Ripon had a golden opportunity to get out of the inning with the lead intact; however, junior Will Gillis dropped the third out at first base.
Two more errors would follow, spoiling the solid pitching performance by sophomore Matt Dwyer and junior Wes Kraemer.
After a twenty minute intermission, the players from both sides got the second game of the doubleheader underway. The game was anything but memorable for the Red Hawks' bats, as they were held out of the hit column in a 3-0 defeat.
St. Francis seniors Jason Novak and Adam Altobelli combined in the no-hitter. The closest that a Red Hawk came to a hit was a bunt by senior Mac Schumann which was bobbled by the Saint's third baseman. However, it was ruled an error by the official scorekeeper.
The Red Hawk pitchers did their job in keeping the game close, allowing only three runs. Junior Mike Lloyd pitched four innings allowing one earned run, before first year Jason Wierschke allowed a two run home run to St. Francis's right fielder Dan Higgins in the bottom of the sixth. First year Adam Linsmeyer came in for the Red Hawks to pitch a scoreless bottom of the eighth, but the run support was just not there.
The Hawks made consistent contact with the ball during the no-hitter, fouling off numerous pitches, and grounding out 13 times.
With only a few base runners coming via the walk, the Red Hawks had little to worry about when it came to sign stealing.
"I know our signs are the same and our pickoffs are numbered the same," says Bob Gillespie. "I told Coach [Gordie] I would close my eyes when St. Francis is up and he would do the same when we batted."
Having lost three of their last four meetings versus Gordie's St. Francis Saints, Bob's Red Hawks were hoping that having the additional Gillespie would turn the tide.
In the first game, Ripon was well on their way to a narrow victory, before they handed the Saints six unearned runs on three two-out errors in the sixth inning to fall behind 7-2.
Behind junior Alex Duros, the Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead after he singled in sophomore Bryant?Bullock in the top of the first inning. The Saints would come back to tie up the game in the bottom of the second after an error by junior Brett Wegner.
The score would remain the same until Gillespie's single to kick off the fourth inning. After a sacrifice by Wegner, Gillespie found himself in scoring position at second base. First year Kurt Roeder wasted no time doubling in the go-ahead run.
The double was the last positive offensive production that Bob Gillespie's offense would experience for the remainder of the day. Ahead 2-1, with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Ripon had a golden opportunity to get out of the inning with the lead intact; however, junior Will Gillis dropped the third out at first base.
Two more errors would follow, spoiling the solid pitching performance by sophomore Matt Dwyer and junior Wes Kraemer.
After a twenty minute intermission, the players from both sides got the second game of the doubleheader underway. The game was anything but memorable for the Red Hawks' bats, as they were held out of the hit column in a 3-0 defeat.
St. Francis seniors Jason Novak and Adam Altobelli combined in the no-hitter. The closest that a Red Hawk came to a hit was a bunt by senior Mac Schumann which was bobbled by the Saint's third baseman. However, it was ruled an error by the official scorekeeper.
The Red Hawk pitchers did their job in keeping the game close, allowing only three runs. Junior Mike Lloyd pitched four innings allowing one earned run, before first year Jason Wierschke allowed a two run home run to St. Francis's right fielder Dan Higgins in the bottom of the sixth. First year Adam Linsmeyer came in for the Red Hawks to pitch a scoreless bottom of the eighth, but the run support was just not there.
The Hawks made consistent contact with the ball during the no-hitter, fouling off numerous pitches, and grounding out 13 times.
With only a few base runners coming via the walk, the Red Hawks had little to worry about when it came to sign stealing.
"I know our signs are the same and our pickoffs are numbered the same," says Bob Gillespie. "I told Coach [Gordie] I would close my eyes when St. Francis is up and he would do the same when we batted."
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