Saturday saw the Knox College softball team end its season at home with a pair of losses to Ripon.
Ripon defeated the Prairie Fire 8-2 and 7-1, ending Knox's season at 8-30. The eight wins are the program's best since 2023.
On Saturday, Knox and Ripon played closely in both games. In the opener, Ripon's four-run seventh inning broke the game open. In the second game, two-run innings by Ripon in the fourth and seventh created a decisive lead.
The games were also Senior Day, as Knox recognized seniors Taylor Goudschaal, Maddie Hicks, and Kylie Thomson.
In game one, Knox trailed 3-0 entering the fourth. Hicks walked, Goudschaal singled, and Kara Burwell drove in Hicks for Knox's first run. Goudschaal then scored from third as Burwell was thrown out stealing.
Unfortunately, that was as close as Knox would get as a four-run seventh inning by Ripon closed the game.
In the second game, Prairie Fire trailed 3-0 in the third but scored one run. With one out, Chelsea McKee and Maddie Hicks walked back-to-back. Goudschaal reached on an error, and Burwell singled home McKee for her second RBI of the day.
Ripon, though, scored two runs in both the fourth and seventh innings, and Knox would get no closer.
