RIPON, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – For the third straight game and the 10th time this season, the Marian University baseball team fell to host Ripon College by the narrowest of margins, completing a suspended game from over a month ago with a 9-8 loss in 12 innings, followed by a 5-4 setback in the regular season finale, at Francis Field, today, May 6.

A game, which was suspended due to darkness with an 8-8 tie after 10 innings was finally completed and in favor of the host Redhawks, who walked off on Dakotah Kirchenwitz's solo home run with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning. Ripon then overcame a 4-2 deficit in game two to walk off again with a 5-4 win in the ninth.

Marian senior Sam Forkert made his final collegiate start and registered five strikeouts over seven strong innings. He falls just two punch outs away from tying Jason Bunton ('05), who currently holds the career strikeouts mark of 190. Forkert totaled 188 whiffs in 197 career innings, which amounted to 44.2 fewer innings than Bunton.

Forkert allowed three runs on the night before Ripon native Brandon Winfield came on in relief and was rudely welcomed by the Redhawks, who scored twice on four hits in the final inning and a third, which included the walk-off RBI single by Nick Uhen capped another one-run loss for Marian, which finished the season 3-10 in relative games.

Despite the 5-4 loss, the Sabres (17-21) out-hit the Redhawks (23-13) 11-9 in the game with Tony Grannis leading the way with a 3-for-4 effort with an RBI and a run scored. Ty Gellinger also registered a multi-hit game with a 2-for-3 night.

After scoring once in the first inning, the Sabres found themselves in a 2-1 hole when Polcyn homered with a runner on in the bottom of the first.

Marian would answer back in the fourth with a three-spot. Senior Chad Langley doubled to left center and would advance to third after Grannis singled through the right side. A failed pickoff allowed Langley to score and Grannis to advance 90 feet, setting up an Adam Ryan RBI single to drive home Grannis and give the Sabres a 3-2 lead.

Junior Chase Eagan would add one more run with an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-2. Marian would threaten in the seventh, putting runners at the corners with one out, but a double play got Schuurmans and the Redhawks out of the jam.

The Redhawks got one back in the sixth and threatened again in the eighth, scoring once to tie the game. A lead-off walk to Waters in the ninth set the stage for Uhen, who three batters later, drove in Waters for the winning run.

The previous game that was finished following a suspension due to darkness, was a back-and-forth, see-saw affair leading up to its halting. Marian scored a run in the first and third with Ripon putting together a three-run second to lead 3-2 after four.

The Redhawks took a 7-2 lead after a four-run fifth inning, but the Sabres scored six in the seventh to take an 8-7 advantage with a chance to close it out in regulation. However, Ripon countered with an unearned run in the eighth to tie the game, which is where it would remain until both teams picked things back up in the top of the 11th today when Kirchenwitz's walk-off, solo shot in the 12th won it.

The Redhawks out-hit the Sabres 11-7 with four players recording two-hit performances. Marian was led by Jordan DeBoer's 2-for-5 effort with two RBIs and a run scored. The Redhawks overcame six errors in the win.