Despite a late rally on Friday night, the Blue Ribbons were edged by the Appleton Legends, losing by a score of 8-7.
The Legends got on the board first, with single runs in the first and the second, but Green Bay fought back to tie the game with two runs in the third on a single by Jeremy Laffoon that plated both Wyatt Wiitanen and Devin Brown.
The back-and-forth continued, with the Ribbons scoring three in the top of the fifth, courtesy of back-to-back doubles from Tucker Kohl and Isaiah Robinson, but Appleton responded with two runs in their half of the fifth, to knot the game at 5-5.
The Legends added three more runs off of reliever Lucas Frutig, to head to the ninth with an 8-5 lead, but Green Bay would not go down quietly. Doubles from Trent Van Ess and Zach Hanson made it 8-6, and Tucker Kohl drew a two-out walk to put the tying run on base. Hanson scurried home on a double steal to pull within a run, but that would be as close as the Ribbons would get, leaving the tying run stranded at second base.
Robinson and Van Ess enjoyed big nights at the plate, collecting three hits each and Laffoon finished 2-for-5 with a double.
The Blue Ribbons are back in action on Saturday, opening a four-game series against Lombard with a doubleheader at Joannes starting at 4:00 PM.
