KENOSHA, Wis. - It wasn't quite the type of performance the Carroll University baseball team had envisioned for its return to the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin. 
Carroll lost to Carthage College 13-3 in a cold, windy seven-inning CCIW opener at Augie Schmidt Field on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the fifth consecutive road loss for Carroll, which dropped to 0-1 in the conference standings and 4-11 overall.
The contest took on added historical significance for Carroll, which was competing in the prestigious, high-powered league for the first time since 1992.
Originally scheduled to take place at downtown Waukesha's Frame Park, the game was moved to Carthage's home field because of unplayable conditions created from ongoing renovations.
The game was limited to seven innings as the 10-run mercy rule was enforced.
Carthage, which won its fourth straight to improve to 1-0 in conference and 8-6 overall, collected its first run in the top of the first on an RBI single to right-center field by senior third baseman Zach Wade.
Junior third baseman Hunter Frey (Hudson, Wis.) had a two-out RBI double down the left-field line in the bottom of the first for Carroll, which had seven hits. Junior shortstop Jake Langford (Genoa, Ill.), who reached on a two-out ground-rule double, scored on the early, game-tying hit.
Tied 1-1, Carthage answered by scoring 10 runs on nine hits in what proved to be a decisive top of the second.
Carroll responded with its final two runs in the second as sophomore center fielder Jacob Horner (Woodbridge, Va.) delivered a run-scoring sacrifice fly to right field and freshman first baseman Dylan Callahan (Sheboygan, Wis.) scored as the result of a throwing error.
Carroll fourth-year head coach Stein Rear was encouraged by how his team battled back and continued to compete hard throughout the day.
"A lot of of younger teams have a tendency to run and hide after giving up a big inning so I was very proud of the way we fought through the adversity and handled the situation," said Rear, who guided the Pioneers to a 17-victory season in 2016 (ranking second in the history of the Carroll program). "We answered back with a few runs in the second, continued to play with energy and never showed any signs of letting up the rest of the way. That's what its all about. With the competitiveness of the CCIW, we're going to have to go out there every day and earn everything each step of the way. Today, we took another good step in the right direction."
Senior second baseman Matt Rave went 4-for-5 with a double and four RBIs to power a 21-hit attack for the traditional league powerhouse Carthage, which has won 14 CCIW titles in program history. Senior right fielder Jared Knoespel followed with three hits and senior left fielder Alex Letto had two hits and four RBIs.
Junior right-hander Kevin Tibor was the winning pitcher, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks in going the distance.
Junior left-hander Carter Howard (Black Earth, Wis.) experienced an uncharacteristic rocky start and took the loss for Carroll, yielding 11 earned runs in lasting 1 1/3 innings. 
Despite the final outcome, sophomore right-hander Cam Godinsky (Sycamore, Ill.) was a bright spot for the Pioneers. Godinsky, who came in relief of Howard in the second, was a stabilizing force by allowing just two earned runs on seven hits through 4 2/3 innings for the Pioneers. 
Sophomore southpaw Andrew Stone (Fox Lake, Ill.) pitched a scoreless seventh to gain valuable experience and round out the day.
"We put pressure on ourselves to play at a high level all the time so it really doesn't matter which conference we happen to be competing in from that standpoint," added Rear, noting the exciting challenge of being back in the CCIW. "Whether it be the CCIW or Midwest Conference, our main objective is do things the right way, play our style of game and let things take care of themselves. It's all about the process and trying to get better. Looking back, it was another great learning experience that will only help in our preparation for the games to come."