WAUKESHA, Wis. - The young, scrappy Carroll University baseball team has experienced its share of ups and downs over the course of the season.
Those frustrating growing pains continued as Carroll lost to North Park University 19-13 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Frame Park on Tuesday evening.
It was the second straight home-field conference loss for the Pioneers, who dropped to 5-13 in the conference standings and 10-23 overall.
North Park, which improved to 6-11 in league and 13-20 overall, trailed 4-3 after two complete innings but responded with nine runs on eight hits in the momentum-shifting top of the third.
Senior first baseman Anthony Bragg, who went 4-for-6 with five RBIs and three runs scored, capped the critical third-inning spree with a three-run home run.
Bragg and fifth-year senior designated hitter Tyler Woolbright each had a two-run single in what became a decisive seven-run fourth for the Vikings, who pounded out 25 hits.
Junior third baseman Hunter Frey (Hudson, Wis.) went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs to power a 15-hit attack for Carroll, which showcased its offensive firepower throughout the contest by belting five home runs.
Frey, the team's quick lead-off hitter who currently has a .398 batting average, four homers and 20 RBIs, drove in the Pioneers' first run of the game on a solo home run in the bottom of the first.
Sophomore center fielder Zach Meyer (Lindenhurst, Ill.) had a solo homer and Frey followed with a two-run shot to highlight a three-run second.
Sophomore second baseman Sam Harmeyer (Franklin, Wis.) contributed an RBI sacrifice fly and sophomore first baseman Matt Putman (Lindenhurst, Ill.) hit a three-run homer as Carroll trimmed the deficit to 19-8 with four runs in the fourth.
The Pioneers added three runs in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Harmeyer and a two-run homer by junior designated hitter AJ Johnson (Waunakee, Wis.).
Carroll's final two runs came on an RBI single from junior shortstop Jake Langford (Genoa, Ill.) in the eighth and on a one-out sacrifice fly by Frey in the ninth.
The trio of Harmeyer, Putman and Johnson each had two hits for Carroll, which generated seven extra-base hits but stranded eight baserunners. Sophomore right fielder Alex Kermendy (Waukesha, Wis.), sophomore starting catcher Mike Jerik (Tinley Park, Ill.), freshman left fielder Nolan Heck (Waukesha, Wis.), and freshman back-up catcher Dylan Callahan (Sheboygan, Wis.) each added a hit.
Freshman right-hander Josh Ward was the winning pitcher, allowing seven earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and four walks through three innings for North Park, which also had seven extra-base hits and stranded eight baserunners.
Carroll sophomore left-hander Andrew Stone (Fox Lake, Wis.) took a loss, yielding 11 earned runs on 13 hits through 2 2/3 innings.
The Pioneers' strong, deep bullpen consisting of 6-foot-6 junior right-hander Joe Huss (Appleton, Wis.), junior left-hander Austin Edge (Howards Grove, Ill.), sophomore right-hander Jacob Horner (Woodbridge, Va.) and sophomore right-hander Logan Johnson (Beloit, Wis.) took the spotlight over the course of the final five innings, combining to allow no runs on six hits.
It was the varsity pitching debut for Huss, who relieved sophomore right-hander Cam Godinsky (Sycamore, Ill.) in the fourth and yielded no runs on three hits with three strikeouts through 2 1/3 innings.
"With the amount of high-caliber teams in the conference, we can't afford to put ourselves in a deep hole and expect to come away with a victory," Carroll head coach Stein Rear said. "To our credit, the guys didn't show any signs of quitting and battled hard to get back in the game.
"After giving up 16 runs combined over the course of the third and fourth innings, our bullpen came in, did a nice job of holding them in check the rest of the way and gave us an opportunity to get back it. Throughout the night, we did a lot of good things offensively, hit the ball hard and continued to chip away at the lead. We just need to keep working on putting it all together. With the amount of young players on the team, we're excited about the future and the possibilities. That said, we still have seven games remaining in the season and want to finish the season on a positive note. We'll just go out there, play hard and see what happens the rest of the way."