ELMHURST, Ill. - Benton Holly went 3-for-5 with a home run, a ninth-inning double, two RBIs and two runs scored as the Carroll University baseball team lost to Elmhurst 14-11 in a hard-fought College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Butterfield Park on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the fifth road loss of the season for Carroll, which entered the day riding the momentum of an upset over No. 9-ranked North Central but dropped to 4-7 in conference and 10-9 overall.
Carroll scored four runs on three hits in the top of the first inning, powered on a two-run home run to center field by Mitchell Massino and a two-run blast to left field by Alec Honickel.
Elmhurst answered with four runs in the bottom of the first.
Carroll, currently ranked third in the conference with a .300 team batting average, responded with five runs on five hits and took advantage of two errors to claim a 9-4 lead in the third.
Honickel and Justin Baker each delivered run-scoring singles to right field, Trevor Benz followed with a run-scoring sacrifice fly to left field, Brad Vosters had an RBI right-field single and Holly scored as the result of a fielding error.
Elmhurst scored single runs in the third and fourth and collected five runs in what became a momentum-shifting sixth to capture an 11-9 lead, its first of the game.
Holly hit a one-out, two-run homer to left-center field in the seventh as Carroll battled back to tie the game 11-11.
Elmhurst, which improved to 7-6 in conference and 11-8 overall, scored twice in the seventh including a game-winning RBI single to left field.
The Bluejays added a solo homer in the eighth to help put the game out of reach.
Honickel finished 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs to help pace a 13-hit offensive attack for the Pioneers, who had six extra-base hits (highlighted by three homers and three doubles). Massino, Vosters and Baker also collected two hits each.
Carroll, which committed four errors and stranded nine baserunners in the effort, had a golden opportunity for a potential rally with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth but couldn't come up with the clutch hit, ultimately resulting in an infield fly out and inning-ending strikeout.
Tyler Love took the pitching loss for the Pioneers, yielding two runs on two hits.
Paul Fomby went 2-for-4 with a homer and five RBIs for Elmhurst, which finished with 14 hits.
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