NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Curtis Sheahan was the enforcer.
Sheahan, a hard-throwing 6-foot-4 senior left-hander from Madison, Wis., pitched a five-hitter with eight strikeouts and two walks through 7 1/3 innings as the fourth-seeded Carroll University baseball team defeated fifth-seeded North Park University 6-2 in the opening round of the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin Tournament at North Central College's Zimmerman Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
With the statement-making first-round victory, Carroll advanced to face top-seeded regular-season champion and No. 9-ranked North Central in a second-round matchup at Wheaton College's Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, Ill. on Thursday at 11 a.m.
North Central outlasted eighth-seeded Wheaton 8-7 in another contest Wednesday.
Sheahan, a second-team CCIW all-conference selection who improved to 5-3 overall with the steady, standout performance on the mound and had a three-hit shutout working through five innings, faced 29 hitters in the consistent, efficient outing yielding five singles while forcing 11 groundouts and two flyouts.
Carroll, which eclipsed the 20-victory plateau with a home-field victory over North Park in the regular-season finale, improved to 21-20 overall.
Dylan Callahan, a senior designated hitter from Sheboygan, Wis. and first-team CCIW all-conference selection, went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two singles, three runs scored and drove in a run to power an 11-hit offensive attack for the Pioneers. Nick Angus went 2-for-3 with two singles and two RBIs.
Carroll collected the first two runs of the contest in the momentum-shifting bottom of the first inning as Callahan, who established the program record for career doubles and currently has a total of 34, delivered a one-out RBI double to left field and later scored as the result of a wild pitch.
The Pioneers followed with three runs on three hits in the third to extend the lead to 5-0, including a run-scoring single by CCIW first-team all-conference first baseman Mitchell Massino and a clutch, two-out two-run single by Angus.
Benton Holly drove in Carroll's final run on a one-out RBI single to left field in the sixth.
Holly, a junior third baseman from Mundelein, Ill., was a stabilizing defensive force, registering four assists and successfully executing the front end of the team's only doubleplay (5-4-3) of the day on a hard-hit grounder in the top of the first.
Brad Vosters, first-team CCIW all-conference second baseman/catcher TJ Pfaffle and Alec Honickel each added a hit for the Pioneers.
Nick Evert came in relief of Sheahan in the eighth with one out and a runner at first, induced a fielder's choice grounder and yielded a walk before forcing an inning-ending flyout.
Dawson Kiphart, pitched the ninth, allowing one run on two hits to preserve a victory. 
North Park, which dropped to 17-22 overall, scored a run in the top of the sixth on a fielding error to trim the deficit to 6-1.
The Vikings, who stranded eight baserunners (with five in scoring position), added a run in the ninth on a two-out RBI single but couldn't get any closer.
Ethan Sund took the pitching loss, allowing six runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and one walk through five complete innings.
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