WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Carroll University baseball team defeated Concordia University-Wisconsin 12-6 in a cool, cloudy nonconference game at Frame Park on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the first home game of the season for Carroll, which improved to 2-2 overall.
Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Pioneers answered the pressure-packed challenge with an explosive five-hit, nine-run rally.
The resilient, game-winning late-inning scoring surge was ignited on a run-scoring double down the left-field line by
Matt Pestel.
Lane Scott scored on a wild pitch,
Casey Mir delivered an RBI sacrifice fly out to center field,
Brad Vosters scored on a wild pitch,
Justin Baker had a run-scoring single to left field and
Nick Angus contributed a two-run triple to left-center field and scored on an error to round out the inning.
Mitchell Massino went 3-for-4 and scored a run to help power a 10-hit offensive attack for Carroll, which responded with an error-free defensive effort.
The Pioneers, who generated a season-high 12 runs, scored the first three runs of the contest in the bottom of the third as Mir delivered an RBI single to left field and later scored on a fielder's choice.
Brad Vosters collected the other run by scoring from third as the result of an aggressive, successfully executed double steal.
CUW scored two runs in the top of the fourth and a single run in the fifth to tie the game 3-3. The Falcons added single runs in the sixth and eighth, setting the stage for Carroll's game-winning rally.
Bryce Spaulding was the starting pitcher for the Pioneers, yielding two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks through four complete innings.
Josh Streu worked the fifth and
Michael Costanzo the sixth with the duo combining to allow two earned runs on four hits.
Connor Nolen pitched a scoreless seventh.
Dawson Kiphart, who earned his first victory of the season, yielded one earned run on two hits with one strikeout and no walks in working the eighth.
Jake Nitch, the team's closer who pitched the final inning, gave up one run on no hits with three walks and one strikeout, including a two-out game-ending bases-loaded force out.
Johannes Haakenson, Tristan Largent and Josh Bentley each collected two hits for CUW, which had 10 hits in its season opener.
