GLENDALE, Wis.  - Despite a valiant four-run ninth-inning rally, the Carroll University baseball team lost to Milwaukee School of Engineering 9-6 in a cloudy, cool nonconference game at MSOE Raiders Stadium on Friday afternoon.
It was the second in-state loss of the early season for Carroll, which has lost two consecutive games and dropped to 6-10 overall.
The Pioneers were fresh off a return from a highly productive, challenging six-game Spring Break road trip to Florida.
Trailing 9-2 after eight complete innings, the Pioneers answered with four runs on three hits and took advantage of an error in the top of the ninth.
Matt Pestel ignited the late-inning rally with a one-out run-scoring single to left-center field and Tyler Love followed with an RBI sacrifice fly out to left field. Bennet Becker delivered a two-out run-scoring double down the left field line and scored the final run as the result of an error.
The comeback fell short on a game-ending strikeout.
Becker, Trevor Benz and Eli Syverson each had a double to propel Carroll's seven-hit offensive attack. Pestel, Justin Baker, Luke Blaha and Josh Kolb each added one hit.
Carroll's first two runs of the contest came in the second on an RBI sacrifice fly out to center field by Benz and a run-scoring single by Kolb.
MSOE, which improved to 5-8 overall, scored two unanswered runs in the bottom of the second, four in the second and what became the game-winner on an error in the fifth.
Carroll utilized six pitchers in the showdown including starter Drew McDermid, Michael Costanzo, Connor Kelly, Connor Nolen, Dawson Kiphart and Zach Tuss.
McDermid, a 6-foot-3 senior right-hander from Pulaski, Wis., took the loss for the Pioneers, allowing one earned run on five hits with one strikeout and three walks through 4 1/3 innings. 
MSOE finished with 11 hits, including five doubles.
Carroll is scheduled to face Dominican University in a nonconference doubleheader at Winstrust Field in Schaumburg, Ill. on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Stay up to date on Carroll baseball by going online to www.gopios.com, or by following the Pioneers on Facebook (Carroll University Athletics), Twitter (@pio_athletics), and Instagram (@pio_athletics)