NORMAL, Ill. - The Carroll University baseball team posted a 2-2 overall record to conclude a challenging two-day, four-game weekend nonconference road trip at Corn Crib Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Carroll, which improved to 4-5 on the season, opened the trip Saturday as it defeated Illinois Institute of Technology 15-1 in seven innings and lost to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 5-3 in the second game.
The Pioneers lost to UW-Stevens Point 11-10 in the third game of the weekend to begin Sunday afternoon and edged Illinois Tech 15-12 in the rain-shortened six-inning series finale.

GAME 1
Matt Pestel went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored to power a 12-hit offensive attack as Carroll defeated Illinois Tech 15-1 in the opener.
It was a season-high run total for Carroll, which generated seven extra-base hits in the contest (including four homers and three doubles).
The Pioneers collected the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning as Casey Mir and Justin Baker each scored as the result of an error.
Illinois Tech trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with a single run in the bottom of the first.
Carroll followed with four runs on two hits and took advantage of an error in the second, extending its lead to 6-1.
Eli Syverson scored on a passed ball, Mir delivered an RBI single to right field and Baker hit a two-run homer to left field to power the key scoring surge for the Pioneers.
Pestel hit a two-out, two-run homer to left field in the third to increase the lead to 8-1.
The Pioneers added three runs on three hits in the fourth, powered on a two-run homer to left field by Mitchell Massino and an RBI double to left field by Syverson.
Pestel hit a solo homer in the sixth to extend the lead to 12-1.
Carroll scored its final three runs in the seventh as Nick Angus delivered a two-run double to center field and Syverson had an RBI groundout.
Mir, Baker and Angus each finished with two hits in the statement-making rout for the Pioneers.
Brett Buzzelli was the winning pitcher, allowing one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks through five complete innings.
It was the first victory of the season for Buzzelli, a sophomore right-hander from Homer Glen, Ill., who threw 48 pitches in facing 19 batters, forced six ground outs with four fly outs in the process.

GAME 2
Brad Vosters went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored but Carroll fell to UW-Eau Claire 5-3 in the hard-fought second game of nonconference series.
Carroll, which finished with seven hits in the contest (including three for extra bases), led 3-1 after seven innings but UW-Eau Claire responded with three runs in the top of the eighth to ensure a victory.
The Pioneers' first run came in the bottom of the first on an RBI sacrifice fly out to center field by Massino. Angus added a two-run homer to right-center field in the sixth.
Drew McDermid turned in a quality start for the Pioneers, yielding one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks through seven complete innings.
McDermid, a senior right-hander from Pulaski, Wis., finished with 78 pitches and induced 11 ground outs in facing 27 batters.
Connor Nolen worked the eighth, allowing two earned runs on two hits in taking the loss for Carroll, which committed four errors. Dawson Kiphart worked the ninth, giving up one earned run on one hit.

GAME 3
The Pioneers suffered an 11-10 loss to UW-Stevens Point in a confidence-building matchup to begin the second day of competition Sunday.
UW-Stevens Point, which entered the battle hovering just outside of the top-25 in the latest D3baseball.com poll, scored what proved to be the winning run on a clutch RBI double in the bottom of the eighth.
Carroll collected the first run of the game as Massino hit a solo homer in the top of the second.
UW-Stevens responded with eight runs on seven hits in the second and a single run in the third to extend the lead to 9-1.
The Pioneers showcased their resilience and determination by answering with six runs on four hits in the fourth to trim the deficit to 9-7.
The rally was ignited by Benton Holly, who came through with an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch, a run-scoring groundout by Pestel, an RBI groundout by Vosters and a two-run single by Massino.
Carroll tied the game 9-9 in the sixth on a two-run single by Massino.
UW-Stevens Point scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh to reclaim a lead.
Massino, who finished 3-for-5 with a team-high six RBIs to propel a nine-hit attack for the Pioneers, responded with a game-tying RBI groundout in the eighth to set the stage for the late-inning UW-Stevens Point rally.
Baker, Trevor Benz and Tyler Love each collected two hits for Carroll, which finished with three extra-base hits but stranded nine baserunners.
Ben Ellifson was the starting pitcher for Carroll, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits through three complete innings.
Bryce Spaulding, a junior right-hander from Racine, Wis., worked the next four innings and turned in an efficient performance by allowing just one run on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk in facing 17 batters.
Jake Nitch, the team's closer, worked the eighth but yielded one run on two hits in taking the hard-luck loss.

GAME 4
Mir went 4-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored to power a 14-hit offensive attack as Carroll defeated Illinois Tech 15-12 in the six-inning rain-shortened weekend finale.
It was the second victory of the weekend and equaled a single-game season-high run total for the Pioneers, who turned in an error-free defensive effort.
Trailing 12-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Carroll answered with nine runs on six hits and took advantage of two errors to complete a determined comeback.
The dramatic rally included an RBI double to left field by Mir and a double to right field by Baker, who eventually scored on an error. 
Angus contributed an RBI single to right field and Pestel an RBI single to center field, Clay Schult scored as the result of a bases-loaded walk, Mir had what proved to be a game-winning two-run single to center field and Vosters scored on a wild pitch.
Baker and Josh Kolb each went 2-for-3 in the contest for Carroll, which combined for 30 runs and 26 hits in its two weekend victories.
The Pioneers, who generated six extra-base hits (including five doubles and a triple) scored five unanswered runs on five hits in the bottom of the second.
Schult ignited the key spree with an RBI double to right field and later scored on a passed ball. The inning also was highlighted by a run-scoring single to right field from Kolb, an RBI double to right field by Holly and an RBI sacrifice fly out by Pestel.
Illinois Tech, which dropped to 0-4 overall, scored seven runs on four hits in the top of the fourth followed by a four-run fifth to claim an 11-5 lead.
The Pioneers responded with an RBI ground out by Holly in the fifth.
Illinois Tech added a single run in the top of the sixth to increase the lead to 12-6, setting the stage for Carroll's resilient comeback.
The Pioneers utilized four pitchers in the showdown, led by starter Nick Evert who yielded five earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts and four walks through three innings. Evert, a junior right-hander from Franklin, Wis., who finished with 56 pitches in the outing, faced five batters in the fourth before being relieved by Josh Streu.
Streu worked the fourth, allowing two earned runs on two hits with one strikeout and no walks. Michael Costanzo pitched the fifth, giving up four earned runs on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Connor Kelly, a junior right-hander from Racine, Wis., worked the sixth to earn the victory, allowing one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
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