CAROL STREAM, Ill.  - The Carroll University baseball team split with Wheaton College in a warm, windy College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin doubleheader at Lee Pfund Stadium on Saturday afternoon, winning the opener 4-3 but losing the rain-delayed finale 7-6. 
Carroll currently has an 8-8 record in the highly contested conference standings and is 15-20 overall.
The critical doubleheader split took on added significance as the Pioneers maintained sole possession of fifth place in the race to claim one of the top six spots in the upcoming league tournament. 
North Central currently sits atop the league (12-2) followed by second-place Augustana (8-6), third-place Wheaton (9-6), fourth-place Millikin (7-6), fifth-place Carroll (8-8), sixth-place Illinois Wesleyan (7-7), seventh place North Park (4-9) and Carthage (4-9) and ninth-place Elmhurst 3-9.
The Pioneers combined for 10 runs and 16 hits (including three home runs) in the league showdown.

GAME 1
The Pioneers scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning and two in the fifth in holding on for a gritty, hard-fought 4-3 victory in the first game of the twin bill.
It was the third one-run victory of the season for Carroll, which generated just four hits with three coming for extra bases (highlighted by a home run and two doubles).
Trailing 1-0 after three innings, the Pioneers answered in the fourth as Thomas Ward hit a two-run home run to left field (his second of the season).
Carroll's final two runs came in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-1, ignited on an RBI groundout by Casey Mir. Benton Holly scored the eventual winning run as the result of a fielder's choice.
Wheaton scored single runs in the fifth and eighth but couldn't complete a comeback.
Brett Buzzelli was the winning pitcher for the Pioneers, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and three walks through 8 1/3 innings.
Buzzelli, a sophomore right-hander from Homer Glen, Ill. who earned his second victory of the season to improve to 2-3 overall, threw 112 pitches in facing 33 batters. He forced eight fly outs and five ground outs in the process.
Connor Nolen, a sophomore right-hander from Poplar Grove, Ill., relieved Buzzelli in the ninth with a runner at second and one out with the potential winning run coming to the plate.
Nolen showcased his mental toughness by responding with a strikeout and game-ending ground out to earn his fourth save of the season.

GAME 2
Mir went 3-for-5 and drove in a run to help power a 12-hit offensive attack as Carroll fell 7-6 in the rain-delayed second game.
Mir, a junior right fielder from Menomonee Falls, Wis., remains team co-leader with a .320 batting average, 40 hits (including a team-high 11 doubles) and 21 RBIs in starting all 35 games this season. 
Mason Hege finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs with Trevor Benz and Lane Scott each adding two hits for the Pioneers, who stranded seven baserunners.
As the game remained tied 6-6 after seven complete innings, Wheaton drove in what became the winning run on a one-out RBI triple to right-center field in the bottom of the eighth.
Wheaton, 9-6 in conference and 16-17 overall, finished with 10 hits in the contest.
The Thunder scored two runs in the first, a single run in the second and three in the seventh to set the stage for the decisive eighth.
Carroll scored its first two runs in the top of the first on a two-out two-run home run to left field by Holly (his team-leading ninth of the season).
The Pioneers scored two runs on three hits to reclaim a 4-3 lead in the third, powered by a two-out two-run homer to left field by Hege (his third of the year).
Carroll's final two runs came in the seventh as Mir delivered an RBI single to center field and Hege added a run-scoring single to right field.  
The Pioneers utilized five pitchers including starter Ben Ellifson, Zach Tuss, Andrew Stekiel, Dawson Kiphart and Jake Nitch.
Ellifson, a senior right-hander from Oak Creek, Wis., yielded one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks through 5 1/3 innings.
Nitch took the frustrating loss to drop to 1-4 overall, allowing one runs on two hits in working the eighth.
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