WAUKESHA, Wis. - Thomas Ward, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior first baseman from Waukesha, Wis., went 3-for-5 with a triple, a double and three RBIs as the Carroll University baseball team defeated North Park University 9-5 in a windy College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Frame Park on Wednesday afternoon.
It was the third conference victory of the season for Carroll, which remained atop the highly contested league standings with an unblemished 3-0 record and improved to 10-8 overall.
The Pioneers, who generated a season-high 16 hits for the third time this year, have won six of their last seven games (including a recent sweep of Elmhurst University to begin conference action).
Casey Mir, a 5-10, 170-pound senior right fielder from Menomonee Falls, Wis., also went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs for Carroll, which finished with six extra-base hits (highlighted by five doubles and one triple).
Trevor Benz, Joey Appino, Justin Baker, Eddie Synek and Benton Holly each followed with two hits for the Pioneers.
Carroll scored the first run of the showdown in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single to left field by Ward.
North Park, which finished with eight hits, answered with a single run in the top of the third to tie the game 1-1.
Carroll regained a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning on a run-scoring double to right field by Ward, who finished just one hit shy of the cycle.
North Park again tied the game with a single run in the fourth.
Carroll responded with two runs on four hits to reclaim a 4-2 lead in the fourth, ignited on a clutch two-out RBI single to center field by Mir and run-scoring double to right field by Benz.
North Park scored two runs in the fifth to tie the game for a third time.
Carroll scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth as Synek delivered a key, one-out RBI double down the left-field line.
The Pioneers scored two runs in both the sixth and seventh to pull away.
Ward had a run-scoring triple to right-center field and later scored on a balk as Carroll extended the lead to 7-4 in the sixth. Nick Herzog had an RBI sacrifice flyout to right field and Mir added a run-scoring single to left field in the seventh.
The Pioneers utilized five pitchers in the contest including starter Nolan Fehrman, Erik Jaschinski, Connor Kelly, Andy Buskohl and Josh Streu.
Fehrman, a 6-3, 155-pound junior right-hander from Slinger, Wis. earned a victory to improve to 2-1 overall, allowing two earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks through five complete innings. He finished with 82 pitches in facing 25 batters, forcing seven groundouts and four flyouts in the process.
Jaschinski worked a scoreless sixth and seventh, throwing 43 pitches in facing nine batters while yielding just two hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Kelly, Buskohl and Streu provided strong relief over the course of the final two innings, combining to allow one earned run with three strikeouts and two walks.
North Park managed a single run in the ninth and attempted to rally but couldn't come through with a timely hit to seize the momentum. With runners on second and third with two outs, Streu showcased his mental toughness, stepped up to the pressure-packed situation and forced a game-ending groundout.