CAROL STREAM, Ill. - The Carroll University baseball team split with Wheaton College in a cool, sunny College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin doubleheader at Lee Pfund Stadium on Friday afternoon, winning the opener 11-4 and losing the finale 5-2.
Carroll, which has won seven of its last nine games, currently remains in a tie for first place with Millikin in the highly contested league standings.
The Pioneers suffered their first conference loss of the season with the second-game Good Friday setback to drop to 4-1 in conference and 11-9 overall.
Joey Appino went a combined 4-for-8 with a double, three RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base for Carroll.

GAME 1
Justin Baker and Thomas Ward each went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs to power a 13-hit offensive attack in the opener.
Nick Herzog also contributed three hits for Carroll, which generated three extra-base hits.
Trevor Benz, Joey Appino, Benton Holly and Eddie Synek each added a hit for the Pioneers, who turned in an error-free defensive effort.
Carroll scored five runs on three hits in what became a decisive top of the third inning, ignited on a one-out, RBI single to left field by Ward and a grand slam over the left-field fence by Baker.
Wheaton, which finished with nine hits, scored a single run in the bottom of the third to trim the deficit to 5-1.
The Pioneers answered with three runs on four hits in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-1, including a one-out run-scoring single to left field by Appino, an RBI groundout by Ward and a run-scoring single down the left-field line by Baker.
Ward capped the scoring for Carroll with a three-run homer to left-center field in the eighth.
Brett Buzzelli was the winning pitcher and improved to 3-2 overall, allowing two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk through seven complete innings.
Buzzelli, a junior right-hander from Homer Glen, Ill., forced nine flyouts and seven groundouts in facing 29 batters.

GAME 2
Appino went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to pace a seven-hit offensive attack in the second game for the Pioneers.
Carroll collected the first run of the contest in the top of the third on an RBI double down the left-field line by Appino.
Wheaton scored two runs in the momentum-shifting bottom of the fourth to claim a 2-1 lead. 
The Thunder scored what proved to be the winning run in the sixth on an error and added to runs in the seventh.
Carroll scored its final run in the eighth on an RBI single down the left-field line by Appino.
The Pioneers utilized four pitchers in the showdown including starter Scotty Starovich, Erik Jaschinski, Josh Streu and Connor Kelly.
Starovich took the loss to drop to 1-2 overall, yielding two earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk through six complete innings.