The Carroll baseball team lost their 2025 home opener Wednesday afternoon, falling to Concordia (Wis.) 7-0 in a chilly non-conference game at Frame Park. Today's date, February 26 marked the earliest game Carroll baseball has hosted in head coach Stein Rear's tenure.

Lane Scott went 2-for-4 with a single and a triple to lead the Pios in a game where hits were hard to come by off the solid pitching staff of CUW. Joey Appino was the lone Pioneer to join Scott in the hits column with a single up the middle in the first Carroll at-bat of the game.

The Pioneers' pitching staff held the Falcons in check for much of the game, but a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the second from Graham Kasten of CUW gave Concordia four of their seven runs. Carroll gave up just three more hits and two runs following the four-hit, four-run second inning. 

The Pioneers utilized a pitch-by-committee approach, with seven pitchers taking the mound, including starter Noah Hoffman, Carson Gratz, Ben Olsen, Tyler Burns, Alex Vogt, Isaac Verbruggen, Roman Maguire, Connor Nolen. The group combined for seven strikeouts, giving eight nine hits, while allowing seven earned runs and walking eight batters.

Noah Hoffman took the loss, throwing 2.0 innings and collecting two strikeouts while giving up five earned runs, four of which came in the pivotal second inning. 

Carroll looks to get back on track on a quick turnaround after a rescheduled date, taking on MSOE in a doubleheader on Friday, February 28.