WAUKESHA, Wis. - Carroll continued their winning ways on Saturday afternoon, sweeping nonconference foe Ripon College in a doubleheader on a chilly, but pleasant Senior day inside Frame Park. In the two games combined, Carroll (7-3) had 19 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases, including three home runs, all in game two. Ripon (2-2) nearly matched Carroll's output at the plate with 18 hits but committed seven errors throughout the day.
In the first at-bat of game one, junior outfielder Joey Appino broke the school record for triples in a career with a shot to the centerfield fence just over the outstretched glove of Ripon's centerfielder. Appino legged out the triple for the 12th of his career. The Loves Park, Ill. Native continues his illustrious career and season with another record that stood for 17 years.
GAME 1 (8-7 Carroll)
Eddie Synek went 3-for-4 in game one and scored one run while driving in three runs. Joey Appino, Dalen Lamberson and Lane Scott both tallied two hits at the plate. Two other Pios tallied hits in game one.
Carroll jumped to an early 4-1 lead after the third inning thanks to three runs in the bottom of the third. The two offenses put donuts on the board for three consecutive innings behind stout and efficient defense. Ripon scored one run in the top of the seventh to draw within too, to which Carroll immediately responded with three runs of their own thanks to a Jimmy Williams RBI double, an RBI single to right field off the bat of Synek and a wild pitch on which Synek later scored. Ripon erupted for a five-run eighth inning, knotting the game at seven apiece. In the bottom half, Lane Scott flew out to left field, which allowed the speed and agility of Joey Appino to dodge the tag at the plate, giving Carroll the winning run.
Connnor Nolen earned the win on the mound, pitching 1.2 closing innings, while giving up one earned run on one hit and two strikeouts. Four other Pioneer pitchers took the mound, including starter Erik Jaschinski, Joey Rivera, Chayce Schultz, and Roman Maguire. The battery combined for six runs on eight hits and six strikeouts.
GAME 2 (7-5 Carroll)
Three Pio hitters saw pitches they loved, with Thomas Ward, Williams, and Lane Scott sending shots out of the park. Scott and Ward both had multi-hit days, as Ward tallied a double and Scott singled through the left side in the second inning. Three other Pioneers safely reached base on hits, including Appino, Lamberson, and Preston Sanders.
The Pioneers continued their momentum from the conclusion of game one by laying on five runs through two innings, taking a 5-1 advantage. Ripon responded with three unanswered runs of their own, drawing within one run after four-and-a-half innings of play. A solo homer from Williams over the centerfield fence and a hit by pitch that scored one gave Carroll a 7-4 cushion. Relying on the defense to close the game out, Ripon crossed the plate one more time in the eighth, but senior Nolen returned to the mound, earning the save with three sitdowns in the ninth as Carroll would escape with two hard fought victories.
Carroll used six pitchers in the game two victory, with Jack Piper earning the start and striking out one batter through four full innings. Dylan Eckrote earned the victory in relief, pitching three innings and allowing no runs on two hits and tallying two strikeouts. Conor Dunlavy, Isaac Verbruggen, and Brady LaMack also took the mound in relief, and Nolen's save rounded out the pitching committee.
Carroll looks to continue the momentum in the Sunshine State where they will participate in the Studer's Blue Wahoo Challenge for five games in Pensacola, Fla. Their spring break campaign begins with #1-ranked UW-Whitewater at 10am (ET) on Wednesday, March 12.
