WAUKESHA, Wis. - Carroll baseball continued CCIW play with a home doubleheader against North Central College on Saturday afternoon to kick off the final weekend series of the regular season, dropping both games to the Cardinals by scores of 4-0 and 7-2. In the two games combined, Carroll (16-19, 7-11 CCIW) had 15 hits, with four going for extra bases in game one. North Central (19-16, 10-5 CCIW) tallied 21 hits on the day, 14 of which came in game two.
GAME 1 (4-0 North Central)
Jimmy Williams and Leo Matuga secured multi-hit games, with Matuga finding green space in left center field in the eighth to give Carroll some late momentum. Eddie Synek, Lane Scott, and Dalen Lamberson also safely reached base with hits, rounding out Carroll's offensive attack.
A big first inning for the Cardinals would be the difference in an otherwise quiet game as North Central plated three runs on three hits to secure an early lead. Starting pitcher Jack Piper settled in from that point, allowing only four more hits and striking out two through 5.1 more innings. Carroll's offensive struggles matched with stout Cardinal defense kept the Pioneers at bay for the entire game, as the only inning that saw multiple Carroll hits was the fourth. The Cardinals added a late insurance run to push the lead to four and the Pios could not gain rhythm as they fell in game one.
Carroll utilized four arms in the first game, including Piper, who seceded the defeat. Joey Rivera, Conor Dunlavy, and Chayce Schultz combined to close the game as the trio held the Cardinals hitless through the final 2.1 innings.
GAME 2 (7-2 North Central)
Lane Scott continued his stellar season, going 2-for-4 with one double and an RBI. Austin Palmer also had a fantastic day in the box, going 2-for-2. Joey Appino, Eddie Synek, Dalen Lamberson, and Jimmy Williams found their way on base to round out the Pioneer hitting on the afternoon.
Game two started quite the opposite of the first, as both teams crossed home in the first inning and Carroll held a 2-1 lead after the first frame. North Central regained the lead behind three runs on four hits in the second. That second inning would be the difference of the game as Carroll continued to struggle to plate runs and put only six runners on base the rest of the game. Carroll made some noise in the final inning, as a Palmer single loaded the bases with only one out. However, on the ensuing at-bat, Anthony Tado grounded into a double play to slam the doors on Carroll's promising comeback hopes.
Carroll used four arms in the game two defeat, with Dylan Eckrote earning the start and striking out one batter in 2.1 innings. Braden Lewis contributed 3.2 innings of relief while Noah Hoffman saw his first action on the bump in nearly two months, contributing 2.2 innings of zero baseball with one strikeout and one hit. Roman Maguire came in the deliver the final out with a two-pitch fly out.
Carroll concludes the final weekend series of the season on Sunday, when they travel to North Central for a 2pm first pitch.
