WAUKESHA, Wis. - Carroll baseball returned to action for their fourth game in three days, falling to North Park University by a score of 14-4 in a chilly CCIW matchup. Carroll (12-13, 3-6 CCIW) had seven hits and left six runners on base while North Park (8-13, 4-1 CCIW) had 18 hits including three home runs.
Joey Appino was the lone Pioneer to tally a multi-hit afternoon, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Appino was one of three Pioneers to grab extra bases on a hit, with Jimmy Williams and Thomas Ward also finding gaps for doubles. Lane Scott, Gabe Lee, and Brody Ferko rounded out the Pioneers' hitting attack by reaching base safely on singles.
After two quiet and efficient innings from both teams' starting pitchers, North Park's bats got going in a big way, as they plated six runs on six hits including a three-run shot over the left field fence. The Vikings added two more insurance runs over the next two innings to grow their lead to an 8-0 shutout game through five-and-a-half.
Carroll came to life in the bottom of the fifth, as the Pios loaded the bases with two outs and Appino knocked in Ward with a single to the center field grass. Dalen Lamberson tallied an RBI with a walk that allowed Ferko to cross the plate. Appino scored on a passed ball and two more walks added another run to give Carroll a crooked inning on the scoreboard and bring the game to an 8-4 deficit.
Those four runs would be all the closer the Pioneers would get, as North Park homered in both the sixth and seventh innings, giving the Vikings the 10-run advantage and ending the game in seven innings.
Four Pioneers took the mound in the defeat, including starter Jack Piper, who dealed three complete innings and allowed four earned runs on six hits and tallied one strikeout. Alex Vogt, Joey Rivera, and Chayce Schultz all made appearances as well, combining to allow 12 hits and two strikeouts in the final four innings of relief.
Carroll saw their upcoming nonconference game against Cornell College (Iowa), scheduled for Wednesday, get canceled due to impending weather conditions and will look to right the ship as they return to action for a CCIW weekend series against Elmhurst University. That series will begin with a doubleheader at Elmhurst on Saturday, April 12, with game one beginning at 1 p.m.
