BELOIT, Wis. - Beloit baseball's offense continued to hum Saturday afternoon, defeating Monmouth 15-9. That keeps the Buccaneers squrely in first place in the Midwest Conference standings.

Monmouth (9-15, 4-8 MWC) took the game's first lead with a run in the top of the first, but Beloit (18-7, 11-2 MWC) answered with a solo home run off the bat of Connor Vogel, which was followed by an RBI double by Evan Zenger later in the first. Monmouth then tied the game in the second, before taking the lead again with a three-run third. In the bottom of that inning, the score would be knotted up again after a three-run homer to deep centerfield by Deven Irwin. Garrison Ferone added a solo home run to give the Bucs the lead in the fourth, which also saw Beloit score on a balk and an RBI single by Miles Souza.

Monmouth continued to fight back in the seventh, which saw them score four runs, with the big blow coming on a two-run homer. As was the case for much of the game, that lead didn't last. O'Leary tied the score at nine with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and he'd later score on a passed ball. Ferone then drew a bases loaded walk, before Brett Kiger put the game away with a bases loaded triple to right center field. Kiger would later score on a wild pitch to cap the scoring.

Beloit finished with 16 hits, with Jack Alport's 4-for-4 day leading the way. Irwin added three hits, while Vogel recorded two, while scoring a game-high three runs. Harvey Pena (1-1) earned the win for the Buccaneers, striking out seven batters in 4.1 innings of relief. Aiden Phipps came on to pitch the final two innings, earning the save, while allowing just one hit.

The second game of this scheduled doubleheader was suspended due to darkness with Beloit leading 8-4 entering the bottom of the sixth. That game will be resumed Monday at 2 p.m. in Monmouth, Ill., and will be followed by the third and final game of this series.