BELOIT, Wis. - Beloit's baseball team split a pair of games with Lawrence University on a cold and windy day Wednesday afternoon. The Buccaneers won the first game 12-5 to extend their winning streak to five games, before suffering a rare conference loss in game two by a score of 9-5.

Lawrence (9-16, 5-9 MWC) struck first in the opening game, scoring on an RBI double by Jacob Charon in the top of the first, before adding two more runs in the third. Beloit (21-8, 14-3 MWC) started the game as cold as the weather, before exploding for nine runs on seven hits in the bottom of the third, which saw 14 Bucs come to the plate. Connor Vogel singled in the team's first run, before two runs scored on a Lawrence error to tie the game at three. Beloit then took their first lead of the game when Evan Zenger scored on a fielder's choice. Deven Irwin also crossed the plate on a wild pitch, with the big blow in the inning coming on Jack Alport's first career home run, a two-run shot over the left field fence. The Buccaneers would also score on Vogel's second RBI single in the inning, and on another wild pitch to take a 9-3 lead entering the fourth, which saw Lawrence push across one more run.

Vogel continued his onslaught on the baseball in the fifth, smacking his third home run in the last six games, a two-run shot, giving him five on the season, which is tied for second on the team. Brett Kiger added an RBI double to left in the seventh, extending Beloit's lead to 12-4 to put the game out of reach.

The Buccaneers finished with 13 hits, with two apiece coming from Matt O'Leary, Ferone, and Miles Souza. O'Leary and Ferone also each scored three times. Vogel led the way with a 3-for-4 performance, which included a game-high four RBI. Aiden Phipps picked up the win to improve his record to 7-0 on the mound, as he is yet to lose a start this season. Havey Pena shut the door for his fourth save of the year, allowing just one run on two hits, while striking out three in four innings of relief.

The day's second game again saw Lawrence take the early lead with a run in the first. They added another in the top of the third, before Alport scored on a wild pitch to cut that lead in half in the bottom of that frame. An RBI single by Taylor Freeman gave Lawrence a 3-1 lead in the fourth, but Beloit again cut that lead to one on an RBI single by Souza in the sixth.

Lawrence got that run back in the seventh, before Kiger led off the bottom of the eighth with his school record 11th home run of the season and 24th in his career. The Vikings would put the game away in the ninth however, scoring five runs on three hits in the top of that frame. Beloit scored a pair of runs on a Lawrence error in the bottom of the ninth, but that was all the runs they could muster.

Beloit finished with six hits in game two, led by Kiger's 2-for-4 effort. Thomas Kosakowski suffered the loss, despite allowing just one earned run on five hits and striking out four in five innings of work.

The Buccaneers are scheduled to be in action again on Thursday when they'll play a single non-conference game against Rockford University. That game will begin at 4 p.m. at The Ballpark at Strong Stadium in Beloit, Wis.