WAUKESHA, Wis. - Beloit's baseball team stepped outside conference play Saturday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader at former Midwest Conference foe Carroll University's Frame Park. The Buccaneers lost the first game 11-7, before winning game two by a score of 13-3 in eight innings to earn the split.

The day's first game was a pitcher's duel until the fourth inning when Carroll (15-13) broke a scoreless tie with a two-run triple, which was followed by a throwing error, allowing a third run to score. Beloit (22-9) answered back in the fifth, getting on the board with RBI singles from Connor Vogel and Brett Kiger, followed by a sac fly off the bat of Miles Souza to tie the game. Carroll then took the lead again in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of sac flies.

Beloit again tied the score in the sixth on a throwing error and an RBI single by Souza. Carroll then took the lead again in the bottom of that inning on a two-run double, before the big blow came in the seventh in the form of a three-run homer to right field. The Pioneers added an insurance run with a sac fly in the eighth. Matt O'Leary cranked his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the top of the ninth, but it was not enough to complete the comeback.

O'Leary finished the game a perfect 5-for-5, including two doubles and the home run, which ties the school record for most hits in a single game. He also scored three runs and drove in two more. Souza was also perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Vogel added three hits, while Kiger recorded two base knocks. Another milestone occurred during the game, as senior shortstop Garrison Ferone went 1-for-4 to become just the second player in program history with 200 career hits.

The day's second game was all Bucs, as they got out to an early lead with a four-run second inning, which included RBI singles by Deven Irwin, Jack Alport, and Ferone. Beloit added five more runs the following inning, which included RBI singles by Tyler Hoover, Alport, and Vogel, and a run-scoring double off the bat of Evan Zenger to give the Buccaneers a 9-0 lead. Carroll tried to make things interesting with three runs in the bottom of the third, but that's alll the runs they could muster the rest of the game. Irwin smacked a bases loaded triple that cleared the bags in the fifth, and O'Leary drew a bases loaded walk in the top of the eighth for the game's final run.

Beloit's 12-hit attack was led by Zenger's 3-for-4 performance, which also saw him score three runs. Souza and Irwin each added two hits, with three of those four hits going for doubles. Caleb Lasher (1-0) earned the win, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings of work, while Alex Singh pitched three innings of one-hit ball to earn the save.

The Buccaneers will be back in action on Sunday with another non-conference matchup against a CCIW school, Illinois Wesleyan. That single game will begin at Noon at The Ballpark at Strong Stadium in Beloit, Wis.