BELOIT, Wis. - Beloit's baseball team proved why they earned hosting rights for this weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament, defeating Grinnell College 17-2 in the first game of the double-elimination event, which breaks a single season school record with their 29th win of the season. The Buccaneers would battle Chicago (and Mother Nature) that afternoon, as their second game of the day against the Maroons was suspended until Saturday due to a torrential downpour.

Despite Beloit's lopsided victory, it was Grinnell (18-20) who scored first, as the second batter of the game, Sean Tashjian, smacked a solo home run. That lead lasted until the bottom of the second when Miles Souza deposited the ball over the left field wall for a two-run homer, his first of the season. The Bucs added to their lead in the third, scoring on an error and a Souza double down the right field line. They would add two more runs in the fourth, as Connor Vogel drew a bases loaded walk and Matt O'Leary scored on a wild pitch.

Beloit (29-11) then put the game away in the sixth, scoring 11 runs on five hits in an inning that saw 15 Buccaneer batters come to the plate. The first run of that inning came when Vogel scored on a wild pitch. Souza then drove in another run with a single to left, which was followed by a bases loaded walk to O'Leary. Garrison Ferone added an RBI single, before Jack Alport crossed the plate on a balk. Brett Kiger added an RBI, drawing a bases loaded walk, before Ferone crossed the plate on an error. Souza drove in another run with a single to right, and he'd later cross the plate on a wild pitch. Deven Irwin also drove in a pair of runs in that frame with a double to left center.

Souza led Beloit with four hits and five RBI on the day. O'Leary, Vogel, and Alport each finished with two hits apiece. Aiden Phipps (10-0) continued his dominant season by remaining undefeated on the year, allowing just one run on two hits in six innings of work. He retired the last 17 batters he faced after two of the first three Grinnell batters of the game reached base safely.

That win advanced Beloit to the winner's bracket where they took on University of Chicago. With the Buccaneers leading 11-5 in the top of the sixth, the umpires halted the game after a steady downpour. The game will be completed Saturday at 9:45 a.m. at The Ballpark at Strong Stadium in Beloit, Wis. The winner of that game advances to the MWC Championship Game at 3 p.m., while the loser will play an elimination game against Ripon College at Noon.