Baseball struggles to finish season in top form
Dan Deutschendorf
Staff Writer
Carroll baseball Head Coach Jason Kosanke’s first year leading the Pios has been a bit of a struggle.
After a good looking start at 4-4, the Pios have dropped 14 out of 16, losing 10 out of 12 in conference play.
With only four games remaining on the conference schedule, Carroll finds themselves at the bottom of the North Division of the Midwest Conference standings.
However, they still have the opportunity to finish third in the North Division, something that would be beneficial to build on next year.
“We are a pretty young team and have a lot of guys gaining some valuable experience in their first season,” said Bauer. “We still have the opportunity to finish third in the North division if we finish strong against Lawrence, which would be a marked improvement for the baseball program.”
Lawrence will travel to Waukesha on Saturday May 3 for a doubleheader, and Carroll will ride up to Appleton the next day for a second doubleheader.
Both teams find themselves at the bottom of the conference in ERA. Carroll owns a league-low at 11.95, while Lawrence has the second highest at 6.81.
Carroll has marginal advantage with the bats however at fourth in the league with a team batting average of .296. Lawrence is forty points below and seventh with a .256 batting average.
If the Pios can ride the hot bat of junior Jimmy Marlin, who has a league-high 24 base hits, they could take four games from the Vikings and climb into third place.
Sophomore Ryne Plager put it simply. “Our goal for the end of the season is to sweep the Lawrence series.”
Before the Pioneers finish the conference schedule, they had a chance to test themselves with three non-conference games, including two against nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh.
Their matchup with Marian College in Fond du Lac, WI, was suspended on account of weather on April 24. The game was tied 4-4 in the fifth inning.
The team headed to Oshkosh for a doubleheader on April 26, but found the Titans too much to handle. In the first game, Carroll received a 15-0 shellacking. While the bats heated up in game two, the Titans offense once again unloaded for fifteen runs, dropping Carroll 15-8.
Carroll gained more momentum by winning a shootout with Elmhurst college on April 27. The Pios scored two runs in the top of the eleventh inning to earn a 12-10 win.
The Pios also had a rare opportunity earlier in the season. Carroll traveled to Minneapolis, MN. for a late-night doubleheader against Lindenwood (MO.) University at The Metrodome, home of the Minnesota Twins.
The Pios lost game one 18-1, but bounced back for a tough 3-1 loss against one of the top NAIA powerhouses.
“The trip to Minnesota was a great experience that few teams get to have,” said pitcher Ryne Plager. “We got to play an NAIA powerhouse in the Metrodome and proved that we can play.”
“Obviously judging by our record the season hasn’t gone the way we had hoped,” said Bauer. “[But], we have seen glimpses of how good we can be when we play all three facets of the game, our struggles have mainly come when we don’t.”
The Pios have shown this season that they are capable of good things. If all that comes together against Lawrence, they can end the season strongly.