PENSACOLA, Fla. - It was a tale of two games as Spalding baseball opened the Studer's Blue Wahoo Challenge with a 20-3 win over Carroll University followed by a 9-3 loss to the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.

The Golden Eagles sit at 7-2 overall after the split.

GAME ONE – SPALDING 20, CARROLL 3
In Tuesday's game, Spalding took control in the fourth inning and never looked back as they scored at least one run in each of the final four innings.

A Matthew McDowell double placed him on base and a Jacob Spanyer double brought McDowell home for the first run of the day. Spanyer went on to score thanks to an error by the Pioneer shortstop. Two more doubles and a run scored on an error made the lead 7-0 in favor of SU.

A Nicholas Salas sacrifice fly scored Spanyer in the fifth frame. Carroll put their first run up in the bottom of the fifth, but the Pioneers struggled to find any sustained offense.

A burst of scoring by the Golden Eagles was the story of the sixth inning. Spalding put 11 runs on the scoreboard in the frame. Two singles, two fielders choices, a bases-loaded walk, and a Carroll error helped keep the scoreboard rolling for SU.

The final Golden Eagle run of the 20-3 win came in the top of the seventh when Jonathan Lopez found home after a Slade West sacrifice fly.

GAME TWO – SPALDING 3, UW-WHITEWATER 9
The high scoring action did not follow Spalding to day two of the challenge event. 

It was the Warhawks who got the scoring going with an RBI double in the bottom of the second. The Golden Eagles took the lead in the top of the fourth after two errors, with a ground out in between, sent McDowell home followed by a Michael Speck RBI double that scored Spanyer.

Spalding built their lead even more in the top of the fifth. Marcus Collins hit a leadoff double to advance to scoring position. A McDowell single to right, with two outs and Michael Newsom on first thanks to a walk, scored the final Golden Eagle run.

UW-Whitewater scored eight more runs after that point and handed Spalding the team's second loss of the early season.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

• Matthew McDowell went 2-for-3 in the first game and added two RBI.
• Nicholas Salas had a career-best five RBI against Carroll.
• Marcus Collins led the Golden Eagle hitters in the UW-Whitewater game. He went 3-for-4 and scored one run.
• McDowell, Jacob Spanyer, and Michael Speck each tallied one RBI in the second contest.
• In the first game, Clay Burton earned the start on the mound and the win. He pitched five innings and struck out five batters. He allowed four hits and just one run.
• Brady Rutherford and Jake Mueller also spent time on the mound for Spalding in the first contest. Each pitched one inning with each allowing just one hit while Mueller allowed no runs.
• Caleb Collins picked up the pitching loss in game two. He started the contest and pitched 5 1/3 innings.
• Caden Krystofiak and Zach Vogt also pitched for SU in the contest. Krystofiak allowed four hits and two runs in 1 2/3 innings of action while Vogt had two hits and two runs tallied against him over one inning of work.

NEXT FOR SPALDING
Action at the Studer's Blue Wahoo Challenge continues daily through March 19 in Pensacola, Fla.