TOPEKA, Kan. - After losing a tough 11-inning decision in its season opener Saturday, the Grinnell College baseball team roared back in the next contest with a win via the 10-run rule to secure a split with Buena Vista University.

Grinnell scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning of the nightcap and never looked back on its way to earning an 18-8, seven-inning victory. The Pioneers built their lead to 10-3 after two innings and 12-3 after three.

Quinton McNitt '21 tied a Grinnell school record in the game by being hit by three pitches, a mark originally set last year by teammate Julian Cabrera '19. McNitt also scored four runs in the game, eighth-best in program history.

The Pioneers collected 13 hits in the game, including three by Kory Czajkowski '20 and two each by Matthew Inaba '22, Riley Guieb '21 and Jared Booth '21. Booth also had four RBIs.

Jacob Morsch '21 tossed four innings of four-hit ball without surrendering an earned run to pick up the win. He struck out three batters. Seth Bartusek '21 also fanned three in three innings of relief.

After Buena Vista scored three in the top of the first inning, Grinnell went to work as Booth belted a two-run double, Noah Daniel '19 walked with the bases loaded, Will Richman '22 knocked in three runs with a bases-clearing triple and then scored on a wild pitch.

In the second, Booth forced in a run with a groundout, McNitt scored on a passed ball and Czajkowski hit an RBI single. Carson Gampell '20 and Booth each had RBI singles in the third.

Buena Vista scored in the top of the fifth, but the Pioneers put up three runs in the bottom of the frame when Gampell knocked in a a run with a groundout, Czajkowski hit an RBI single and Daniel plated a run with a double. The teams traded runs in the sixth, with Grinnell's coming on a McNitt RBI single.

Buena Vista sliced the gap to 16-8 in the top of the seventh, but the Pioneers ended the game in the bottom of the inning when two runs came across as Guieb reached base on an error.

In Saturday's opener, Buena Vista rallied in the seventh to force an 8-all tie and neither team scored again until the Beavers put up eight in the 11th. Grinnell took a 1-0 lead in the first on Cabrera's sacrifice fly, and grabbed a 4-2 lead in the fourth on Cabrera's solo homer to right, Chad Koehler's '20 RBI fielder's choice and Czajkowski's run-scoring single. Grinnell scored twice in the fifth as Jonathan Gottlieb '22 hit an RBI double to left and Guieb followed with an RBI single to left.

In the sixth, Grinnell took an 8-5 lead as Inaba brought across a run when he reached on an error and Jack Hager '20 plated a run with a double to left-center. For the game, McNitt and Hager each had three hits and Guieb a pair. Ryan Jack '22, the third of four pitchers for the Pioneers, suffered the loss.

Grinnell's defense recorded 18 assists in the game, eighth-best in program history, and the 33 putouts rank ninth. Gampell moved up to seventh on Grinnell's career putout list with 513.

The same two teams play two more games Sunday.