Two goals in either half from Barnsley saw Dale beaten 4-0 at the Crown Oil Arena.
Headers from Brad Potts and Kieffer Moore saw the visitors lead 2-0 at the break, before Moore added a further two after the break to complete the scoring and take home the match ball.
Keith Hill made four changes to his starting line-up from Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Fleetwood Town. MJ Williams, Calvin Andrew, Matty Done and Andy Cannon came in as Joe Rafferty, Ollie Rathbone, Bradden Inman and Aaron Wilbraham settled for a place on the bench.
The visitors came into the game undefeated and having not conceded a goal from their first three league games, and they were inches away from take the lead inside the opening three minutes when Moore crashed a header off the crossbar.
The Tykes started strongly and they saw a Dimitri Cavare effort deflected inches wide, before Tom Bradshaw’s flick from Mamadou Thiam’s cross was held by Josh Lillis.
Dale came close on a couple of occasions midway through the half when Done headed over Ian Henderson’s cross after he had turned his defender on the right wing, before Cannon’s cross needed to be turned over Barnsley stopper Adam Davies.
The visitors struck the woodwork for a second time just before the half hour mark when Alex Mowatt’s effort from just outside the area struck the outside of the post, but they did take the lead 10 minutes before the break.
Cavare broke through the middle and played the ball out wide which was crossed to Potts at the back post, who headed home.
They doubled their lead seven minutes later, when a cross from the left side this time was nodded home by Moore at the back post.
Lillis turned wide a Potts effort on the stroke of half-time to keep Dale within two heading into half-time, when Rafferty replaced Jim McNulty for the start of the second-half.
The substitute had a great chance to half Dale’s deficit within minutes of the restart, but saw his effort at the back post blocked behind after Kgosi Ntlhe’s cross had found its way through the area.
From the resulting corner, the visitors broke and added a third goal. They came through the middle and worked it to Moore on the left side of the area, who stepped inside and finished to the far post.
Ntlhe saw a header from a Cannon corner fly over after a great leap from the full-back, before Lillis, who appeared to be struggling with a knock, was replaced by on-loan stopper Magnus Norman.
He could do nothing to prevent Moore sealing his hat-trick and Barnsley’s fourth, when he again stepped inside from the left side of the area and finished to the far post.
Rafferty’s goal line clearance denied Bradshaw adding a fifth with a back post header, before substitute goalkeeper Norman turned a Potts effort around the post and held a Moore flick at the near post.