BOXSCORE

Chicago, Ill. - The Wheaton baseball team earned its first-ever bid to the CCIW Baseball Tournament with a 12-11 victory at North Park on Friday night. The winner of next weekend's CCIW Baseball Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The double-elimination tournament will begin on Thursday at top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan.

Wheaton improves to 21-12 overall and 10-8 in the CCIW. The Thunder and Vikings will conclude their three-game series on Saturday with a 1 PM doubleheader at Wheaton's Legion Field. North Park is 16-21 overall and 6-13 in league play.

Wheaton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Matt Bradley hit a one-out single to rightfield. Brian Kolb followed by blasting a long two-run home run to centerfield. A North Park sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second cut the Thunder lead to 2-1. Wheaton plated four runs in the top of the fourth inning to increase its lead to 6-1. Nate Pugh and Danny Pyne led off the inning with singles and Charlie Antal drew a walk to load the bases. A Dan Falvey sacrifice fly drove in Pugh and a single by Luke Munch loaded the bases again. Pyne scored on the next at-bat when Matt Bradley was hit by a pitch. Josh Weaver blasted a two-RBI single up the middle to increase the Thunder advantage to 6-1.

In the top of the fifth inning Pyne was hit by a pitch with one out and Antal followed him in the next at bat with a long two-run home run to centerfield to extend the Thunder lead to 8-1. Matt Bradley led off the top of the sixth with a single and a Kolb single drove him in to give the Thunder a 9-1 lead. North Park scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut Wheaton's lead to 9-5. Three Vikings runs scored in the bottom of the seventh for a 9-8 Wheaton lead.

Munch hit a leadoff single to open the eighth inning. Following a Wheaton out, Kolb stepped up to the plate and one strike was thrown when lightning appeared and the umpires suspended the game for approximately 30 minutes due to rain and lightning. When play resumed, Kolb hit a single and Weaver was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Omar Vargas hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Munch and extend the Wheaton lead to 10-8.

Josh Weaver" width="200" align="right" src="/images/baseball/2008/4/15/weaver_pitch1.jpg" />Pyne, the leadoff hitter for the top of the ninth inning advanced all the way to third base on a Viking throwing error. Falvey was hit by a pitch and stole base. Pyne scored on a well-executed squeeze bunt by Munch as Falvey advanced to third and then scored on a wild pitch to extend the Thunder lead to 12-8. North Park rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to cut the guests' lead to 12-11, however the Vikings' rally ended with a fly out to Munch in left field as the Thunder celebrated the milestone victory.

Weaver (5-2) earned the win in five innings as the Thunder starting pitcher. Weaver (PICTURED RIGHT)  allowed three runs, on two hits with four walks and three strikeouts. John Little pitched 1-2/3 innings of relief, allowing five runs, with four earned runs on four hits, with two walks and a strikeout. Freshman Steve Dennison allowed one run on one hit in 1-2/3 innings of relief as he struck out two. Brandon Bradley pitched the final 2/3 innings of the game, allowing two runs, on two hits, with a walk and a strikeout.

Matt Bradley was 3-for-5, with three runs scored. Kolb was 3-for-5, with his fifth home run of the year, three RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Munch was 2-for-5, with two runs scored and a run driven in.