GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE
Schaumburg, Ill. - North Park University defeated the Wheaton baseball team in both games of a doubleheader at Alexian Field on Thursday. North Park won the opener 17-14 and the Vikings capped the sweep with a 16-10 victory in game two.
Wheaton is now 20-15 overall and 7-10 in the CCIW. North Park is 24-11 and 13-4 in conference action. the two teams will conclude their three-game series on Saturday with a 1 PM single game at North Park.
(PLEASE NOTE: The start time of Saturday's game has been moved from 7 PM to 1 PM).
The Vikings won Thursday's opener, 17-14 as the guests scored 17 runs, on 16 hits, with two errors and Wheaton scored 14 runs, on 14 hits, with three errors. Sophomore centerfielder
Justin Zeller led Wheaton at the plate in the game, going 3-for-4, with a pair of doubles, two walks, three RBI and a run scored.
Austin Driggers was 2-for-2, with a run scored and a run driven in.
Danny Pyne and
Trey Martin each collected two hits, drove in a run and scored a run.
Each team scored a run in the first inning as Thunder designated hitter
Josh Weaver hit a RBI-single to tie the game at 1-1. Wheaton took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the third inning as Pyne hit a RBI-single and
Drew Golz scored on a Viking error. Wheaton extended its lead to 4-1 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning as Weaver drove in an additional run. North Park gained the lead with an 8-4 advantage as the guests scored seven runs in the top of the fifth inning. Wheaton scored a pair in the bottom of the fifth inning as
Ryan Miller hit a RBI-double to cut the Vikings' lead to 8-6.
North Park added a run in the top of the sixth, however, Wheaton scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Thunder a 10-9 lead. A two-run single by
Charlie Antal and a RBI-single by Martin keyed the four-run inning. Wheaton's lead was short-lived however, as the Vikings scored seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to regain the lead with a 16-10 advantage. North Park extended its lead to 17-10 with a run in the top of the eighth inning. Zeller belted a three-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Vikings' lead to 17-13. Wheaton added an additional run in the bottom of the ninth as Driggers hit a RBI-single, but the Thunder rally fell short in the 17-14 defeat.
North Park pulled off the twinbill sweep with a 16-10 victory in game two as the Vikings scored 16 runs, on 18 hits, with three errors and Wheaton plated 10 runs, on 13 hits, with three errors. Senior shortstop
Brian Kolb led the Thunder offensive output, going 3-for-4, with his fourth home run of the year, three RBI and two runs scored. Antal was 2-for-5, with a his fifth home run of the season, and three runs driven in. Driggers was 2-for-4, with two runs scored and a stolen base. Zeller was 2-for-4 in the game with a pair of doubles. Golz was 2-for-5, with a double and two runs driven in.
Each team touched up the scoreboard in the first inning as North Park scored seven runs in the top half of the opening inning and Wheaton responded with five runs in the bottom of the first. Kolb hit twice in the bottom of the first, hitting a leadoff solo home run over the fence in leftfield and later in the inning he hit a RBI-single to rightfield. Golz and Antal each added a RBI-single in the inning and Pyne drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
North Park scored a run in the top of the second inning and added another in the top of the third to extend its lead to 9-5. Wheaton responded with two runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run to leftfield by Antal to cut the Vikings' lead to 9-7. North Park extended its lead to 11-7 with two runs in the top of the fourth. Wheaton scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to trim the guests' lead to 11-9.
Each team scored a run in the seventh inning as Kolb drove in Wheaton's run on a RBI-single for a score of 12-10 in favor of North Park. The Vikings extended their lead to 15-10 with three runs in the top of the eighth inning and added one more run in the top of the ninth inning to account for the 16-10 final score.