GAME #1 BOXSCORE
GAME #2 BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. – The Thunder softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader with Concordia-Chicago on Tuesday afternoon at Ruth Leedy Field on the Wheaton campus. Wheaton shut out the Cougars, 2-0 in the opener and the Thunder won the nightcap 10-3. Wheaton (6-4) will return to action on Thursday at 12:30 PM with a doubleheader against Hope College.

Wheaton was a 2-0 victor in the first game as the Thunder scored two runs, on six hits, with one error and Concordia scored no runs, on four hits, with one error. Junior starting pitcher Ainsley McCullough (2-1) had a strong outing as she held the Cougars scoreless, on four hits, with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Senior Katie Iser was 2-for-4, with a run driven in.

Freshman Stacey Cladis led off the bottom of the third inning for Wheaton with a double and Suzanne Teuben pinch ran for her. Two batters later Lesley Guenard drove Teuben home with a sacrifice fly to give Wheaton a 1-0 lead. The Thunder extended its lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth with another run. Junior Jenna Lawrenz reached base on a leadoff error and then stole second base. Lawrenz scored on a RBI-single by Iser. McCullough's strong pitching made the Thunder 2-run lead hold.

Wheaton won the second game, 10-3 as the Thunder scored 10 runs, on 12 hits, with one error and Concordia-Chicago plated three runs, on 11 hits, with four errors. Freshman Sarah Hammit (1-2) earned the victory in four innings of work as she allowed two runs, on seven hits, with two walks. Sophomore Danielle Schmidt tossed three innings of relief as she allowed one unearned run, on four hits, with four strikeouts and a walk. Guenard was 3-for-4, with three doubles as she drove in four runs, with a run scored. Iser was 2-for-4, with two runs, a RBI and a stolen base.

The Cougars scored one run in the top of the third inning, however, Wheaton countered with three runs in the bottom of the third inning; highlighted by a RBI-double from Guenard. Wheaton increased its lead to 5-1 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Both runs scored on a RBI-double by Guenard. A two-run single by Ainsley McCullough and a one-run single by Iser in the bottom of the third inning stretch Wheaton's lead to 8-1.

Concordia scored a run in the top of the fourth for an 8-2 Wheaton lead. Wheaton scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase its lead to 9-2. The Cougars added another run in the top of the fifth inning as the Thunder held a 9-3 advantage. Kelli Hennessey led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double to leftfield and on Wheaton's next at-bat, Guenard hit her third double of the game to extend the hosts' advantage to 10-3.