Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - A big power day from Lesley Guenard helped the Wheaton College softball team beat Hope College 10-5 in the first game of their doubleheader on Thursday. The second game ended in a 3-3 tie due to time constraints.

The Thunder improve its record to 7-4-1 after entering the day on a five-game win streak. The Flying Dutch runs its season record to 3-2-1.

The balmy afternoon promised to be high scoring with a blustery wind blowing straight out to left field. It didn't take long for the hitters to utilize the weather advantage either. In the first inning of game one, Guenard blasted a homer to left center that hit the scoreboard with full force to give Wheaton an early 3-0 lead.

Hits kept coming in the fourth inning for the Thunder as the hosts scored six runs in the frame. RBI singles from Ainsley McCullough and Elizabeth Perez brought the runners in and Guenard drew a bases-loaded walk to plate another. A Hope fielding error set up more scoring, this time coming from Jenna Lawrenz with a two-run double to left field.

The Flying Dutch tried to get back in the game with three runs in the fifth inning and one more in the sixth. But Wheaton held its advantage, adding a sixth-inning insurance RBI from Amanda Mattocks.

McCullough was the winning pitcher with five innings of relief. She allowed eight hits, four runs, one walk and struck out seven. Guenard finished the game going 2-for-3 with four RBI. Lawrenz hit 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Katie Iser, McCullough and Perez all added two hits each. The Thunder tallied 10 hits overall.

Game two featured much less offense on both sides. Hope starting pitcher Andrea Reinecke was wild in the early going, but Wheaton's hitters couldn't figure out a way on base, frequently pounding the ball into the dirt for groundouts. Meanwhile, Danielle Schmidt came out firing on the mound with fastballs and struck out four-straight batters in the first two innings.

The Flying Dutch started to get a bead on Schmidt in the third inning with three-consecutive hits, including a two-run double and an RBI single. However, Wheaton rallied back in the fourth inning thanks to Guenard, who smacked another home run, this time just over the left field fence.

Hope was still up 3-2 in the sixth when Lawrenz came through with a two-out RBI single that evened the score. The game was subsequently called in the seven inning due to time constraints, resulting in a tie (Softball Official Rule 6.16.4.1).

Schmidt struck out eight in six innings of work in the circle. She allowed four hits, three runs and five walks. The Thunder were held to six hits, with two coming from Kelli Hennessey.

The Thunder continues its homestand vs. Lake Forest College at 1 PM on Saturday.