GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE

Moline, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team dropped a pair of games on Saturday in a CCIW doubleheader at Augustana. The Vikings survived a ninth-inning Wheaton rally to win the opener 6-5 in 12 innings and Augustana was a 16-1 winner in seven innings in the second game.

Wheaton is now 8-11 overall and 0-3 in the CCIW. Augustana, ranked 15th in Division III by D3baseball.com, is now 13-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Wheaton will remain in conference play on Tuesday when it hosts Carthage College in a single game at 1 PM at Lisle-Benedictine Sports Complex.

In the opening game, Wheaton rallied from a 5-1 deficit by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 5-5 and send it to extra innings. The Vikings scored the game-winning run with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 12th inning to earn the 6-5 victory. Augustana scored six runs, on nine hits, with three errors and Wheaton plated five runs, on 10 hits, with three errors.

Thunder starting pitcher Trey Martin worked 11 innings, with a no decision. Martin allowed five runs, with three earned runs, on seven hits, with six strikeouts. Martin held the Vikings without a hit in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings. Freshman Evan Rahn (0-3) took the loss in 2/3 of an inning of relief as he allowed one run, on two hits.

Thunder catcher Austin Driggers was 3-for-6, with two runs scored. Danny Pyne and Martin each went 2-for-5.

After three scoreless innings to open the game, Wheaton took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the fourth inning as Driggers hit a leadoff single and three batters later he scored on a ground out by Justin Swider. The Vikings plated a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1. The Vikings took a 2-1 lead with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Vikings extended their lead to 5-1 with three runs, including two unearned runs, in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Wheaton put together a furious four-run rally in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 5-5. Freshman Desmond Cato hit a RBI-single to begin the Thunder rally, Taylor Howe followed with a two-run double and Pyne hit a RBI-single to tie the game at 5-5. Martin continued his strong work on the mound in the bottom of the ninth, with a three-up-and-three-down inning to send the game to extra innings. Wheaton left four runners on base over the next three innings and the Vikings would score the game-winning run with two outs on a walk-off single by T.J. O'Donnell.

Augustana used a pair of six-run innings in the second game to win the nightcap, 16-1. The Vikings scored 16 runs, on 14 hits, with one error and Wheaton plated five hits, with two Thunder errors.

Senior starting pitcher Steve Dennison (1-2) took the loss in two innings. He allowed seven runs, with five earned runs, on five hits. Luke Ross worked 2 2/3 innings of relief as he allowed three runs, with two earned runs, on five hits, with two strikeouts. Jimmy McDonald pitched 2/3 of an inning as he allowed four runs, on three hits and John Pohl tossed 2/3 of an inning as he allowed two runs, on one hit.

Wheaton's five hits were the result of a double by Ryan Miller and singles by Drew Golz, Trevor Karause, Driggers and Pyne.