GAME STATS Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team dropped a 9-6 decision against Benedictine University (8-3) on Wednesday afternoon at Lee Pfund Stadium. Today's contest was the second game in as many days between the two DuPage County programs. Wheaton (4-10) will begin conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Illinois Wesleyan. Friday's season-opener between the Thunder and the Titans at 5 PM has been moved to Wheaton's Lee Pfund Stadium due to field conditions at Illinois Wesleyan's Jack Horenberger Field. Wheaton and IWU will wrap up the series on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 PM on Saturday.

Benedictine defeated Wheaton in today's contest as the Eagles scored nine runs, on 11 hits, with one error and Wheaton plated six runs, on 15 hits, with no errors. Wheaton scored the first three runs today, however, for the second straight day the Eagles scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning to spark a rally and grab the lead from the Thunder.

Junior Justin Swider was 3-for-5 at the plate, with three runs scored, a RBI and a stolen base. Phil Tuttle was 2-for-4, with a walk. Michael Kauffman, John Johnson and Matt Schappell each went 2-for-5. Johnson drove in a pair of runs, while Schappell and Tuttle each hit doubles.

Thunder starting pitcher Peter Moran (0-1) took the loss in 4-2/3 innings of work as he allowed five runs, on seven hits, with two strikeouts. Moran held the Eagles to just two hits and no runs through the first four innings. In the fifth inning Benedictine amassed five hits off of the freshman to spark the key rally. Freshman reliever Tom Bishop worked one inning of relief, allowing four runs, on two hits, with one walk. Wes Peterson tossed 1-1/3 innings of relief, allowing no runs, on two hits, with one walk and one strikeout. Matt MaLossi pitched two innings of scoreless relief, with no hits and two strikeouts.

Wheaton scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning as Kyle Mellinger hit a one-out single and later scored on passed ball and Johnson drove in a run with a RBI-single. A RBI-double down the leftfield line by Schappell in the third inning increased Wheaton's lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning. Benedictine scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning and added four more in the sixth to increase its lead to 9-3. Wheaton added a run in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a RBI-single by Swider to cut the Eagles' lead to 9-4. Wheaton attempted a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Johnson and Jake Portugal each hit one-run singles to cut the guests' lead to 9-6 with one out. However, Benedictine got out of the jam and the game with a key double play to end the contest.