GAME STATS 1 | GAME STATS 2 PICTURED ABOVE: Michael Kauffman threw a complete game for the victory in game two and Phil Tuttle had a pair of hits in the victory.

Chicago, Ill.- After an up and down afternoon of baseball at the Holmgren Athletic Complex, the Wheaton Thunder baseball team managed to earn a split of a doubleheader against the North Park University Vikings. Wheaton saw a late lead slip away in the midst of an eight-run eighth inning that led to a 9-2 Viking victory in game one. After falling behind 2-0 after the first inning, the Thunder rallied in game two and earned a 6-3 victory to split the doubleheader. The teams will vie for the rubber match of the three-game series tomorrow at 1 PM at Lee Pfund Stadium.

Game one was a pitcher's dual for much of the contest. North Park (12-10, 5-2 CCIW) was able to push across one run in the bottom of the first inning but Wheaton starter Evan Rahn stranded the bases loaded with a big strike out to minimize the damage.

In the Thunder fourth, Kyle Mellinger (PICTURED RIGHT) tied the game with a two-out RBI single.  The 1-1 score would hold until the top of the eighth inning when Desmond Cato singled with one-out. Cato then stole second and advanced to third on a fly out by Matt Krause. On Krause's fly out, North Park's throw challenging Cato at third, skipped out of play allowing Cato to score and put Wheaton ahead 2-1.

That lead would be short served as North Park's Mike Kane led off the bottom of the inning with a towering home run that tied the game. The Vikings followed that run by pushing home seven more to take a 9-2 lead into the ninth. That lead would prove to be the final tally in game one as Nick Vidas finished his complete game effort to earn his fourth victory of the season.

In game two, the Vikings picked up where they left off in the opener by pushing across two runs on five hits in the bottom of the first. Wheaton would cut into the lead in the top of the fifth inning with a Josh Kimmel sacrifice fly that made it 2-1. The Vikings answered in the home half of the fifth with another run to push the lead back to 3-1.

Phil Tuttle's bunt single sparked the Thunder offense in the sixth inning as Tuttle quickly moved around to third and scored on Cato's RBI single. Cato then stole second and would come around to scored on a Jake Portugal single that tied the game at three.

Kimmel (PICTURED LEFT) played the role of initiator in the Thunder seventh by earning a one-out walk, stealing second and moving to third on a ball in the dirt. His base running paid dividends when Tuttle singled home the freshman outfielder with two outs to give Wheaton a 4-3 lead.

The Thunder added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning on an RBI single by Justin Swider and an RBI groundout by Mellinger. Michael Kauffman slammed the door in the ninth inning by inducing a game-ending double play with the tying run at the plate. After being touched for two runs on five hits in the first inning, Kauffman responded by allowing just six hits and one run over the final eight innings while walking just one Viking hitter.