PICTURED ABOVE: Kyle Mellinger was three-for-four with three RBIs in Friday night's 7-5 loss to Saint Mary's (Minn.).
Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team dropped its opening game of the 2015 Wheaton Invitational on Friday night in a 7-5 loss to the Saint Mary's University (Minn.) Cardinals. Wheaton took a 4-1 lead into the top of the eighth inning only to see the Cardinals post four runs in the top of the eighth and two more in the top of the ninth come from behind to improve to 11-3 on the season. The loss, Wheaton's fifth straight, drops the Thunder to 4-9 on the year. Wheaton will host a doubleheader on Saturday, facing Buena Vista University at 2 PM and Aurora University at 5 PM.
The Cardinals scored their seven runs on 14 hits with no errors. Wheaton scored five runs on 12 hits with two errors. Ryan Feit took the win for the Cards with four innings of relief, allowing just one run.
Tom Bishop took the loss for the Thunder allowing one unearned run in one inning of relief.
Saint Mary's jumped out to a short-lived early lead with an RBI groundout in the top of the third inning. Wheaton answered quickly with a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning that started on an infield single by
Josh Kimmel.
Matt Schappell (PICTURED RIGHT) followed with a single through the right side and after a double steal,
Kyle Mellinger gave Wheaton the lead with a two-run single.
Johnny Peltz then doubled to left making the score 3-1.
A Mellinger single in the fifth inning scored Schappell to make it 4-1 but the Cardinals would not go quietly.
John Schmitz held the Cardinals at bay until the top of the seventh when Saint Mary's loaded the bases with no outs. Schmitz got a fly out and then shut down the rally by inducing a 1-2-3 double play ball to end the inning. Wheaton responded by loading the bases with one out in the home half but also could not get a run home, opening the door for the Cards to rally.
The visitors put the first three hitters aboard to start the seventh and worked their way to a four-run inning to take a 5-4 lead. The Cardinals used a pair of doubles in the top of the ninth to extend to 7-4, but Wheaton had one more rally left. A leadoff walk by Kimmel turned into a run when Schappell tripled to right-center to cut the lead to 7-5 but Schappell would be stranded there as the Cards sealed the victory.
