PICTURED ABOVE: Kyle Mellinger was 1-for-2 with a RBI and a pair of walks on Friday at North Central.
Naperville, Ill. – The Wheaton baseball team (10-16, 5-5 CCIW) opened a key three-game series with North Central College (14-10, 7-3 CCIW) on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals picked up a 13-3 win at North Central's Zimmerman Stadium on Friday as the series moves to Wheaton's Lee Pfund Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.
North Central earned today's win with 13 runs, on 16 hits with no errors and Wheaton tallied three runs, on five hits with two errors.
Kyle Mellinger and
Matt Krause each hit doubles for the Thunder.
Matt Schappell,
Johnny Peltz and
Kyle Trivits each hit singles for the guests.
Thunder starting pitcher (1-2)
John Schmitz worked six innings. He allowed five runs, including four earned runs, with six hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
Nick Johnson allowed four runs, on four hits with one walk and
Tom Bishop tossed three innings as he allowed four runs, on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
North Central scored an unearned run on a steal of home in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals added four runs in the bottom of the third inning to increase the hosts' lead to 5-0. North Central added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to give NCC a 9-0 lead. Wheaton scored in the top of the fifth inning on a
Kyle Mellinger double to cut North Central's lead to 9-1.
The Cardinals added four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to increase its lead to 13-1. Peltz hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh inning for a 13-3 North Central lead, however, the Cardinals shut the door on the Thunder as the hosts won via the 10-run rule.
