PICTURED ABOVE: Emily Bonga was 4-for-8 with five RBI on Tuesday.

Clermont, Fla. – The Wheaton softball team completed its Tuesday competition with a 14-8 victory against the Sage Colleges. Wheaton's day opened with a tough 4-3 loss to Lees-McRae College in eight innings. Wheaton is now 4-2 on the year. The Thunder will face Bethany College (W.Va.) and Cornell College (Iowa) on Wednesday.
 
In Tuesday's opener Lees-McRae scored three runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead against the Thunder. A RBI-single by Wheaton senior Emily Bonga in the bottom of the fourth inning cut the Bobcats lead to 3-1. Bonga again sparked a Wheaton rally with a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3.  Following a scoreless seventh inning the game went into extra innings. The Bobcats drove in a run in the top of the eighth and Wheaton stranded the tying run at third base in the bottom of the eighth inning as Lees-McRae escaped with the 4-3 win.
 
Lees-McRae scored four runs, on six hits with no errors and Wheaton plated three runs, on seven hits with one error in the game. Thunder senior Katie Thornton (1-2) pitched all eight innings. She allowed four runs, with just one earned run, on six hits and three strikeouts. Bonga was 2-for-3 in the game with three RBI. Senior outfielder Katie Yergler was 2-for-4 and Sophie Kent scored twice for the Thunder.
 
Wheaton earned its 14-9 victory against the Sage Colleges thanks to a furious rally. The Gators scored one run in the bottom of the first inning and added six more runs in the bottom of the second to jump out to a 7-0 lead. Wheaton scored three runs in the top of the third inning as Ellen Radandt hit a RBI-single and Christina Sandstedt drove in two runs with a double to cut the lead to 7-3.
The furious Thunder rally continued in the top of the fourth inning as Wheaton scored seven runs. Kelly Thornton drove in two runs with a triple early in the inning and Yergler added a two-run home run. Radandt, Sandstedt and Bonga each hit RBI-singles for the Thunder in the seven-run fourth inning to give Wheaton a 10-7 lead. The Gators cut the Thunder advantage to 10-8 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and added one more run in the bottom of the sixth to trim Wheaton's lead to 10-9.

The Thunder added four insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning to account for the 14-9 final score. The seventh inning was highlighted by RBI-doubles by both Radandt and Sandstedt and a RBI-single by Bonga.

Starting pitcher Kendall Kehres worked 1-1/3 innings and allowed seven runs with four earned runs on six hits. Jaclyn McLean (1-0) earned the win in 3-1/3 innings of relief. She allowed one run, on three hits, with one strikeout. Abby Butler picked up her second save in 2-1/3 innings of relief. Butler allowed just one unearned run, on two hits with two strikeouts.