Clermont, Fla. – The Thunder softball team swept its two scheduled matchups on Wednesday afternoon at the NTC Tournament. Wheaton emerged with a 1-0 victory against Bethany College (W. Va.) in the opening game and the Thunder closed out the action with a 3-2 win against Cornell (Iowa). Wheaton 6-2 will conclude its 10-game trip to Florida on Thursday with matchups against Marywood University and Simmons College.

Wheaton loaded the bases in the top of the fourth inning and senior Katie Thornton drew a walk to score Katie Yergler for what would be the game-winning run. Wheaton tallied one run, on 10 hits with no errors and Bethany had no runs, on three hits with one error.
Thornton, the starting pitcher for the Thunder, worked seven innings to earn the win and improve to 2-2 on the season. She scattered three hits, allowed no runs, struck out seven and walked just one. Thornton was also 2-for-2 at the plate.

Wheaton earned the 3-2 victory against Cornell in the second matchup of the day for the Thunder. Cornell scored one run in the top of the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Wheaton countered in the bottom of the second inning with three runs. Sophie Kent tied the game at 1-1 when she scored on a Rams' error and Yergler dove in a pair of runs to increase Wheaton's lead to 3-1 with a two-run double. Cornell added a run in the top of the fifth inning, but Wheaton's pitching and defense held on for the 3-2 victory.

In the win against the Rams the Thunder scored three runs, on six hits with one error and Cornell plated two runs, on seven hits with two errors. Kendall Kehres (2-1) earned the win in four innings of work. She allowed two runs, including just one earned run, on three hits with two strikeouts. Abby Butler pitched one inning of scoreless relief as she scatter two hits and struck out one batter. Jaclyn McLean worked two innings of no-run relief as she allowed two hits with one strikeout.