PICTURED ABOVE: Daniel Bayer allowed just two runs over 7-1/3 innings of work in Wheaton's 4-2 game one win over Illinois Wesleyan
Carol Stream, Ill.- The Wheaton Thunder baseball team opened its final conference series of the season with a doubleheader split against the Illinois Wesleyan Titans. Wheaton was victorious in game one by a score of 4-2 but dropped the night cap 17-10. Wheaton is now 23-16 on the season and 10-10 in the CCIW. Illinois Wesleyan clinches a spot in next week's CCIW Tournament and is now 21-17 overall and 12-8 in the CCIW. Wheaton remains in contention for the final spot in next week's conference tournament. Wheaton can clinch its spot with a victory over the Titans tomorrow and two wins by North Central over Carthage. Wheaton will travel to Bloomington tomorrow morning for the regular season finale with first pitch scheduled for 11 AM.
In Wheaton's game one victory the Thunder tallied four runs on 11 hits with no errors. Illinois Wesleyan scored two runs 13 hits and no errors.
Daniel Bayer earned the victory for Wheaton by allowing two runs on 12 hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 7.1 innings of work.
Nick Johnson earned his second save of the season with a scoreless 1.2 innings of work. In the night cap, Wheaton tallied 10 runs on 15 hits with no errors. The Titans scored 17 runs on 19 hits with one error.
In the lidlifter, the Titans pushed two runs across in the top of the first inning after a two-out rally to take a 2-0 lead. Wheaton would answer in the bottom of the inning when
Kyle Mellinger's sacrifice fly drove in
Nick Mailman, who lead off the inning with a single. The score would remain at 2-1 despite Illinois Wesleyan tallying 10 hits in the first four innings of the game and stranding two runners on base in each of the first four innings. The host Thunder would even the score in the decisive home half of the fifth inning when freshman
Ben Brittain (PICTURED RIGHT) led off the inning with his first collegiate home run to tie the game at two apiece.
Jon Metz followed the dinger with a single to center and came around to score three batters later on Mailman's double to left, giving Wheaton a 3-2 advantage.
Bayer would settle in to carry Wheaton into the top of the eighth inning holding a 3-2 lead before the Titans placed runners at first and third with one out. Johnson would retire the next two hitters to end the threat with Wheaton still clinging to a 3-2 lead.
The Thunder added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Brittain drove home pinch-runner
Josh Kimmel with a double off the right-field wall to give Wheaton a 4-2 lead. Johnson would allow a leadoff double but help from an outstanding diving play by Brittain allowed him to slam the door in the ninth inning to preserve the series-opening victory.
Playing as the visitors in game two, Wheaton opened the game with six consecutive baserunners resulting in four runs in the top of the first inning. A pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the first cut Wheaton's lead in half before the Thunder responded with three more runs in the top of the second inning.
Jacob Zeller struck the defining blow of the inning with a two-strike double into the left-field corner. The Titans would force Wheaton into the bullpen with five runs to tie the game at seven each. Wheaton regained the lead in the top of the third inning when
Jon Metz scored on a wild pitch making it 8-7 in favor of the Thunder. Another five-run inning in the bottom of the fourth gave the Titans their first lead of teh game at 12-8.
Metz opened a fifth inning rally with a one-out triple to the left-center field gap and came in to score when
John McKenna followed with a double down the left-field line. McKenna would score two batters later on a single by Mailman cutting the Titan's lead to two runs. Wheaton looked to climb closer two batters later when Laucella singled through the right side but Trivits was called out on a close play at the plate ending the Wheaton rally trailing 12-10. The Titans added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth and another in the bottom of the eighth to pull away en route to a 17-10 victory.
Wheaton will travel to Illinois Wesleyan for the regular season finale tomorrow at 11 AM.
Â
