PICTURED ABOVE: Michael McCraith threw seven shutout innings Wheaton's 6-3 victory over Augustana on Saturday afternoon.

Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team split a doubleheader against the Augustana Vikings on Saturday afternoon at Lee Pfund Stadium. Wheaton dropped the first game by a score of 3-1 but rallied to win the nightcap 6-3. Wheaton is now 19-14 overall and 9-8 in the CCIW. The Vikings are 23-8 overall and 9-6 in conference play.

In game one, Wheaton allowed three runs on seven hits with the Vikings making one error. Wheaton scored one run on eight hits with two errors. Daniel Bayer earned the tough loss, allowing three runs, one earned, on seven hits over seven innings of work. Mike Powers earned the win for the Vikings, allowing one run on seven hits over eight innings. Casey Weir worked a scoreless ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.

The Vikings used a two-out single to take the lead in the top of the second inning and added an unearned run in the top of the third and top of the fifth innings. Wheaton scored its run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Brett Albaugh singled home Kyle Trivits. Wheaton threatened further damage in the inning but stranded runners on the corners and could not get closer than 3-1.

In the nightcap, the Thunder pounded out 11 hits to score six runs with one error. Augustana scored three runs on 10 hits with one error. Michael McCraith continued his stretch of dominant pitching, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out five while allowing just eight hits with no walks to improve to 7-1 on the season.

Wheaton took advantage of Augustana pitching in the bottom of the second inning to push two runs across on a bases loaded walk by Seth Meyer and a bases loaded hit by pitch to John McKenna. The Thunder added another two runs in the bottom of the third inning when Ben Brittain (PICTURED RIGHT) brought home Peter Newman with a squeeze bunt and Meyer singled home Johnny Peltz to make it 4-0.

Consecutive doubles by Peltz and Brittain added a Thunder run in the home half of the fifth inning and a sacrifice fly by Trivits in the home half of the eighth brought him Brittain with Wheaton's final run. The Vikings would get on the board with three runs in the top of the ninth inning to account for the 6-3 final score.

Ben Brittain and Brett Albaugh each had three-hit games in the nightcap with Seth Meyer and Johnny Peltz adding two hits apiece. Meyer and Brittain each drove in two runs.

Wheaton will open a three-game series with North Central on Tuesday night at Lee Pfund Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 6 pm.

Note Worthy: With the win in the nightcap, head coach Matt Husted becomes just the second baseball coach in program history with 100 career wins, joining Lee Pfund.