PICTURED ABOVE: Brett Albaugh went 3-for-5 with three RBIs including a two-run home run in Wheaton's 10-8 win over North Central on Tuesday night.

Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team rode an early offensive outburst to a key CCIW victory on Tuesday night at Lee Pfund Stadium. Wheaton scored in five of the first six innings and held on late to defeat North Central 10-8 in the first of their three-game series. With the victory, Wheaton is now 20-14 overall and 10-8 in the CCIW. North Central falls to 15-13 overall and 10-6 in the conference. Wheaton will next be in action on Friday night when the Thunder travel to Elmhurst for a 6 pm matchup before Wheaton and North Central conclude their three-game set on Saturday with a noon doubleheader in Naperville.

Wheaton pounded out 14 hits, scoring 10 runs, with one defensive error. North Central scored its eight runs on 12 hits with three errors. Christian Bolhuis earned the victory, allowing six hits and one run while striking out five in six innings of work. Nick Johnson closed the game, allowing one hit and striking out two in 1.1 innings of work for his third save of the season. With his seventh career save, Johnson passed Ed McCaskey and John Little to establish a new career saves record. Russell Hoh was saddled with his first loss of the season for the Cardinals, allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits over three innings of work.

The Thunder offense set the tone for the night in the bottom of the first when Nick Mailman led off the inning with a single and stole second base. Mailman moved to third on a single by Jacob Zeller and scored by stealing home when Zeller stole second base. Zeller came in to score two batters later on a fielder's choice off the bat of Brett Albaugh, giving Wheaton a 2-0 lead. After a North Central homer in the top of the second inning, Wheaton took advantage of an errant pickoff throw when Clay Morrison and John McKenna moved into scoring position with no outs. Seth Meyer would replace Morrison on the bases and came in to score on Mailman's single to right field. Zeller then plated McKenna on the next pitch with a successful squeeze bunt, pushing the lead to 4-1.

Johnny Peltz (PICTURED RIGHT) pushed the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the third inning with a towering home run to left field and Wheaton tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Peter Newman drove in two runs with a single to right field.

Bolhuis would find himself in trouble in the top of the fifth inning when the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs, but Bolhuis stomped out the rally with a strikeout to keep the lead at 7-1. That lead would hold until the bottom of the sixth inning when Albaugh drilled a two-run home run to left field, pushing the lead to eight runs.

North Central's rally kicked into gear in the top of the seventh inning when the Cardinals struck for five runs off the Thunder bullpen to cut the lead to 9-6 with runners on first and second base and two outs. Kyle Trivits came up with the marquee defensive play of the night, throwing out a Cardinal runner at second trying to advance on a wild pitch to end the inning. Wheaton threatened with an answer in the home half of the inning, loading the bases with two outs, but could not find the big hit to add to its lead. The Cardinals took advantage in the top of the eighth inning, utilizing a two-out rally to score two more runs and get within a run at 9-8.

Wheaton added a key insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Albaugh scored on a Ben Brittain single after lining a double off the fence in center field. Johnson would shut the Cardinals down in order in the top of the ninth to secure the Thunder victory.

Peltz and Albaugh led the Thunder offense with three hits apiece. Albaugh drove in three runs and scored twice with Peltz driving in one run and scoring one run. Peter Newman drove in two runs and Zeller, Mailman , and Brittain each added an RBI. Mailman scored two runs as part of a two-hit night.