PICTURED ABOVE: Kelly Thornton tallied five hits in Wheaton's doubleheader split at North Park on Friday afternoon.

Chicago, Ill. - The Wheaton softball team earned a doubleheader split on Friday afternoon on the road against North Park. Wheaton fell 5-4 in a wild game one that lasted 10 innings but rallied to claim the nightcap by a score of 3-2. Wheaton is now 5-19 overall and 1-3 in the CCIW. North Park is 5-23 overall and 1-5 in the CCIW.

North Park took the lid-lifter on Friday, scoring five runs on nine hits and committing two errors. Wheaton scored four runs on 11 hits and made one error. Jaclyn McLean took the loss in the circle, allowing one run on three hits in three innings of relief. Kendall Kehres lasted 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and four runs. Haley Jackson went the distance for the Vikings, surrendering 11 hits in 10 innings while allowing four runs, two earned, and walking five baters.

After stranding a pair of runners in the top of the first inning, Wheaton took a 2-1 lead in the top of th esecond inning when Kelly Thornton ripped a two-out, two-run double to right field scoring Maddy Bonetto and Julia Arthur. Wheaton would add to its lead an inning later when Sage Miller led off the inning with a single and came around to score on Arthur's sacrifice fly. North Park cut the lead down to 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning but Kehres was able to pitch out of trouble to preserve the Thunder lead.

Wheaton pushed across an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning when Thornton and Megan Neuhaus successfully executed a double steal with Neuhaus taking second base and Thornton scoring on the play to put Wheaton ahead 4-2. The Thunder threatened to continue to add on to its lead but stranded the bases loaded. Down to their last out in the bottom of seventh, the Vikings rallied for two runs when Jackson helped her own cause with a two-run double to right field to tie the game at 4-4.

In the extra innings, Wheaton threatened in each inning, putting the leadoff batter on base in the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings. However, the Thunder would also strand the potential winning run at third base in all three innings as it was the Vikings that pushed across the last run of the game on a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Kelly Thornton tallied four hits in game one to lead the Thunder offense. Hannah Clark, Sage Miler and Jaclyn McLean each recorded two hits.

In the nightcap, Wheaton scored its three runs on six hits and North Park pushed across two runs on four hits with neither team committing an error. Kelly Thornton earned the win for Wheaton, allowing just two runs on four hits in a complete game effort.

North Park jumped out to the early lead with a run in the top of the first inning but Wheaton would take the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning. A bases loaded by single by Megan Neuhaus tied the game and McLean was hit by a pitch two batters later to push across the go-ahead run. Neuhaus would also drive in Wheaton's insurance run in the fifth inning on a successful squeeze bunt that scored Hannah Clark from third base to make it 3-1 in favor of the Thunder.

North Park was able to manufacture a run in the top of the seventh inning and put the tying run on base, but Thornton was able to work out of trouble to secure the Thunder victory.