PICTURED ABOVE: Ty Hoeksema allowed just one run over seven innings in Wheaton's 9-1 victory over Alma on Saturday.

Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team wrapped up the first consecutive weekend round robin tournaments on Saturday by splitting a doubleheader against Alma and Aurora. In the opener, Wheaton defeated Alma 9-1, but fell to Aurora 10-5 in the nightcap. Wheaton finishes the weekend with a record of 7-5. Alma falls to 5-5 overall with its loss while Aurora is now 10-4 on the season.

Wheaton's offense gave the Thunder early breathing room in the opener striking for three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Thunder used an aggressive start, stealing four bases in the first inning, to take the lead on Johnny Peltz' RBI single. Two more runs scored when Seth Meyer reached on an error later in the inning.

Nick Mailman's two-out double in the bottom of the second, was followed by a stolen base and an RBI single by Jesse Welch to make it 4-0 in favor of the Thunder. Meyer took advantage of a dropped third strike and later scored on a Graham Core single to give Wheaton a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Alma cut into the Thunder lead with a run in the top of the fifth inning, but Wheaton responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning behind RBI doubles by Core and Welch. Two more runs came home in bottom of the eighth inning when Connor Hartman singled home Mailman and then came around to score on Brittain's double.

Ty Hoeksema was in complete control on the mound for the Thunder, holding the Scots to one run on just three hits while striking out eight batters and issuing no walks over seven innings. Grant Howell finished the game for Wheaton, striking out four batters over two innings of scoreless relief.

Mailman led a 15-hit attack by the Thunder offense, hitting a double and a triple, stealing two bases and scoring three runs. Ben Brittain and Seth Meyer also stole two bases apiece with Johnny Peltz, Evan Ogden, and Luke Roudabush also recording a stolen base. Brittain tallied three hits with Welch, Peltz, and Core also tallying multi-hit games.

The Wheaton offense continued to roll early in the second game, giving Wheaton a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Aurora cut teh lead in half with a run in the top of the second, but it was a six-run, two-out rally in the top of the fourth inning that gave the Spartans control of the game. Aurora would add three more runs in the top of the fifth to take a commanding 10-2 lead.

Wheaton chipped away at the lead, adding a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Peltz singled home Core. Seth Meyer tripled and scored on Clay Morrison's ground out to cut it to 10-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brittain would tally Wheaton's final run in the bottom of the ninth by singling and scoring on Joel Pierce's RBI single.

Wheaton will next be in action on Friday, March 23, when the Thunder play host to Concordia-Moorhead at 5 pm. Wheaton will also host Beloit (2 pm) and Dominican (5 pm) on Saturday, March 24.