Notre Dame, Indiana – The Thunder softball team faced St. Mary's College (Ind.) in a non-conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon. The Belles swept the Thunder in the twinbill as the Belles won the opener 6-0 and SMC won the second game 10-0.

St. Mary's won the opener 6-0 as the Belles scored six runs, on eight hits with no errors and Wheaton had no runs, on four hits with one error. Wheaton starting pitcher Kelly Thornton allowed six runs, including five earned runs, on eight hits, in six innings of work. Thornton, Morgan Ryan, Melody Rodriguez and Megan Neuhaus each hit singles to account for Wheaton's four hits in the game.

The Belles scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to gain a 2-0 lead and the hosts added a run in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 3-0. SMC scored a run in the bottom of the fifth inning and added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to account for the 6-0 final score.

The Belles secured the sweep with a 10-0 victory in the second game. St. Mary's scored 10 runs, on 16 hits, with zero errors and the Thunder had no runs, on six hits, committing two errors. Thunder starting pitcher Kendall Kehres pitched seven innings, allowing 16 hits, with 10 runs, including nine earned runs. Thornton was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double. Julia Arthur, Sophie Kent, Maddy Bonetto and Neuhaus each hit a single for the guests.

The Belles scored four runs in the top of the first inning to gain the early 4-0 lead. SMC added two runs in the fourth inning and scored four more times in the top of the seventh inning to account for the 10-0 final score.

Wheaton is off until next Friday when Wheaton hosts nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan at 3:00 p.m. in doubleheader to open the 2018 conference schedule for the Thunder.