Clermont, Fla. – The Thunder softball team split a pair of games on the third day of its 10-game trip to Florida. Wheaton opened Tuesday's play with a 7-5 come-from-behind victory against Saint Vincent College. Franklin College topped the Thunder 7-4 in the final game of the day for the 'Orange and Blue'.
Wheaton rallied for a 7-5 victory against Saint Vincent College on Tuesday morning. The Thunder scored seven runs, on nine hits with one error and Saint Vincent tallied five runs, on eight hits with three errors.
Kelly Thornton started the game in the circle, pitching 5-1/3 innings. She allowed four runs, including three earned runs, on six hits, with one walk and no strikeouts.
Kendall Kehres (1-2) earned the win in 1-2/3 innings. She allowed one run, on two hits.
Thornton was 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored and two RBI. The junior hit a double and a home run in the victory.
Beka Behrens was 2-for-3 with a RBI.
Hannah Clark was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Julia Arthur and
Melody Rodriguez each hit doubles in the win.
Wheaton gained an early lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Clark led off the game with a single and she scored on a RBI-double by Thornton. Thornton gave the Thunder a 2-0 lead when she scored on an error by the Bearcats. SVC scored a run in the bottom of the first inning to trim the Wheaton lead to 2-1.
Thornton hit a leadoff homerun to open the top of the third inning as her round tripper extended Wheaton's lead to 3-1. The Bearcats tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Julia Arthur hit a clutch two-out double in the top of the sixth inning and on the next at bat as Behrens hit a RBI-single to leftfield. Arthur's run gave the Thunder a 4-3 lead, however, SVC scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the contest at 4-4.
Neuhaus drew a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh inning, and Thornton followed with a single. The pair scored on a bunt by Ryan to give Wheaton a 6-4 lead. Ryan scored later in the inning on an SVC error. The Bobcats scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning to account for the 7-5 final score.
The Franklin Grizzlies topped the Thunder 7-4 in the second game of the day for Wheaton. Franklin scored seven runs, on nine hits, with two errors and the Thunder tallied four runs, on six hits, with three errors. Kehres (1-3) worked all seven innings for the Thunder in the circle. She allowed seven runs, with five earned runs, on nine hits, with two walks and one strikeout.
Clark (PICTURED LEFT) was 3-for-3, scoring three runs for the Thunder with a triple to her credit. Ryan hit a double for Wheaton as Thornton and Rodriguez collected singles.
Franklin tallied a run in the top of the first inning to jump out to a 1-1 lead. Thornton was hit by a pitch in the top of the first inning and scored on a Franklin error to tie the matchup at 1-1. Clark scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning to give Wheaton a 2-1 lead.
The Grizzlies scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Clark hit a one-out single in the top of the fifth inning and scored two batters later on a RBI-single by Thornton to cut the Grizzlies' lead to 4-3. Franklin scored three times in the top of the sixth inning to extend its lead to 7-3. Clark led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a triple to right field and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Thornton to account for the 7-4 final score.
Wheaton is off on Wednesday. The Thunder face Alvernia College at 9:00 a.m. (EST) on Thursday and play Eastern Nazarene at 11:30 a.m. (EST) Thursday.
