Naperville, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team split a CCIW doubleheader at No. 22 ranked North Central on Thursday afternoon. Wheaton closed out the twinbill with a 4-3 win on a walk-off single to hand the Cardinals just their third loss of the season. North Central defeated Wheaton 8-0 in the opening game of the day.
Wheaton won today's finale 4-3 as the Thunder scored four runs, on six hits with no errors. North Central scored three runs, on four hits, with three errors.
Kendall Kehres pitched seven innings to earn the victory. The senior allowed three runs, on four hits, with four walks and one strikeout.
Kelly Thornton was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.
Morgan Ryan drove in two runs, including the game-winning RBI; and
Megan Neuhaus scored twice, including the game-winning run. Ryan, Neuhaus,
Melody Rodriguez and
Hannah Clark each hit one single for the Thunder.
North Central scored twice in the top of the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead. The Thunder scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the matchup at 2-2. Neuhaus led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single to center field and Thornton hit a single through the middle of the infield. On the next at-bat, Ryan hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Neuhaus and the Thornton scored on a NCC error to tie the game.
The Cardinals regained the lead with a run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 3-2 advantage. Wheaton won the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a pair of runs.
Hannah Clark opened the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff walk and Neuhaus reached safely on a NCC error. Clark tied the game when she scored on Thornton's RBI-single through the right side of the infield. Neuhaus crossed the plate with the game-winning run on Ryan's RBI-single to give Wheaton the win against the nationally ranked Cardinals.
North Central won the opening game 8-0 as the Cardinals scored eight runs, on 11 hits, with no errors and Wheaton tallied zero runs, on four hits, with three errors. Thornton pitched 4-1/3 innings, allowing eight runs, including three earned runs, on 10 hits.
Maddy Whitmer faced two batters, allowing one hit.
Julia Arthur,
Maddy Bonetto, Ryan and Neuhaus each hit singles in the opener for the Thunder. Neuhaus added a stolen base.
The Cardinals gained a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. NCC scored four times in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead to 6-0. The Cardinals added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to account for the 8-0 final score.
Wheaton hosts Augustana on Saturday for a CCIW doubleheader at Ruth Leedy Field. The twinbill with the Vikings begins at 1:00 p.m.
