Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team (5-7) opened the home portion of its 2019 schedule on Thursday afternoon with a doubleheader at Ruth Leedy Field against Aurora University. The Spartans defeated Wheaton 7-1 in the first game and Aurora (7-3) completed the sweep with a 10-4 victory (nine  innings) in the second game.
 
Aurora earned a 7-1 victory in the opener as the Spartans scored seven runs, on eight hits, with one error and Wheaton tallied one run, on eight hits, with two errors. Thunder starting pitcher Ashley Carter worked 3-2/3 innings, allowing six runs, including five earned runs. Carter gave up seven hits, with one strikeout. Janette Oh pitched 3-1/3 innings of relief as she allowed one run, on one hit, with one strikeout. Carter was 2-for-3 at the plate with one RBI. Melissa Meiners was 2-for-2  and Oh hit a double for the hosts.

Aurora scored first with a run in the top of the first inning. The Spartans broke the game open with five runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead. Oh led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double and she scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Carter as Wheaton trimmed the Aurora lead to 6-1. The Spartans added a run in the top of the sixth inning.

Aurora defeated Wheaton 10-4 in the nightcap. The Spartans scored 10 runs, on 14 hits with one error and Wheaton tallied four runs, on 10 hits, with one error. Thunder starting pitcher Kelly Thornton worked nine innings in the circle with three strikeouts. Thornton was 4-of-5 at the plate, with two run scored and two RBI. Maddie Craver was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Aurora broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-0 lead. Thornton led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single and she scored three batters later on a single by Craver.

Wheaton rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 4-4 and send it to extra innings. Thornton hit a two-run single and she scored the game-tying run on a two-out single to right field by Craver. The Spartans scored six times in the top of the ninth inning to earn the 10-4 victory.

Wheaton travels to Michigan next week for a pair of doubleheaders. The Thunder will be at Calvin College on March 26 and face Hope College on March 27.