Chicago, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team (13-13, 4-2 CCIW) swept North Park (11-13, 1-7 CCIW) on Tuesday afternoon in a CCIW doubleheader against the Vikings. The Thunder won the opener 8-2 and Wheaton completed the sweep with a 5-2 victory in the second game.
Wheaton topped the Vikings 8-2 in the first game as the Thunder scored eight runs, on 13 hits, with three errors and North Park tallied two runs, on three hits, with no errors. Thunder senior
Kelly Thornton (9-6) earned the win in the circle for the Thunder. She tossed seven innings, allowing two runs, on three hits, with no walks and four strikeouts.
Thornton (PICTURED LEFT) helped her own cause at the plate, with a 3-for-3 effort with a RBI and a run scored, hitting a double.
Hannah Clark was 3-for-3, with a double, two runs scored and a RBI.
Melissa Meiners and
Morgan Ryan each went 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored.
The Vikings scored one run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Wheaton broke the game open with five runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-1 lead.
Ashley Carter drove in a run with a RBI-single, while Ryan and Thornton each added a one-run single.
Claire Busch drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and a run scored on Melody' Rodriguez's sacrifice bunt. The Vikings added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to trim Wheaton's lead to 5-2.
The Thunder increased its lead to 6-2 with a run in the top of the sixth inning on Thornton's RBI-double. Clark drove in one run with a double in the top of the seven inning and Carter drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to account for the 7-2 final score.
Wheaton accomplished the sweep with a 5-2 victory in the nightcap. The Thunder scored five runs on seven hits, with two errors and North Park registered two runs, on five hits, with one error. Carter earned her first win of the season with seven innings of work. She allowed two runs, including one earned run, on five hits, with three strikeouts and three walks.
Melissa Meiners was 2-for-3 with a RBI in the game.
Each team scored one run apiece in the second inning as Ryan drove in a run with a RBI-single for the Thunder in the second inning. North Park and the Thunder again scored one run apiece in the third inning. Wheaton's third-inning run came on a sacrifice fly by Thornton as she drove in Carter who led off the bottom of the third inning with a RBI-single.
Wheaton broke the 2-2 tie with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead. Thornton drove in a pair of runs with a two-run double and Meiners hit a RBI-single that brought Thornton home.
Wheaton is scheduled to host Carthage on Thursday at Ruth Leedy Field in a CCIW doubleheader at 3:00 p.m.
