Leesburg, Fla. – The Wheaton softball team opened its 2020 campaign Saturday at The Spring Games in Florida by splitting back-to-back games with Delaware Valley University and Olivet College. Against the Delaware Valley (DelVal) Aggies, the Thunder earned a decisive 8-1 victory, and after an early-innings battle with the Olivet Comets, Wheaton eventually fell by a score of 16-9.
In the season opener against DelVal under sunny skies, the Thunder jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning and two in the second thanks to a combination of wild pitches by DVU and a handful of base hits. The Aggies scored their lone run in the third, but Wheaton's bats came alive in the latter innings as the Thunder scored one more in the fourth and two more in the sixth to earn the victory.
As a team, the Thunder notched eight runs on eight hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Wheaton also played a clean first game defensively, recording zero team errors compared to DelVal's four.
Freshman Emilie Gist threw a complete game in the circle for Wheaton, tossing fourteen strikeouts—including six of the first seven batters she faced—while allowing just three walks, three hits and one run in her collegiate pitching debut. Gist also tallied one hit, one walk, one RBI and three runs at the plate.
Claire Busch drove in three runs for the Thunder, collecting two hits in four plate appearances. Janette Oh went 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk, while Ashley Carter, Elle Lindblad and Abby Boss tallied the other three runs for Wheaton against DelVal.
In the second game of the day, Wheaton and Olivet seemed headed for a game-long slugfest before the Comets pulled away in the last three innings. Olivet took a 5-0 lead over the first two frames, tallying three runs on six hits in the top of the first and two runs on two hits in the top of the second. Not wanting to be outdone, Wheaton's offense shifted into high gear in the bottom of the second, scoring all eight of their runs in just that frame thanks to four hits and two Comet errors.
Estelle Rios kicked off the scoring spree by earning a walk in her first plate appearance, followed by fellow junior Sydney Heinrich who reached on an error before Maddy Bonetto singled to load the bases. Boss was hit by a pitch (her third HBP of the day) to score Rios, Oh singled to center to score Heinrich and Bonetto, and then Boss scored a few pitches later on a throwing error as Oh stole second.
A few batters later, with two outs, bases loaded, and a new pitcher for the Comets, Rios returned to the plate for the second time in the inning and launched a grand slam over the fence in right center field, scoring Elise O'Neil, Busch, and Carter.
Unfortunately for Wheaton, Olivet's offensive power was not done for the day, and the Comets scored three more in both the third and fifth innings, one in the sixth, and another four in the seventh to clinch the dominant win.
Wheaton's nine runs came on eight hits, while Olivet earned its 16 runs on 22 hits. Both teams had two defensive errors.
Rios' two-run, four-RBI inning was a highlight at the plate for Wheaton, as was Busch's 3-for-4 performance. Four other Thunder batters collected hits in the contest, including Oh (1-for-3 with one walk and two RBI) and O'Neil (1-for-3 with one run, one walk and one RBI).
Carter started in the circle for Wheaton and faced 34 batters over four and one-third innings, allowing 17 hits, 11 earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Junior Maddy Whitmer tossed the final two and two-thirds innings for the Thunder, facing 16 batters and allowing five hits, five runs (four earned), and two walks.
Wheaton softball will enjoy a day off in Florida on Sunday, before the 1-1 Thunder return to action Monday morning in Clermont, Fla. Wheaton will face Becker College at 9:15 a.m. (EDT) and Ursinus College at 11:30 a.m. (EDT).
