Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team opened the 2021 season on Friday afternoon against the University of Chicago at Ruth Leedy Field. The Thunder beat the Maroons 6-2 in game one and the scheduled second game was called due to darkness in the fourth inning.
Wheaton tallied six runs on seven hits on their way to victory in the opening game and Chicago scored two runs on seven hits. The Thunder recorded two errors and left seven on base, while the Maroons committed three errors and left 10 runners stranded. Thunder starting pitcher, sophomore
Emilie Gist, pitched a complete game, striking out three and walking four in her season debut. Junior
Claire Busch was 2-for-3 at the plate with a single, a double, and an RBI. Freshman
Alex Hilton also went 2-for-3, with a pair of singles and one RBI. Freshman
Paige Andrews brought in two runs on a double in two at-bats.
Chicago scored first in the top of the second inning, off of two errors and an RBI double, but the Thunder evened things up in their half of the inning, scoring on an error after back-to-back singles by Hilton and Busch. The Maroons took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, but that would be the last time a Chicago player scored in the game. Wheaton came up big in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring four runs on four hits in their half of the frame. Senior
Melissa Meiners led off the inning with a double, followed by another single from Hilton and a double from Busch. The Thunder added two more runs when Andrews doubled to left field and scored Busch and freshman
Grace Bentley.
Gist and the Thunder defense held the Maroons scoreless for the rest of the game, and Wheaton added one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring the score to 6-2. The final run came when junior
Sarah Major tallied an RBI, scoring freshman
Elizabeth Meyer from third on a fielder's choice.
Game two of the doubleheader was postponed due to darkness after 3 ½-innings. The Thunder led 4-1 at that time, but the result of the contest will not be official.
The Thunder will continue their season by traveling to Benedictine University for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 16.
