Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team couldn't keep pace with Elmhurst University on Tuesday night as Wheaton fell 14-4 in CCIW action. The loss drops Wheaton 5-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Elmhurst improves to 9-6 overall and 5-4 in CCIW play. Wheaton will return to conference action on Friday afternoon with a 1 pm doubleheader at Millikin.

Elmhurst tallied runs in each of the first four innings to pull away for an early lead it would never surrender. The Bluejays plated 14 runs on 17 hits and Wheaton scored its four runs on six hits with both teams committing one error.

Both teams plated two runs in the first inning with Elmhurst using back-to-back two-out home runs to score the first two runs of the game. Wheaton answered quickly in the bottom of the inning when Ben Weaver's bunt single loaded the bases, but the throw challenging Weaver at first skipped into right field allowing Matthias Haggerty to score and put runners on second and third with no outs. Graham Core came in to score shortly thereafter on a wild pitch tying the score at 2, but Wheaton would squander its opportunity to take the lead by stranding Weaver at third.

The Bluejays recaptured the lead with a run in the top of the second and added two runs in the top of the third when Paul Fomby homered for the second time in the game to make it 5-2 Elmhurst. Core's team-leading ninth stolen base of the season set up a Cale Lewis sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 5-3, but the Bluejays once again extended their lead with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. AJ Dhus prevented further escalation by inducing a double play ball to escape an inherited bases loaded jam to keep the lead at 8-3.

Dhus gave the Thunder a chance by slowing the Bluejay offense with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief work, allowing Wheaton to pull closer again in the bottom of the sixth inning when Harrison Stanton's triple into the right field corner scored Mason Packwood to pull within 8-4. The Bluejays put the game away with four runs in the top of the seventh inning and added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull away for the 14-4 victory.

Ben Weaver was the lone Thunder starter with two hits on the night. Graham Core finished with two runs scored.