Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team hosted the CCIW-leading Millikin (18-7, 15-4 CCIW) softball team on Friday afternoon at Ruth Leedy Field. The Thunder defeated the Big Blue 5-4 in the first game and Millikin won the nightcap 9-1. Wheaton is now 11-12 on the season with an 8-9 record in CCIW play.
The Thunder won today's first game, 5-4 as the hosts scored five runs, on eight hits, with no errors and Millikin tallied four runs, on nine hits, with two errors. Thunder starting pitcher
Alese Antonello pitched 5-2/3 innings as she allowed four earned runs, on eight hits, with two strikeouts and a walk.
Emilie Gist (8-5) picked up the win in 1-1/3 innings of relief. Gist allowed one hit and struck out one batter.
Claire Busch was 3-for-4 at the plate for the hosts, including two doubles. She drove in two runs and scored once.
Janette Oh was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a RBI.
Millikin tallied a pair of runs in the top of the second inning to gain a 2-0 lead. Wheaton tied the contest at 2-2 with two runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Ashley Carter drew a leadoff walk to open the bottom of the third inning and she scored two batters latter on a single through middle of the infield by Gist. Gist scored on the next at bat thanks to a double to centerfield by Busch.
The Thunder took a 3-2 lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Oh hit a one-out double to right centerfield and she scored three batters later on a sacrifice fly by
Paige Andrews to give Wheaton its first lead of the game. Wheaton extended its lead to 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Busch led the fifth inning off with a single to right centerfield and she scored on a RBI groundout by Oh.
The Big Blue scored twice in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4. Carter reached safely for the Thunder in the bottom of the sixth inning as the result of a Millikin error. Busch belted a double down the line to drive Carter home for the go-ahead run to give Wheaton the 5-4 lead. Gist pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to stop the Millikin attack and give the Thunder the win.
Millikin won the second game 9-1 as the Big Blue scored nine runs, on 11 hits, with no errors and Wheaton tallied one run, on five hits, with three errors. Gist (8-6) started in the circle for the Thunder as she tossed 3-1/3 innings. Gist allowed six runs, including three earned runs, on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
Elise O'Neil pitched 2-1/3 innings in relief as she allowed three runs, on five hits, with one strikeout.
Sydney Heinrich hit a double for the Thunder in the game as Carter,
Melissa Meiners,
Sarah Major and Oh each hit a single.
Millikin scored five runs in the bottom of the second to take an early lead. The Big Blue added a run in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 6-0.
Wheaton scored a run in the top of the sixth inning to trim the Big Blue lead to 6-1. Heinrich led off the sixth inning with a double and scooted to third base on a wild pitch. Carter grounded out to bring Heinrich home for the Thunder. Millikin added three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Big Blue a 9-1 lead and end the game.
Wheaton remains home on Monday at 3:00 PM to host North Central for a single game against the Cardinals. Monday's matchup is the second game of a doubleheader that began on April 2, but did not start due to a lengthy first game of the twinbill.
