Tucson, AZ -- Losing streaks are never enjoyable, but the Wheaton baseball team sure had fun ending theirs. After multiple defeats to begin their Arizona spring break trip, the squad was due for a comfortable victory, and they began the day by earning exactly that. The Thunder easily dispatched of Northland College in a shortened game, before mounting a ninth-inning charge to hold off Dakota Wesleyan in the afternoon. The two wins from today's action takes Wheaton's record to 3-6 and gives them a much-needed jolt of confidence ahead of tomorrow's finale and next weekend's Wheaton Invitational. 

The first of Friday's matchups was an exercise in superiority for the Thunder. After two scoreless innings to begin their contest with Northland and three straight outs in the top of the third, the Thunder batters went to work. Harrison Stanton worked his way up to third base, and Ben Weaver promptly earned an RBI by singling to the shortstop. After breaking the deadlock, Wheaton put two more runs on the board when Weaver and Joe Klein crossed home plate following an errant throw by the Lumberjack catcher and a Mason Diel deep single, respectively. This three-run cushion proved sufficient for Wheaton to earn their first win of the week, as JD Van Hook and his fielders only allowed four hits through all seven innings of play, and Northland never threatened to chip away at the Thunder's lead.

Wheaton already held a comfortable 8-0 margin heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, and their advantage ballooned up to 14 after a clinical showing in the batter's box. Rutledge Feltel and Noah Yi got their names on the scoresheet, before pinch hitter Tim Whitfield drove in three runs courtesy of a double to right center field. The freshman soon crossed the plate himself after fellow rookie Zach Leadbetter popped off a single to conclude Wheaton's offensive outpouring. Northland finally registered a run on the last sequence of the game to spoil the shutout party, but the final result was never in doubt, and Wheaton got the chance to celebrate a well-deserved victory.

Van Hook played all seven innings on the mound and tallied the same number of strikeouts. Walking two players and conceding only four hits and one run, the freshman earned his first collegiate victory in swashbuckling style. Joe Klein and Mason Diel both put up two hits and two RBIs, while the former scored twice himself. Ben Weaver and Harrison Stanton combined for six runs, three hits, and two RBIs to help steer the Thunder attack in Friday's win. Graham Core also registered a pair of hits and runs to go with an RBI. Noah Yi scored twice and collected a pair of hits, and he was joined by Matthias Haggerty on the latter count. The final box score lines left no doubt as to the one-sided nature of the contest, with Wheaton tallying 15 hits to Northland's four and enjoying an error-free performance in contrast to the Lumberjacks' three mistakes.
 

---

Rejuvenated by their smooth sailing on Friday morning, the Thunder knew that a stiffer test awaited them in the second matchup of the day. NAIA opponents Dakota Wesleyan presented a unique challenge, and this contest was more about the Wheaton squad's strength of will than a clear disparity in talent.

But just like the game against Northland, this battle also got off to a slow start in terms of scoring. In fact, only two hits were registered before the scoring was opened in the top of the fourth inning. Unexpectedly, it was not the team who posted these hits that seized the game's first lead. Wheaton's fourth series at the plate began with a walk, and a failed conversion on a fielder's choice allowed Graham Core and Harrison Stanton to each remain on base. This was all the invitation that Ben Weaver needed. The junior stepped up to the plate and calmly blasted off a triple that hit the right field wall, giving his teammates enough time to reach home and open the scoring. But things were not quite as rosy for the Thunder in the following minutes, as three of the next four Wheaton batters were sent packing and Dakota Wesleyan answered Wheaton's jab with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame.

Not to be outdone, the designated visitors for today's game turned around and added five more runs in the top of the fifth inning to seize the lead back from the Tigers. First, Graham Core brought Tyler Weiner home with an RBI single down the left field line. Then with Kyle Wu and Core standing at second and first, respectively, Ben Weaver repeated his trick from the fourth inning by cranking another two-RBI triple out to right field to push Wheaton back in front at 5-4. After Joe Klein was struck by a pitch and joined Weaver on the bags, Mason Diel decided that he wanted in on the fun. The dual-sport rookie cracked off a double down the left field line and sent his pair of teammates scampering across the pentagon to extend Wheaton's advantage to three runs. This flurry was enough to get Dakota Wesleyan's coaching staff to make a pitching change, and the subsequent reliever crucially reduced the damage by blanking the next two Thunder batters. The Tigers added one run in the bottom half, and the game was tantalizingly poised at 7-5 heading into the final four innings.

Another Ben Weaver RBI restored Wheaton's lead to three runs, but this was the only score either team managed in the sixth inning. The Thunder offense did not enjoy nearly as much production in the next two innings, earning only one hit against the replacement Dakota Wesleyan pitcher. Conversely, the Tigers took advantage of a Wheaton pitching change and tallied three runs in the bottom of the seventh to put the thought of extra innings into the minds of the viewing public. Neither side blinked in the eighth frame, and the scoreboard read 8-8 heading into the decisive series. 

The ninth inning got off to the perfect start for Wheaton, as Mason Diel doubled to right field to immediately put a runner in scoring position. The next two batters walked, and the Thunder found themselves with an appetizing bases-loaded scenario. But back-to-back strikeouts threatened to derail Wheaton's progress. Enter Harrison Stanton. The calmest player inside the Kino Sports Complex shrugged off the pressure and knocked a three-RBI double out to right field to give Wheaton an 11-8 lead and send the Thunder fans and dugout into roars of delight. This was immediately followed by another Graham Core RBI single to provide Wheaton with their final run of the day. Returning to the plate facing a 12-8 deficit, the task appeared too large for the Tigers to overcome, but an immediate triple followed by a fly-out run gave Dakota Wesleyan a glimmer of hope. The Thunder were not going to let this win get away from them, however, and a classy double play wrapped up the game at a 12-9 margin. The first win of the day was as easy as they come for Wheaton, but the team showed a different kind of spirit in Friday afternoon's victory and were pleased to walk away with two wins from two after a run of disappointing results.

Three different pitchers saw the field for Wheaton in this contest, and Brendan Dyer was credited with the win after coming in in the seventh inning and holding Dakota Wesleyan to just one run down the stretch. The Wheaton pitchers combined for seven walks, 13 hits allowed, and 11 strikeouts, eight of which came from Alex Vlaisavich, who started the game for the Thunder and pitched the first five innings. Ben Weaver added to his RBI from the win over Northland by earning five more in this one to go with three hits and one run. Harrison Stanton only registered one hit, but it was arguably the most important one of the game, and he picked up three runs himself. Graham Core went two-two-two in runs, hits, and RBIs, and Mason Diel contributed two apiece in the latter two categories. Larken Lancaster, Tyler Weiner, and Kyle Wu each picked up a run and a hit in Wheaton's win. The Thunder finished the game with fewer slugs than their Tiger counterparts but did well to cash in on their chances. Both teams managed to play nine innings without committing a single error.

After two impressive wins of a different caliber, Wheaton will try to make it three in a row when they take on Hamline University on Saturday morning to close out their time in Tucson.