CLERMONT, FLA. – After enjoying a day off on Sunday, the Wheaton softball team returned to action Monday morning for their second day of competition at The Spring Games in Florida. In the day's first game against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the Thunder (1-2) lost to the Corsairs (4-0) by a final score of 4-2. In the second game, Wheaton (2-2) defeated Mitchell (2-4) 8-0 in five innings.
Wheaton vs. UMass Dartmouth
The Thunder vs. Corsairs battle was an equally matched pitchers' duel for all but a few innings, and despite a seventh-inning, bases-loaded rally from Wheaton, UMass Dartmouth held on for the win.
UMass Dartmouth jumped on the board right away in the top of the first inning, setting the tone for an active game. The Corsairs utilized a single, a sacrifice bunt, and a double to take the 1-0 lead before both teams settled in to several scoreless frames. In the top of the fifth, Wheaton ran into some defensive trouble, as the Thunder tallied two errors to help the Corsairs extend their lead: one error came on an attempted stolen base that allowed a runner to score from third, and one on a squeeze play at home that also gave up a run.
Despite the 3-0 deficit, Wheaton rallied for a run in the bottom of the sixth when
Ashley Carter singled to right field and then scored on a deep double by
Emilie Gist (
PICTURED ABOVE). UMass Dartmouth answered with another run in the top of the seventh, leaving the Thunder to scramble for a seventh-inning rally. With
Claire Busch on first after a single to right field, and two outs on the board,
Madison Forberg added her own opposite-field single to help jump-start the late-game push. A fielding error by UMass Dartmouth allowed
Sydney Heinrich to reach first and fill the bases, before
Janette Oh drove in a run on an infield grounder that the Corsairs weren't able to convert. The rally was short-lived, however, as Wheaton recorded its twelfth fly-out of the competition to end the game with a 4-2 loss.
On the mound,
Alese Antonello (
PICTURED RIGHT) threw the full game for the Thunder, allowing just one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
At the plate, Carter notched the only multi-hit game for Wheaton, with two hits and one run. Gist, Busch,
Elise O'Neil, and Forberg each added a hit, while Busch also had a run, and Oh and Gist accounted for Wheaton's two RBI. As a team, the Thunder tallied their two runs on six hits and committed four defensive errors.
Wheaton vs. Mitchell
In Monday's second game against Mitchell College, the Thunder offense woke with a vengeance: Wheaton tallied 16 hits, spread out over four of the game's six innings, and seven Wheaton players had multi-hit performances.
The Thunder wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the first inning. Carter doubled to spark Wheaton's bats, and despite being ruled out on a runner interference call on the next play, Gist was able to reach first safely on that play and then come around to score thanks to a
Paige Andrews (
PICTURED LEFT) triple to right field.
In the top of the second inning, the Thunder plated three runs to take the 4-0 advantage. That rally began with a Busch single to left field. Though Busch was caught stealing on the next play,
Madison Forberg singled to right and reached second thanks to aggressive base-running.
Elizabeth Meyer drew a walk before moving to second on a grounder from Heinrich; Heinrich reached due to the fielder's choice, but Forberg was forced out at third. With runners on first and second and two outs, Oh singled to center field and drove in Meyer and Heinrich. On the attempted throw to home, Oh advanced to second base, which allowed her to score on the next play as Carter drove her in with her own single to center.
Two more runs extended Wheaton's lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth due to a pair of Wheaton hits and a defensive error by Mitchell. Oh hit a one-out single to right, and when Gist hit an infield grounder but reached first safely due to a throwing error, both runners advanced into scoring position. Andrews then doubled – her second extra-base hit of the game – to drive in Oh and Gist for two RBI.
Wheaton sealed the run-rule victory in the sixth inning, as the Thunder tacked on two more runs to take an 8-0 advantage. Carter and Gist singled back-to-back, and with another heads-up base-running play, both were able to advance into scoring position before the pitcher returned to the circle. Andrews grounded out to third but scored Carter on the play, and then
Olivia Nahorniak doubled to bring in Gist for the final score of the game.
Gist added highlights from both the circle and the plate for the Thunder: she pitched all seven innings, giving up just two hits with seven strikeouts and no walks, while contributing two hits and three runs for the offense. Carter and Busch each led Wheaton with three hits apiece – Carter also included one run and one RBI in her stat line – and Oh, Andrews, Nahorniak, and Forberg each tallied a pair of hits for Wheaton. Andrews was responsible for four of the Thunder's eight RBI in the game, while Oh chipped in two of her own.
As a team, Wheaton knocked in 16 hits and committed just one defensive error; the Thunder also did not strike out through 35 batters across six innings.
Wheaton is back in action in Clermont tomorrow, though the team will move from Legends Way Fields to nearby Hancock Fields for the remainder of the week. Tuesday's games, against Ohio Northern University and Penn State Behrend, are scheduled for 11:15 a.m. EDT and 1:45 p.m. EDT, respectively.
