CLERMONT, FLA. – The Wheaton softball team improved to 4-2 on its young season with a pair of wins Tuesday afternoon at The Spring Games in Florida. Wheaton defeated Ohio Northern University (2-3) in the first game of the day by a score of 8-4, before a strong pitching performance helped the Thunder blank Penn State Behrend (1-4) for a 3-0 victory.
 
Wheaton vs. Ohio Northern
 
After yesterday's 22 hits between games against UMass-Dartmouth and Mitchell, fans may have expected to see Wheaton's bats cool down heading into a new day. But the Thunder offense was hot right from the first inning of its match-up against the ONU Polar Bears, and three different players compiled three or more hits to keep the runs rolling.
 
The Thunder jumped on the scoreboard first, as Ashley Carter (PICTURED RIGHT) led off the bottom of the first inning by reaching on an ONU error. Janette Oh laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Carter, who moved to third on an Emilie Gist single and then scored on another single from Paige Andrews.
 
In the bottom of the second frame, with the 1-0 lead, Wheaton extended its advantage thanks to a walk, a pair of Polar Bear errors, and a trio of singles. Madison Forberg drew a walk to lead off the inning before Elise O'Neil reached first thanks to a bunt and an ONU fielding error. O'Neil was tagged out in a strange fielder's choice situation on the next play, but with Forberg now at third and Carter on first, Oh singled to center to drive in a run. After Oh's stolen base had both she and Carter in scoring position, Gist blasted a single to drive in two runs and then advance herself to second base. Andrews then singled to center to drive in Gist, giving Andrews her second RBI in as many innings and the Thunder a 5-0 lead.
 
Ohio Northern scored two runs in the top of the third inning to cut into that lead, but Wheaton used a three-run bottom of the fourth inning to give themselves a more comfortable advantage. With one out in the frame, Carter drew a walk, advanced to second on a single from Oh, and then scored on another single from Gist. The third consecutive single of the inning, this time from Andrews, allowed Oh to score, before Claire Busch drew a walk to load the bases and Olivia Nahorniak hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Gist and make the score 8-2 Wheaton.
 
Heading into the top of the seventh, Wheaton held the same 8-2 advantage and looked to shut down the Polar Bears in quick fashion for the victory. ONU then put together a mini-rally, scoring two runs and loading the bases with just one out, before the Thunder made a pitching change and Alese Antonello (PICTURED ABOVE) shut down the next two batters she faced to secure Wheaton's win.
 
For the second day in a row, Gist led Wheaton in the circle and at the plate. She threw 6.1 innings for the Thunder, giving up four earned runs on six hits with eight walks and four strikeouts. Offensively, she tallied three hits, including three RBI, and she scored two runs. Oh and Andrews each added three hits apiece in the game – Oh had one RBI and two runs, while Andrews added three RBI.
 
As a team, Wheaton scored eight runs on 12 hits with three walks and just one strikeout. And the Thunder defense backed up its bats, committing no errors in the full seven-inning contest.
 
Wheaton vs. Penn State Behrend
 
In the second contest of the day, and fresh off a few pitches to shut down the final two batters of the previous game, Antonello stepped into the circle for Wheaton and threw a seven-inning gem to help the Thunder shut out Penn State Behrend 3-0.
 
Finishing a full hour more quickly than the ONU game, the Thunder/Lions match-up was a relatively speedy pitchers' battle, save for a small flurry of action spread out across a few innings. And though Wheaton scored three runs in the contest, seven additional runners reached base against the Lions but were unable to score.
 
Wheaton's first run came in the top of the second inning. With two outs already on the scoreboard, and Elizabeth Meyer at first because of a fielder's choice on an infield grounder, Sydney Heinrich (PICTURED LEFT) earned her first hit of the day with an RBI double. Four innings later in the top of the sixth, the Thunder scored two more runs to extend their lead. Gist led off the inning with a single to center. Two batters and two outs later, Busch singled to left field followed by a Forberg RBI single to right field, and then with Elise O'Neil at the plate, Busch scored on a wild pitch to add Wheaton's final run of the game.
 
Busch, Gist, and Heinrich led the Thunder with two hits each, and Carter and Forberg each added one, with Forberg and Heinrcih responsible for the two RBI. As a team, the Wheaton offense scored its three runs on eight hits, and drew three walks while recording no strikeouts.
 
In the circle, Antonello faced just 24 batters in the contest, allowing only one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. Behind her, the Thunder defense had just two errors.
 
Wheaton will enjoy a mid-week break tomorrow before returning to action at The Spring Games on Thursday afternoon. The Thunder are set to face Bethany College (2-2) at 3:00 p.m. EDT, followed by Rivier University (0-4) at 5:15 p.m. EDT. Both games are scheduled to take place on Field 1 at Hancock Park in Clermont, Fla.