Carol Stream, Ill. – The Thunder baseball team hosted Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) on Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup that was re-scheduled from March. Wheaton defeated the Scarlet Hawks, 19-13 in a nearly four-hour contest that was played under windy conditions and endured a steady rain in the middle innings.
The 19 runs tallied by Wheaton tonight is the most by the Thunder since a 24-13 Wheaton win against Western Connecticut State on March 12, 2019 in Fort Pierce, Florida. Wheaton improves to 8-14 overall with tonight's victory.
The Thunder won tonight's contest with 19 runs, on 13 hits, committing six errors. IIT scored 13 runs, on 11 hits, with two errors. Thunder starting pitcher
Nate Barker pitched one inning, allowing two earned runs, on three hits, with two strikeouts.
Caleb Downing tossed 1/3 of an inning, allowing four unearned runs on one hit with one walk.
Bjorn Bostrom pitched 2/3 of an inning, allowing two hits, with one uneatrned run, on two hits.
JD Van Hook (2-2) earned the win in 2-1/3 innings of relief as he allowed four earned runs, on two hits, with one walk and one strikeout.
Caleb Vankerkhoff pitched two innings of relief as he allowed one run, on one hit, with two walks and one strikeout.
Micah Johnson pitched 1-1/3 innings of relief, with one earned run, on two hits, with two strikeouts and a walk.
John McCraith (PICTURED LEFT) earned his third save of the season in 1-1/3 innings of relief. McCraith held the Scarlet Hawks scoreless and hitless, with a strikeout and one walk.
Senior shortstop
Matthias Haggerty was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, with a walk. He hit two triples in the game, scored five runs, and tallied two RBI. Second baseman
Kyle Wu was 3-for-5, with eight RBI and two runs scored, hitting a home run.
Ben Weaver tallied two hits in the game, including his sixth triple of the season. Weaver scored twice and drove in two runs.
Graham Core collected a triple for the hosts and
Harrison Stanton added a triple in the victory.
The Scarlet Hawks scored twice in the top of the first inning and added five runs in the top of the second inning to gain an early 7-0 lead. Wheaton scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning to trim the guests' lead to 7-3. Wu drove in all three Wheaton runs in the second thanks to a three-run home run over the fence in left centerfield. The Thunder trimmed the IIT lead to 7-6 as the hosts added three more runs in the bottom of the third inning, highlighted by a RBI single from Haggerty.
The Thunder exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to give Wheaton a 13-7 lead. Wu and
Zach Ledbetter each had two-run singles in the inning, while Weaver and Haggerty (PICTURED RIGHT) each drove in a run with RBI-singles. IIT responded with four runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut Wheaton's advantage to 13-11. The Thunder added two runs in the bottom of the fifth to increase the lead to 15-11. Both Wheaton runs in the fifth scored on a two-run single to leftfield by Wu.
Each team scored a run in the seventh inning. Haggerty hit a two-out triple in the gap to right centerfield and scored two batters later on an IIT error. The Scarlet Hawks scored a run in the top of the eight to cut Wheaton's lead to 16-13. The Thunder added three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 19-13 lead. Catcher
Rutledge Feltel hit a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning. Core hit a RBI-triple in the inning and Weaver drove Core home on a ground out.
Wheaton was originally scheduled to host Illinois Wesleyan tomorrow night, however, that contest has been rescheduled for next Monday at Lee Pfund Stadium in a 6:00 p.m. start. The next contest for the Thunder is a CCIW doubleheader at Carthage College at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Wheaton and Firebirds conclude their three-game series on Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. start at Lee Pfund Stadium.
