Beloit, Wis. – The Wheaton baseball team traveled to Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon for a non-conference doubleheader at Beloit College (13-17). Wheaton swept the Buccaneers as the Thunder won game one 12-5 and completed the sweep with a 15-7 victory in the second game. Wheaton improves to 13-16 on the season. The Thunder host University of Chicago on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in a non-conference battle.
The Thunder won the opener today, 12-5 behind 20 hits for the guests. Wheaton scored its 12 runs, on 20 hits, with one errors and Beloit tallied five runs, on eight hits with no errors. Thunder starting pitcher
Alex Vlaisavich pitched 1/3 of an inning as he gave up four runs, including three earned runs, on four hits, with two hits and four walks.
Nate Barker tossed 3-2/3 innings of strong relief as he allowed one run, on three hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.
Jared Kloth (PICTURED LEFT) pitched five innings of scoreless relief in a spectacular outing. Kloth scattered three hits, with three strikeouts and he allowed no walks.
Four different Wheaton batters collected three hits in today's strong offensive outing. Second baseman
Kyle Wu was 3-for-4, with a double, as he drove in two runs, with one run scored. Designated hitter
Mason Diel was 3-for-5, scoring two runs.
Joe Klein was 3-for-5, scoring three runs, with an RBI.
Matthias Haggerty was 3-for-6, with a double and a run scored.
Graham Core was 2-for-5, with a double as he drove in two runs and scored once.
Beloit gained an early lead, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Wheaton quickly responded with four runs in the top of the second inning to tie the game at 4-4.
Zach Ledbetter hit a two-run double in the inning Core had an RBI double and
Harrison Stanton also drove in a run.
Wheaton gained the lead in the top of the third inning with a pair of runs. Wu drove in a run on an RBI-double and
Tyler Weiner drove in a run in the third for a 6-4 Wheaton lead. Beloit trimmed Wheaton's lead to one run in the bottom of the fourth as the hosts scored one run to make it a 6-5 Wheaton advantage.
Wheaton broke the game open with four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 10-5 lead. Stanton hit an RBI-double in the inning and Core, Klein and Wu each hit an RBI-single.
Weiner hit an RBI-single in the top of the eighth inning to increase Wheaton's lead to 11-5.
Matt Nelson hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to give Wheaton the 12-5 lead that would be the final score of the opening game.
Wheaton defeated Beloit, 15-7 in the nightcap. The Thunder scored 15 runs, on 16 hits, committing two errors and the Buccaneers tallied seven runs, on 11 hits, with no errors. Thunder starting pitcher
JD Van Hook (3-2) pitched five innings to earn the win. Van Hook allowed five runs, on six hits, with five strikeouts and five walks.
Caleb Vankerkhoff pitched an inning of relief, with one unearned run, on two hits.
Rutledge Feltel allowed one unearned run in an inning of work as he allowed one hit, with two strikeouts and one walk.
John McCraith worked an inning of scoreless relief, allowing one hit.
Bjorn Bostrom pitched the final inning, with no runs allowed, with one hit, two strikeouts and one walk.
Nelson hit two home runs in the game, including a grand slam as he totaled seven RBI in the contest. He was 2-for-5 in the nightcap.
Ben Weaver was 3-for-5, hitting a home run and a double. Weaver drove in three runs and scored twice. Stanton was 3-for-4, with two doubles, scoring three runs, with three runs scored and an RBI.
Jacob Snyder was 2-for-3, with a double and scoring twice. Core was 2-for-4, with a double and a stolen base. Core drove in two runs and scored twice. Haggerty was 2-for-5, scoring twice with an RBI.
Wheaton scored five runs in the top of the first inning for an early 5-0 lead. The highlight of the big inning was a grand slam by Nelson, as Klein added an RBI-single. Beloit scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to cut the Wheaton lead to 5-2. The Bucs added a run in the bottom of the second for a 5-3 Wheaton advantage.
The Thunder added three more runs in the top of the third to extend the guests' lead to 8-3. All three runs inning came off of a three-run round tripper for Nelson who drove in seven of Wheaton's eight runs in the first three innings. Beloit scored twice in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the Wheaton lead to 8-5.
Wheaton responded with three runs in the top of the sixth inning to increase its advantage to 11-5. Weaver and Stanton each hit an RBI-double in the inning, and Core contributed an RBI-single. Beloit scored a run in the bottom of the sixth as Wheaton led 11-6 through six innings.
Haggerty hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning to extend the guests' lead to 12-6. Beloit added a run in the bottom of the seventh for a 12-7 Wheaton lead. Wheaton added three runs in the top of the eighth inning to extend its advantage to 15-7. Weaver hit a two-run home run in the inning and Core had an RBI-double. McCraith and Bostrom had scoreless efforts in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
