Notre Dame, Ind. -- In a perfect tune-up for the main event tomorrow, the Wheaton softball team emerged victorious in both games of this evening's nonconference doubleheader against Saint Mary's College in Indiana. The Thunder held off their hosts by a score of 5-3 in the first contest before thumping the Belles, 10-2, in the five-inning second act. Wheaton enjoyed a successful end to their out-of-conference slate for 2022, and today's performance will surely give the team a boost ahead of Friday's Senior Day doubleheader against Augustana. The Thunder host the Vikings at Ruth Leedy Field with first pitch set for 3:00 PM in the rescheduled matchups.
The day ultimately belonged to the team from Illinois, but it was the home side that got off to a fast start in game one this afternoon. Saint Mary's collected three runs in the same number of innings to give themselves a cushion over Wheaton, and despite two hits and runners on base in the second frame, the visitors did not manage to post their first run. But the game changed in the fourth inning, when
Olivia Nahorniak hit a lead off double and was brought home by an RBI double from
Claire Busch. After Busch made it to third base on Wheaton's next hit,
Sydney Heinrich completed the job with an RBI single, and Wheaton cut the deficit to one run. After blanketing the Belles' offense in the bottom half, the Thunder added two more runs in the fifth to claim the lead for good. The guests had two runners on base when a fielding error allowed
Emilie Gist and
Elizabeth Meyer to score the go-ahead runs. From that point on, Wheaton only conceded one more hit, and Saint Mary's could not find an answer to retake the lead. Three straight walks in the bottom of the sixth inning saw the home side load the bases and threaten to pull back in front, but back-to-back fly outs allowed Wheaton to escape the inning without giving up a score.
Alese Antonello then added Wheaton's insurance run in the final frame after the sophomore smacked a double to left center and eventually rounded the bases off of another RBI double from Busch.
Wheaton registered ten hits to Saint Mary's eight, and while the Belles' error was the only one committed in the game, it proved to be a costly one.
Claire Busch was the leading batter for the Thunder in game one, as the senior posted two hits, two RBIs, and scored a run.
Elise O'Neil and
Emilie Gist also picked up a pair of hits, and the latter scored one run.
Olivia Nahorniak and
Alese Antonello each registered a hit and a run, while
Sydney Heinrich earned one hit and one RBI.
Madison Forberg tallied a hit, and
Elizabeth Meyer scored a run.
Emilie Gist earned her ninth win of the season for Wheaton in the first game, as the junior tossed five strikeouts in five innings of play. She was replaced on the mound by Antonello in the sixth frame, and the sophomore closed things out to earn her third save of the year.
Once again, Saint Mary's started the game on top as the Belles forced a three-up, three-down frame from Wheaton before scoring twice in the bottom half to earn an early lead in game two. But Wheaton wasted no time in working back into the contest, as an RBI single from
Alese Antonello followed a
Claire Busch hit and brought
Ashley Carter across to post the visitors' first score. Holding their hosts scoreless in the bottom of the inning, Wheaton then tied things up in the third when an
Elizabeth Meyer triple was immediately followed by a sacrifice fly to knot the game at two runs apiece. A single and passed ball combination allowed Saint Mary's to place a runner on third base in the bottom half, but consecutive ground outs spared Wheaton's blushes, and the home side only landed one more hit in the final two innings as Wheaton locked the game down defensively. With the scoreboard reading 2-2 in the fourth frame, the Thunder registered five runs to blow the contest wide open and build an insurmountable advantage. Three singles from the first four at bats gave Wheaton the go-ahead run, when an RBI from
Elise O'Neil helped Carter reach home plate. A two-RBI double courtesy of
Sydney Heinrich immediately followed, and the game quickly became Wheaton's to lose. A fielding error by the Belles was then compounded by another RBI double, this time from
Emilie Gist, and before Saint Mary's had time to react and limit the damage, Wheaton suddenly held a commanding 7-2 lead.
Alese Antonello piled on two more runs in the top of the fifth via a double down the left field line, and she scored Wheaton's final run of the day when
Elise O'Neil registered an RBI double of her own. With the Thunder possessing an eight-run lead upon conclusion of the fifth frame, there was no need to continue, and the visitors secured a road sweep in comprehensive fashion.
Wheaton out-hit their hosts by a significant margin in game two, as they registered 13 to Saint Mary's three. Just as it happened in the first game, the home side's lone error led to a Wheaton score, and the Thunder did not commit any mistakes of their own.
Alese Antonello pulled double duty for Wheaton in this evening's contest, picking up the win on the mound throwing three strikeouts and allowing only three hits through the five innings of play. The sophomore also had a standout performance at the plate, posting a team-high three RBIs off of two hits and scoring a run for good measure.
Elise O'Neil was right behind in the box score statistics, going for two hits and two RBIs while also scoring one run.
Claire Busch tallied a team-leading three hits and two runs in game two, while
Ashley Carter accomplished the inverse stat line.
Sydney Heinrich registered one hit, two RBIs, and a run, and
Emilie Gist joined her in the former two categories.
Paige Andrews and
Elizabeth Meyer both earned one hit and scored a run.
Wheaton does not get much time to recover from today's play and prepare for tomorrow's opponents, but at least the Thunder will be going into Senior Day high on momentum after a strong showing in Indiana on Thursday.
