GAME STATS 1 | GAME STATS 2 Kissimmee, Fla. — On its final day at The Spring Games tournament in central Florida, the Wheaton softball team split a doubleheader against fellow midwestern opponent Marian University (Wis.). In the first game of the day, the Thunder and Sabres battled into extra frames, with Wheaton securing the 7-6 win in nine innings. In game two, Marian took control at the plate and on the mound to defeat Wheaton 8-4.

The opening innings of the doubleheader suggested the day was going to be a pitchers' duel, as neither team scored through the first 3.5 innings. Olivia Nahorniak singled in the top of the first for Wheaton, and Elizabeth Meyer doubled in the top of the second, but otherwise the bases remained quiet for the Thunder until the top of the sixth inning. Trailing 1-0 and with one out, Paige Andrews doubled to center field to start what would be a four-run rally. Alese Antonello followed with her own double to score Andrews, Meyer drew a walk, and then Kylie Chetakian singled to score Antonello, advancing an additional base on an attempted throw home.

With runners now on second and third and still one out, the Sabres made a pitching change. On the very first pitch, the Thunder ran a squeeze play at home, and Madison Forberg laid down the bunt to score Meyer. O'Neil followed with her own sacrifice bunt, and Chetakian scored on the throw to first to give Wheaton the 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

In their own half of the fourth frame, the Sabres scored one run, but Wheaton maintained and extended its lead in the top of the seventh after Abie Brown singled to right center and Olivia Nahorniak blasted a homerun to left center, giving Wheaton the 6-2 advantage as the Thunder took the field to try to hold off MU for the win.

Unfortunately for Wheaton, and despite a Thunder pitching change, Marian put together their own rally, taking advantage of four runs and four hits, to tie the game and send it to extra frames.

Both teams began their half of the eighth inning with a runner on second base, per International scoring rules, but neither scored and the game advanced to a ninth inning.

In the top half, Wheaton began with Brown at second and moved her to third on a sacrifice bunt from Nahorniak. A deep fly to center from Paige Andrews gave her the sacrifice RBI, and Brown scored to give Wheaton a 7-6 lead.

Although Marian would follow a similar script in the bottom half of the seventh, using a sacrifice bunt to move its runner to third, but Thunder pitcher Alese Antonello retired the next two batters to secure Wheaton's third victory of the week.

Antonello got the win for Wheaton, throwing 7.2 innings in the circle and allowing just two runs on seven hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Andrews threw 1.1 innings of relief, facing nine batters and giving up four runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.

At the plate, Nahorniak highlighted the day with her two-RBI homerun. Antonello was Wheaton's hit leader, picking up three with one run and one RBI, while Nahorniak, Meyer, and Chetakian contributed two hits a piece in the contest. As a team, Wheaton recorded its seven runs on 11 hits with seven RBI and 10 runners left on base.

After a short break to reset, Wheaton and Marian took the field again for game two of the doubleheader, this time with Wheaton as the home team. However, the Thunder bats were quiet through the first three innings, while Marian jumped out to a 8-0 lead, and though Wheaton rallied for several runs in the fourth and one in the sixth, the Sabres held on for an 8-4 win.

Wheaton's offensive rally in the bottom of the fourth began as the Meyer led off for her team with a single to right field. The hits seemed contagious after that, as Chetakian singled to left, and then Tiegan Hoffman, who was in the game as a relief pitcher, drilled a home run over the fence in right center field to close the deficit to 8-3. Wheaton was able to get two more runners on base that inning, even threatening at second and third with two outs, but couldn't convert them to runs and had to settle for the three-run frame.

The Thunder tried to string together enough hits for another rally in the bottom of the sixth, and Madison Forberg started the inning with single to center field. She advanced to second on an Abie Brown walk after an MU pitching change, and then Nahorniak drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Marian changed pitchers once again, and though a deep fly to left field from Paige Andrews was able to score Forberg, Wheaton's late-game push fell short and Marian University held off the Thunder for an 8-4 win.

As a team, Wheaton matched Marian's hit total with 10. Both teams also recorded one defensive error. However, Wheaton tallied four RBI to Marian's seven, and the Thunder left 10 runners on base compared to eight for the Sabres.

Meyer and Forberg led Wheaton at the plate, with each tallying two hits and one run in four at bats. Six other Thunder players added a hit in the contest.

Paige Andrews pitched 3.2 innings for the Thunder, taking the loss as she gave up 10 hits and eight runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Tiegan Hoffman pitched a partial inning of relief, recording one walk and two HBPs, before Elise O'Neil finished the final three innings of the game, holding nine batters hitless including one strikeout.

Wheaton wraps up its Spring Break trip to Florida with an overall record of 3-7. The Thunder hope to open up their home schedule on Thursday, March 16 when the Aurora University Spartans visit Ruth Leedy Field for a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m.