GAME STATS Fort Pierce, Fla. - The Thunder baseball team wrapped up its week-long residency in the Sunshine State on Saturday with a 23-3 rout of Gallaudet University to conclude the trip with a record of 3-4 while improving to 4-6 overall on the season. Gallaudet falls to 6-10 on the season with the loss. Wheaton will return home to the familiar confines of Lee Pfund Stadium where the Thunder will play 13 of their next 15 games, with the first of a seven-game homestand coming on Friday, March 17. First pitch is scheduled at 5 pm for the home opener with the University of Northwestern (Minn.).

Wheaton's offense broke out with 23 runs on 27 hits with 16 different players tallying at least one hit in the contest. Jared Kloth earned his first victory of the season with five innings of work while scattering five hits and walking one. Nathan Hedlund earned his first save with 4 innings of scoreless relief while striking out five and allow just two hits.

With an early start on Saturday morning, the offenses took a couple innings to get going with Wheaton leading the game 2-1 after three innings of play. Wheaton then scored in each of the next six innings, breaking the game open with a five-run fourth inning. Larken Lancaster drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly and Tyler Weiner followed with a safety squeeze bunt to lead 4-1. Harrison Stanton re-started the rally with a two-out single and would later score on Kyle Wu's single. Ben Weaver followed with a triple to right field and scored on a single by Matthias Haggerty to make it 7-1.

After Gallaudet answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, Jacob Snyder's one-out triple was followed by a Lancaster double to push the lead to 8-3. Weaver's second triple of the game and another triple by Mason Diel led to two runs in the top of the sixth before a seven-run seventh put the game out of reach. A patient Wheaton approach took advantage of five walks in the top of the seventh to plate seven on just three hits. Simeon Downing drove in two with a double to left field to plate two and another two runs came in to score on a single by Donovan Williams. Jacob Rans closed the inning witha double to right. 

Five more runs would come home in the top of the eighth inning behind bookmark home runs. Matthew Chensey led off the inning with a pinch hit home run to left and Noah Husted drove home the final three tallies of the eighth with a three-run home run to make it 22-3. Noah Yi's RBI single plating Rutledge Feltel closed the scoring in the top of the ninth inning.

Ben Weaver paced the explosive Thunder offense with four hits, three runs scored and two runs driven in. Simeon Downing, Larken Lancaster and Noah Husted each drove in a team-high three runs. Joe Klein's three hits was one of eight players with two or more hits in the game.