Carol Stream, Ill. -- The Thunder baseball team had to wait longer than usual to play their first home game of the new season, but there was very little time between Monday's two-game curtain-raiser and this evening's matchup against the Beloit Buccaneers.
Wheaton came into the contest with little preparation time after yesterday's pair of wins, and the visitors from Wisconsin took advantage of that tight schedule by out-scoring the Thunder 15-7 after the first inning to earn a three-run road victory. Wheaton's record drops to 6-7 as a result of tonight's high-scoring defeat.
The game could not have gotten off to a better start for the hosts, as a sharp fielding connection between
Joe Klein and
Harrison Stanton prevented a Beloit baserunner from reaching third and the Buccaneers failed to score in their first series. The Thunder wasted no time in establishing an early advantage thanks to a two-run homer from
Kyle Wu and a three-RBI blast from Klein, his fourth home run over the last two days. But Beloit impressively tied the score back up at 5-5 just one inning later via a bases-loaded hit by pitch situation, two RBI singles, and a ground-out that brought the tying run in to score. After Wheaton left a runner on third base in the bottom half, the guests then added three more runs in the top of the third frame to solidify their comeback.
But the home side did not back down, and a
Noah Yi RBI single preceded one from
Harrison Stanton to bring the Thunder back within one score. Wheaton was inches away from tying the game at nine runs apiece in the bottom of the fourth, but Beloit managed to tag the runner at home plate and prevent
Jacob Snyder from adding a second RBI onto his double out to center field. The Buccaneers then created permanent separation in the top half of the fifth frame, scoring three runs to go up 12-8. After a scoreless sixth inning, Beloit tallied another trifecta in the seventh to threaten a run-rule decision, but Wheaton gained some hope from a sacrifice fly and another RBI single by Stanton.
The Thunder defense did well to prevent Beloit from bringing in their no-outs runner on third base in the eighth frame, but three swinging strikeouts in the bottom half kept the score at 15-10. The away side did not manage to add to their lead in their last batting series, but despite
Ben Weaver generating a two-run double in the final frame, the Thunder could not find the three additional runs required to extend the contest and fell just short of a second consecutive comeback win.
The two sides combined for 30 hits on Tuesday, with Wheaton registering 18 to Beloit's 12. Even with the 27 runs scored, this number could have been significantly higher, as a total of 23 runners were stranded on base. The Buccaneers committed a pair of errors through the nine innings while Wheaton owned three of their own.
Ben Weaver and
Larken Lancaster each stole a base for the Thunder, but Beloit had to settle for one taken bag. Seven different pitchers saw the mound for Wheaton tonight.
Caleb Downing got the start and tallied a pair of strikeouts before
Rutledge Feltel,
Nathan Hedlund, and
Josiah Livingston all followed with one of their own. The home team's pitching improved in the final three innings with
Micah Johnson earning a team-high three strikeouts,
Sean Smith grabbing one, and
Simeon Downing picking up a pair of blanks, while the three of them combined for only two hits allowed and no runs conceded from 13 batters faced.
Ben Weaver had an impressive showing on Tuesday, going 4-4 at the plate, earning two RBI, and scoring twice himself.
Noah Yi and
Larken Lancaster each got three hits, with the former touching home plate twice and contributing an RBI and the latter scoring one run.
Harrison Stanton and
Mason Diel both tallied a pair of hits, and Stanton also collected two RBI and two runs.
Kyle Wu picked up two RBI via his early home run and registered one more hit in the contest, while
Joe Klein drove in a joint game-best three RBI from his homer in the first inning.
The Thunder have a couple of days to regroup before their next home contest. Wheaton is scheduled to host Calvin, Concordia Moorhead, and Hope for another four-team invitational this coming weekend, and the camp will be hoping that this event can be held in a more straightforward manner after the last Wheaton Invitational was rearranged due to weather concerns.
