Fort Pierce, Fla. -- Making their return to the Florida coast for the first time since 2019, the Thunder baseball team began their week-long Spring Break trip with a doubleheader against the Colonels of Wilkes University on Saturday. The two teams split the pair of seven-inning contests, and Wheaton's record now stands at 2-3 on the young season. The Thunder triumphed by a score of 6-5 in the first matchup thanks to a dramatic walk-off home run in the final inning, before the Colonels avoided the sweep by topping Wheaton, 11-7, in the second game.
Wilkes looked to have gained an early leg up in the first game, as two Colonel players touched home plate in the opening exchange. But the Thunder responded immediately via an RBI single from
Ben Weaver and the first of
Matthias Haggerty's two home runs on the day to build a 4-2 lead.
Mason Diel then picked up an RBI single of his own to bring
Jacob Snyder across the plate, and Wheaton wrapped up an impressive offensive display in their first batting series to pull ahead. But the Thunder's bats cooled off significantly after this point, and the Colonels managed to keep Wheaton off the board in the next five frames as they slowly clawed their way back into the contest.Â
A two-RBI single in the third inning brought Wilkes within touching distance, and after a stalemate followed in the subsequent three frames, the Pennsylvania-based side completed the comeback with a deep shot RBI to center field to tie the score at five runs apiece. But just when it appeared as though the Colonels had seized the momentum and the game was heading for an eighth inning, the only player on Wheaton's roster who was around the last time the Thunder made this trip stepped up to steal the headlines. With two outs already on the board, it was make-or-break time for Wheaton's batters. But
Matthias Haggerty stepped confidently into the box and blasted a home run to right center field to cue the celebrations in the Thunder camp. Wheaton would have been disappointed to allow Wilkes to stay in the game after carving out an impressive early advantage, but the final result is the most valuable one, and the Midwesterners displayed poise on both sides of the ball to ensure that they walked away with the victory.
The Thunder registered two more hits than their opponents in game one, and despite bright sunshine and breezy conditions that made clean fielding tricky, both teams managed to avoid committing any errors in the contest.
John McCraith picked up his second win of the season on the mound, allowing just one hit in the two innings he pitched to help Wheaton over the line. Haggerty had the most memorable batting performance for Wheaton, totaling four RBI off of his two home runs. He was joined on two hits by
Ben Weaver, who also picked up an RBI.
Kyle Wu led all Thunder sluggers with three hits in the first game.
Mason Diel earned one hit and one RBI, while
Luke Hamm and
Harrison Stanton both registered a hit and the latter made multiple impressive fielding plays from the third base position. McCraith and
Brendan Dyer combined for seven strikeouts on the mound in the win.
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Wilkes would get the last laugh on Saturday, however, as the Colonels compiled 11 combined runs in back-to-back innings of game two to build an unassailable lead. A sacrifice fly from
Tyler Weiner got Wheaton on the board first, and things were going smoothly for the Thunder on the defensive end through the opening two innings. But the wheels came off in the bottom of the third frame, as Wilkes capitalized on three straight Thunder errors and picked up a two-RBI double to rack up six runs and surge into a comfortable lead. Wheaton fought back and made things interesting in the top of the fifth by tallying four runs thanks to a homer from
Harrison Stanton (
pictured right)Â
and RBI contributions by Haggerty, Diel, and Weiner. Wheaton stemmed the offensive outburst by Wilkes after the fourth inning, but the damage had been done, and despite tallying the last five runs of the game, the Thunder had too big of a hill to climb in their pursuit of a Saturday sweep.Â
Wheaton tallied seven runs from seven hits, while Wilkes reached double-figures in both categories. The three errors committed by the Thunder ended up playing a decisive role in the ultimate outcome of the game, and while the three pitchers who saw the field for Wheaton in game two tallied six strikeouts, the Colonels' ruthlessness in the middle section of the contest helped deliver the win.
Mason Diel had a strong showing in the later fixture, posting a team-high three hits and scoring two runs to go with his RBI.
Tyler Weiner generated three RBI despite not getting on base himself, and Stanton, Haggerty, and
Jacob Snyder each tallied a hit and one RBI.
After resting on Sunday, Wheaton will look to pick up its third win of the season when the team faces off against Thiel College at 1:00 PM Eastern on Monday.
