Fort Pierce, Fla. -- The Wheaton baseball team's Spring Break series continued on Thursday afternoon with a non-conference matchup against fellow Illinois side, the Monmouth Fighting Scots. A game that started and ended as a defensive battle was interrupted by a chaotic third inning that saw the two teams combine for all nine runs that were scored in the contest. Wheaton surged out to a four-run lead in the top half, before Monmouth answered back with a five-run spree of their own, and neither team managed to score again in the remaining frames. Today's result drops the Thunder's record to 3-5 in 2023. Despite the team's defeat, Wheaton's
Caleb VanKerkhoff shone in his third appearance of the season, tossing a 5.1-inning shutout in his relief effort on the mound.
The afternoon could not have started much slower from an offensive perspective, as Wheaton and Monmouth combined for just one hit through the first two innings. But the story of the game changed quickly after Monmouth's first baseman failed to corral the ball and allowed
Daniel Hillyer to reach the bag. A
Kyle Wu single to left field loaded the bases shortly after, and
Ben Weaver came up with a signature two-RBI single to bring Hillyer and
Harrison Stanton in to score.
Matthias Haggerty registered a single of his own in the next at-bat, before
Mason Diel replicated Weaver's feat by batting in Weaver and Wu to put Wheaton's third and fourth runs on the board. Two fly-outs halted the scoring barrage, but the Thunder still managed to build a comfortable lead heading into the bottom half.
It took Monmouth very little time to catch back up, however, as
consecutive singles and walks provided their first score of the contest. A two-RBI double followed immediately after, and a wild pitch allowed the tying run to score. After another walked batter took his place, an RBI single to left field brought the runner on third base across the pentagon, and in a short space of time, the Fighting Scots managed to complete the comeback. VanKerkhoff appeared out of the Thunder bullpen and struck the last batter of the inning out to stop Monmouth's offensive momentum.
Any expectation of a shootout in the remaining innings proved to be premature, as not a single player scored after the nine runs posted in the third frame. Wheaton registered three more hits in the game, but failed to capitalize on these chances. VanKerkhoff limited Monmouth to a single hit, while a heads-up double play by Stanton in the bottom of the seventh inning eliminated the Scots' only opportunity in a scoring position after the third frame. Hillyer gave Wheaton a glimmer of hope in the top of the ninth when he doubled out to left-center field, but he never got the chance to reach home plate and send the game into extra innings.
Wheaton tallied seven hits to Monmouth's six through nine innings, and the Fighting Scots committed two errors while the Thunder only had one mistake.
Caleb VanKerkhoff posted six strikeouts, conceded zero runs, and only allowed one hit from 17 batters faced in an impressive showing.
Ben Weaver and
Mason Diel each registered a hit with two RBI, while Weaver scored one run.
Kyle Wu once again led the Thunder with two hits, and
Harrison Stanton and
Daniel Hillyer each earned one hit.
Matthias Haggerty also picked up a hit for Wheaton today.
Wheaton will hope to get back to winning ways when they take on Kenyon College at 1:30 PM ET on Friday.
