Carol Stream, Ill. – The Wheaton baseball team hosted Carroll University (11-9, 4-1 CCIW) for a CCIW doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Lee Pfund Stadium. The Pioneers won the first game 11-4, and Wheaton responded with a 5-2 victory in the second game. Wheaton (12-10, 4-2 CCIW) and the Pioneers conclude their three-game series tomorrow afternoon in Waukesha, Wisconsin in a single nine-inning game at Frame Park.
Wheaton rebounded from today's game one loss to win the second game 5-2, behind an outstanding effort on the mound by starting pitcher
Nate Barker. Barker struck out 13 Carroll batters today, the most by a Thunder pitcher since Michal McCraith struck out 15 against Covenant on March 2, 2019.
The Thunder won today's nightcap with five runs, on 10 hits, with one error and Carroll scored two runs, on seven hits, with one error. Barker (1-0) was tremendous today in 7-1/3 innings to earn the win. He allowed two runs, including one earned run, on six hits, with 13 strikeouts and just one walk.
Rutledge Feltel pitched 2/3 innings of relief, with no hits, walks or runs allowed.
Sean Smith earned his first career save in one inning of relief as he allowed one hit and struck out two batters.
Ben Weaver was 2-for-4, scoring a run and he drove in one run.
Joe Klein was 2-for-4, with a double and an RBI. Catcher
Tyler Weiner was 2-for-4, with a run scored and an RBI.
The two squads battled through two scoreless innings to open the nightcap. Barker shined as his first six outs across the first two innings were strikeouts. The Pioneers scored a run in the top of the third inning to gain a 1-0 lead. Wheaton took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Klein drove in a run with an RBI double and designated hitter
Mason Diel drove in the go-ahead run for the hosts.
Wheaton increased its lead to 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI by
Matthias Haggerty. The Thunder added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the lead to 5-1. Thunder first baseman
Jacob Snyder led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double to centerfield and he scored two batters later on a single by Weiner. Weiner scored three batters later on an RBI-single by
Ben Weaver. The Pioneers scored an unearned run in the top of the eighth inning to account for the 5-2 final score in the day's finale.
Carroll won today's first game 11-4 as the guests scored 11 runs, on 13 hits, with no errors and Wheaton recorded four runs, on nine hits, with no errors. Weaver was 2-for-5, with an RBI.
Kyle Wu, Diel and
Larken Lancaster each hit a double.
Carroll broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the top of the third inning.
Harrison Stanton hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third to trim the Pioneers' lead to 5-1. Carroll added three runs in the top of the fourth inning to extend its lead to 8-1.
Wheaton scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Stanton drove in a run to cut Carroll's lead to 8-2. The Pioneers added three more runs to extend the guests' lead to 11-2. Wheaton added a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to account for the 11-4 final score. Wu hit an RBI-double in the ninth and Weaver added an RBI-single.
