Carol Stream, Ill. -- The Wheaton baseball team returned to Lee Pfund Stadium this afternoon to play its two remaining weekend contests following Friday evening's win over Saint Mary's University (Minn.). The Thunder began the day by facing the University of Dubuque, and the visiting Spartans registered a 13-3 victory in seven innings to end Wheaton's three-game win streak. But the round robin hosts bounced back in the best possible way on Saturday evening by earning a dominant 16-4 upset of the eighth-ranked Aurora Spartans in another run-rule decision to close out the weekend slate. Wheaton's 2-1 record over the last two days means the Thunder's season mark now stands at 4-6 overall.
Aurora came into this evening's game having already defeated Saint Mary's and Dubuque on Friday and looking to claim its fifth-straight win over the Thunder. The local visitors got on the board first in the fourth frame with a home run to break the deadlock after three opening scoreless innings. But Wheaton turned the game around immediately when
Mason Diel brought
Harrison Stanton and
Daniel Hillyer across home plate with a single into right field. A rollercoaster fifth inning then followed, with Aurora scoring three runs to reclaim the scoreboard advantage in the top half, before the Thunder blew the contest open with a remarkable eight-run haul.
Noah Yi found his way to second base, and a pair of walks soon followed for Wheaton, which led to a two-RBI single to left field from Stanton to tie the score at four runs apiece.
Joe Klein (
pictured below)
then stepped up and launched a three-run homer to make it 7-4 in the hosts' favor. A pitching change soon followed for Aurora, but this switch failed to stop the bleeding, as Wheaton loaded the bases again and it became
Tyler Weiner's turn to make a big impact, with the senior catcher bringing three more runs in to score with his double to center field.
A three-up, three-down series in the top of the sixth frame followed for the top ten team, and the Thunder kept their foot on the gas, scoring two more runs in the bottom half to go up 12-4. A ground-rule double from Klein allowed
Jacob Snyder to cross the pentagon, before
Kyle Wu brought Klein home himself with a RBI single to the outfield. The Thunder capped their solid defensive showing with a double play to end the top of the seventh inning, but the weekend hosts still needed two scores to secure the run-rule victory and bring a premature end to the game. Wheaton got the two scores and then some when Klein followed Stanton's RBI single with his second home run blast of the day to score Hillyer, Stanton, and himself and account for the mammoth final run tally. After a disappointing loss to begin Saturday's action and a low-scoring opening four innings, Wheaton eventually made light work of its highly-ranked opponent and grabbed an impressive upset win to end the weekend on a celebratory note.
The Thunder registered five more hits than the Spartans in game two this evening and committed no errors. Wheaton also stole a pair of bases and left just five runners on base, taking full advantage of the strong batting performance it enjoyed tonight and cashing in the necessary runs to keep Aurora from pulling back within touching distance.
Joe Klein had a memorable showing to lead the team in today's big victory, registering game-highs of three hits, seven RBI, and two home runs. The senior also scored three times in a highly efficient offensive performance.
Harrison Stanton continued the noteworthy start to his season this weekend with two hits, three RBI, and three runs.
Tyler Weiner joined Stanton on a pair of hits, including a double, and three RBI, while
Mason Diel helped himself to a pair of both.
Kyle Wu contributed one hit, one run, and one run batted in this evening.
Daniel Hillyer and
Noah Yi each posted one hit and scored three runs and two runs, respectively, on Saturday.
Nate Barker got the start on the mound for Wheaton today and picked up his first win of the season. The senior (
pictured left) threw for five innings and conceded just six hits from 25 batters faced, while sitting down five
Aurora players. Fellow veteran
Brendan Dyer pitched the final two innings of tonight's shortened contest, and he struck out the first two Aurora batters he faced while surrendering just a single hit.
After securing a split on Saturday and two wins from three this weekend, Wheaton's attention will turn towards Tuesday evening, when the University of Chicago Maroons come to Lee Pfund Stadium for a non-conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM in Carol Stream.
