Tucson, Ariz. -- The Thunder baseball team returned to Tucson this weekend for its latest Spring Break residency in the southwest, and Wheaton's seven-game schedule in Arizona began on Saturday with tests against non-conference opponents, Schreiner University and St. Olaf College. Wheaton fell by a single run in this morning's competitive battle with Schreiner, before St. Olaf used an explosive first frame display in the afternoon fixture to secure a lopsided seven-inning result.
After two scoreless innings to begin the day,
Kyle Wu broke the deadlock with an RBI double in the top of the third to put Wheaton ahead.
Joe Klein then brought Wu home with a single to first base to double the Thunder's lead. When the first Mountaineer batter in the bottom half of the third flied out, it appeared as though Wheaton's stout defensive game would continue. But Schreiner had other ideas, and the Texas team flipped the script with three runs from their next six hitters, aided by a stolen base and a surrendered walk. The Thunder were unable to capitalize on the spurt of offensive momentum and went three-up, three-down in the next two frames, and Schreiner took advantage of this via a two-run single slap down the left field line.
An eight-batter scoreless inning followed, before
Daniel Hillyer and
Tyler Weiner combined to give Wheaton some hope in the top of the seventh. Hillyer blasted a triple into right field, and his fellow senior promptly registered an RBI single to cut the deficit down to two runs. After holding Schreiner scoreless again in the bottom half, the Thunder pulled back within one score courtesy of a ground-rule double from Klein and a ground out RBI by
Noah Yi. But the Mountaineers' ability to close out the inning with the tying run in scoring position would prove pivotal in the final outcome, as Wheaton managed to get just one runner on base in the top of the ninth before Schreiner sealed the 5-4 victory on a double play.
Joe Klein went 2-4 at the plate in game one on Saturday while also generating an RBI, and he was joined on two hits by
Mason Diel and
Jacob Snyder. Weiner and Wu each picked up their aforementioned hits and RBI, and Hillyer and
Payton McClowry both contributed a score to Wheaton's total.
Hometown rookie
Alex Bagley got his first collegiate start on the mound and went 4.2 innings, posting three strikeouts in the process. Veteran reliever
John McCraith pitched the remaining 3.1 frames and sat down a pair of Schreiner hitters while conceding zero runs on 14 batters faced.
St. Olaf wasted no time seizing the initiative in Saturday afternoon's matchup, as the Minnesota outfit posted six runs in their first batting series to establish a comfortable cushion. The Oles also played confidently on the defensive side of the ball, allowing just three hits in the opening four frames to prevent an early comeback attempt. Wheaton finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth courtesy of a
Jacob Snyder RBI triple and the senior himself scoring one rotation later. But St. Olaf limited the damage to two runs and stifled the Thunder offense in the following frame, before closing out the run-rule win with a mammoth ten scores in the top of the seventh inning.
Snyder had one of each in the run, hit, and RBI categories in the afternoon billing, while
Donovan Williams,
Nathan Hedlund,
Daniel Hillyer, and
Luke Hamm also tallied one hit.
Matt Nelson scored the Thunder's first run in the fifth frame.
Four different pitchers saw time on the mound for Wheaton in game two.
Caleb VanKerkhoff pitched four full innings and struck out three batters, while
Joshua Liu also earned three strikeouts in his two innings played.
Wheaton will attempt to end the wait for its first win of the 2024 campaign on Monday afternoon when the Thunder take on NAIA opponents, Waldorf University. First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM local time in Tucson.
