Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team hosted North Park on Friday afternoon in a CCIW doubleheader that was rescheduled from April 3 due to rain. The Thunder and the Vikings spilt today's doubleheader. Wheaton (15-15, 4-6 CCIW) won the first game 6-4, and NPU (9-19, 4-4 CCIW) won the nightcap 9-5.
Wheaton was a 6-4 victor in the first game as the hosts scored six runs, on seven hits, with zero errors. Thunder starting pitcher
Shylah Dozeman pitched three innings, with two runs allowed, on four hits, with one strikeout. Senior
Alese Antonello (6-8) earned the win in four innings of relief as she allowed two runs, on four hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.
Antonello helped her own cause with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, with a double as she scored one run.
Olivia Nahorniak was 1-for-3, with one double, two walks, scoring twice and an RBI.
The Vikings scored a run in the top of the second inning and added another in the top of the third to lead 2-0 heading in the bottom of the third. The Thunder scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to gain a 4-2 lead through three innings. Antonello hit an RBI-double in the third inning, while
Livi Figueroa and
Elizabeth Meyer each had an RBI.
The Thunder added to key insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to increase the hosts' lead to 6-2.
Sydney Broderick led off the Thunder portion of the sixth inning with a single and she scored two batters later on a one-out double by Nahorniak.
Paige Andrews added an RBI-single to drive in Nahorniak. The Vikings scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to account for the 6-4 final score.
The Vikings won the second game 9-5. North Park scored nine runs, on 12 hits, with one error, while Wheaton had five runs, on six hits, with two errors. Dozeman took the loss in 1-2/3 innings as the Thunder starting pitcher. She allowed seven runs, with two earned runs, on seven hits, with one walk. Antonello pitched 4-1/3 innings, allowing two runs, with one earned run, on five hits with six strikeouts.
Abby Whitehead had three of Wheaton's six hits in the game as she was 3-for-3, with a walk and a double. She drove in three runs and scored once. Broderick, Nahorniak, and Antonello added singles for the Thunder.
North Park took a 1-0 lead with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Wheaton tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the top of the second inning. Whitehead led off the second with a single and scored three batters later on an RBI-single by Antonello. The Vikings scored six times in the bottom of the second to take a 7-1 lead and NPU added a run in the bottom of the third inning to go up 8-1.
Wheaton scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to trim the Vikings' lead to 8-4. A two-run double by Whitehead highlighted Wheaton's effort in the fifth. The Vikings scored a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 9-4 lead. Whitehead hit an RBI-single in the top of the seventh inning to drive in a run for the Thunder and account for the 9-5 final score in favor of the Vikings.
Wheaton's next conference doubleheader is next Tuesday at North Central. The CCIW twinbill between the Thunder and the Cardinals starts at 3:00 p.m.
