Decatur, Ill. -- The Wheaton baseball team took to the road this afternoon for the final pair of games on its 2024 schedule, facing off against conference-leaders Millikin University in central Illinois. The Big Blue notched a lopsided win in the first contest between the sides on Saturday, but a strong defensive effort by the Thunder helped the underdogs earn a 3-2 upset victory in part two to end the campaign on a high note. Millikin's defeat in game two today cost the Big Blue the chance to claim an outright CCIW regular season title and conference tournament hosting rights, while the win lifted Wheaton's season record to 11-26 overall and gave the team its fifth conference victory this year.
Despite the sizable difference in runs scored in the first act of today's twinbill, Wheaton managed to out-hit its host by a margin of 8-5. But the Thunder could not take advantage of the scoring opportunities they fashioned for themselves, and Millikin stranded 13 Wheaton runners on base to limit the guests to a single run. After logging a crucial double play with two players in scoring position in the second inning, the Big Blue opened the scoring in the bottom half courtesy of the first of Wheaton's two errors in the contest. Preventing the Thunder from bringing either runner on base home once again in the top of the fourth, the hosts then added five runs in a batting series that would prove decisive in game one. The visitors finally got on the board in the eighth frame thanks to a
Matt Nelson RBI, but it ended up being too late for the Thunder to mount a serious comeback attempt, and Millikin moved within one win of a conference title.
The home side left just seven runners on base and enjoyed 14 free bases in the first game today. Defensively, Millikin prevented Wheaton from earning any extra-base hits while coming up with three of its own. The Thunder caught two Big Blue runners stealing and were walked six times by Millikin's pair of throwers.
Four pitchers participated in game one today for Wheaton, with
Nate Barker registering one strikeout in his final collegiate appearance for the Thunder.
Alex Bagley also sat down one Big Blue batter, and the last two K's were tallied by
Larry Arndt, who allowed no hits or runs in an impressive two innings of relief.Â
Kyle Wu was 3-4 at the plate in the first contest on Saturday, while
Daniel Hillyer was 2-3 and scored the only run for Wheaton.
Mason Diel also fired off a pair of hits, and senior catcher
Tyler Weiner got a hit in his only at-bat during his last game for Wheaton.
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With the home side playing for the right to host next week's CCIW Tournament and an outright regular season title, the expectation may have been that the Big Blue would earn a Saturday sweep in game two this afternoon. But the Thunder, led by senior pitcher
Brendan Dyer in a noteworthy display on the mound, spoiled the party and ended their season with something to celebrate by capturing a 3-2 road win against the odds.
Wheaton made the perfect start by scoring twice in the opening frame via
Harrison Stanton and
Joe Klein, and the Thunder defense made quick work of Millikin's batters in the first two innings, allowing just one hit. The Big Blue halved the deficit in the third with a sacrifice fly, and tied the game at 2-2 two frames later after blanking Wheaton's offense. But Dyer's pitching and some alert fielding by the Thunder prevented Millikin from pulling in front and held the determined hosts off long enough for Wheaton to come up with the winning run. After a
Daniel Hillyer single and a pitching change in the top of the seventh inning, Stanton blasted a single of his own into right field to bring his fellow senior across home plate and restore Wheaton's lead. Four line-outs across the next six at-bats for Millikin kept the Thunder's narrow advantage in place and meant that the game would be decided in the final frame.
The Big Blue made quick work of Wheaton in the top half with three line-outs of its own, but any hopes that the hosts had of a dramatic walk-off victory to clinch the outright CCIW title proved in vain. After working the tying run up to second place, Millikin saw a second out recorded thanks to an excellent leap and base-touch by first baseman
Jacob Snyder. A pinch hitter then stepped into the box to try to save the day for the Big Blue, but he grounded out to Stanton at third base, and Wheaton hung on for a notable road win.
The Thunder again recorded more hits than their favored hosts, this time at a 8-7 line, and neither team committed an error in game two. Both teams stranded six opposition baserunners, and Wheaton got to take first base from walks and hits-by-pitch four times compared to just once for Millikin. Both pitching crews recorded six strikeouts, while Hillyer and Snyder each stole a base for the Thunder, and neither side earned any extra-base hits in a tight defensive struggle.
Stanton led the Wheaton offense in game two, recording two hits, one run, and the winning RBI. Hillyer again posted a pair of hits and scored one time, and these two were matched on two hits by
Kyle Wu.
Jacob Snyder went for one hit and one RBI, while
Mason Diel hit once and
Joe Klein scored a run.
The MVP of the Thunder's game two win was undoubtedly the senior Dyer, who pitched a complete game and sat down a contest-best six opposition batters to earn the win on the mound in his final outing for Wheaton. The Avon, Connecticut native did not walk a single Millikin player and allowed zero extra-base hits in a standout last showing for his team.
With the 2024 season now in the books, the Thunder will head into a nine-month break before returning to competition in February 2025. Next year's roster is sure to look different given the 14 graduating seniors on this season's team sheet, but Wheaton will still return talented players in the fall and can welcome in a new class of freshmen prospects to aid in the turnover.
