River Forest, Ill. -- The Wheaton softball team took to the field for the first time since returning from this year's Spring Break trip to Florida, traveling to nearby Concordia University Chicago for a pair of games this afternoon. The hosting Cougars won both contests by a narrow margin on Tuesday, topping the Thunder, 4-2, in game one before holding on for a 4-3 victory in the second fixture. Today's games represented the first true road tests for Wheaton in 2025, and the team will open its home account next time out.
The Cougars opened the scoring in their first batting series of the day. Wheaton nearly responded in the top of the second, but CUC stranded the Thunder runners on second and third base to escape unscathed. Consecutive RBI singles in the bottom half then pushed the hosts' lead up to 3-0. Freshman outfielder
Soleil Weaver (pictured right) was the only Wheaton player to register a hit between the third and seventh innings, as the NACC side successfully stifled the visitors' bats.
CUC added another run in the fifth frame to seemingly create permanent separation, only for the Thunder to pick up two in the top of the sixth. After a hit-by-pitch and a walk put runners on first and second, a fielding error by Concordia's shortstop allowed
Abie Brown and
Livi Figueroa to cross home plate. But the comeback was not to be, as the hosts got the third out they needed to close out the inning before sealing the victory with a three-up, three-down series in the top of the seventh.
Concordia Chicago posted seven hits to Wheaton's three in Tuesday's first game, while the home side made one error and the visitors committed two. No bases were stolen in game one, and both squads managed just one extra-base hit in a tight defensive affair.
Weaver tallied all three of the Thunder's hits in the first game today, while Brown and Figueroa each scored a run.
Kennedy Kemp pitched all six innings in the circle, conceding seven hits and two walks to the 29 batters she faced. Additionally, it was her swing that caused the error that allowed Brown and Figueroa to score Wheaton's runs in the sixth inning.
The Thunder began today's second game with a pair of hits to generate some offensive momentum. But Concordia Chicago ended the inning before the two Wheaton runners on base could reach home. A two-RBI double in the bottom of the first helped extend the home side's early lead to 3-0, and a third inning that saw the Cougars pick up three quick outs before notching a home run put the hosts on track for their second win of the day. But the Thunder carved their way back into the game in their next batting series, as a walk and a fielding error allowed
Paige Andrews and
Mia Reinhard to get on base. Figueroa then stepped up to blast a RBI double into right-center to score pinch runner
Isabel Hillyer and get Wheaton on the board. CUC sat down the next two batters, but Kemp fired off a single that enabled Reinhard to cross the pentagon and halve the deficit at 4-2.
After blanking the Cougars in the bottom of the fourth, Wheaton put itself in a good position to tie the game in the fifth inning, as Weaver and
Olivia Nahorniak each singled and eventually reached second and third base. But with two outs already on the board, a subsequent ground out cut the Thunder's rally short and preserved the hosts' lead. Another RBI single from Kemp in the sixth frame brought Figueroa in to score and put Wheaton within one run of their local opponents. The visitors then loaded the bases with two outs to spare, but a successful tag-out at home plate denied the tying run from scoring, and this was followed by a fly out that helped CUC maintain its advantage by the narrowest of margins. Wheaton's defense impressed after the first inning, giving up just one run and three hits in the remainder of the contest. But another seventh-inning three-up, three-down sequence ended the Thunder's spirited rally as Concordia Chicago did just enough to secure the sweep on Tuesday.
Wheaton out-hit its host in today's second game, posting eight to CUC's six. The Thunder also enjoyed a clean, error-free performance while Concordia Chicago committed a pair of mistakes. But the Cougars' baserunning and extra-base hits ultimately helped make the difference in the competitive clash.
Victoria Barbar pitched the first three innings for Wheaton in game two, while
Shylah Dozeman had a great showing in her three frames of relief work, striking out three Cougars and giving up no runs, no walks, and just two hits from ten batters faced.
Kemp was 2-3 at the plate with two RBI in game two, while Figueroa posted one hit, one run, and one RBI. Nahorniak joined Kemp on two hits, with Andrews, Weaver, and Whitehead accounting for Wheaton's other hits in the second portion of today's doubleheader. Hillyer and Reinhard each contributed one run in game two this afternoon.
Next up, the Thunder welcome Principia College to campus on Saturday for their home-opening doubleheader. The two games are scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM this weekend at Ruth Leedy Field.
