Carol Stream, Ill. -- After playing the first leg of their two-game weekend series yesterday afternoon in Kenosha, the Wheaton and Carthage baseball teams met once again on Saturday, this time at Lee Pfund Stadium. Today's matchup was a more competitive and back-and-forth contest than Friday's game, and the home side ultimately prevailed again, as the Thunder used a late surge to top the Firebirds, 6-4. Wheaton improves to 2-1 in conference play as a result of this weekend's split with its Wisconsin opponent, while Carthage falls to 1-2 in CCIW action.
The visitors got off to a perfect start in today's game, firing off consecutive home runs in their first two at-bats to race into an early lead. Carthage did not put a runner on base until the third inning, as the Firebirds got another lead-off home run to begin the second frame before the next three batters had to return to the dugout. Wheaton responded with two runs of its own in the first batting series, as
Noah Yi and
Braden Engel both walked before being brought in to score by RBI singles from
Payton McClowry and
Nathan Hedlund, respectively. The Thunder had a chance to take their first lead in the opening frame, but Carthage got the third out it needed to strand the three Wheaton runners on base following Hedlund's hit and took a narrow 3-2 advantage into the third inning.
Carthage put men on second and third base with only one out in the top of the third, but the home side returned the favor and did not allow either of these players to score before the teams flipped sides.
Jack Gill then launched a ground-rule double over the center field wall and was subsequently brought home by an RBI double from Hedlund to tie the score at 3-3 after three frames. The next two innings were comparatively sleepy, as both sides only mustered one or two hits and left a single runner in the field. But Carthage reverted to old habits in the top of the sixth with another solo home run to start the inning and moved back in front at 4-3. The guests then managed to again send a runner to third base with two outs to spare, but Wheaton had the answer with another strikeout-ground out combo to limit the damage.
The seventh frame proved to be the turning point in Saturday's tight-knit struggle. After once again stranding two Firebird runners in scoring position, Wheaton tallied three runs in the bottom half to build a lead it would not give up.
Alex Bagley registered his first hit of the season with a lead-off triple and was immediately brought across the pentagon by Yi to the score back up at 4-4. After Engel reached first with a single of his own and Yi got to move up an extra bag thanks to an interference call on the Carthage third baseman, McClowry capitalized on the situation and ripped a two-RBI shot into right field to score his two teammates and put the Thunder ahead by two runs. It was then up to Wheaton's pitchers and fielders to see the game out, and they did just that, not allowing any runs in the final two innings and thereby preventing the Firebirds from earning a weekend sweep. Carthage notched back-to-back singles in the top of the eighth to give itself a fighting chance, but a sharp two-out effort from Yi ended this rally prematurely.
Sean Smith (pictured below) then entered the game as Wheaton's ninth-inning closer for the second time this week, and just as he did in Tuesday's win at Carroll, he brought about the three outs his team needed
to seal the victory. As a result, the Thunder were able to celebrate their third-consecutive win on home turf and move one game ahead of the Firebirds in the CCIW standings.
Both teams had ten hits in Saturday's competitive contest. Wheaton did not enjoy the same home run tally that Carthage did this afternoon, but the Thunder matched their guests on two doubles and collected a triple for their extra-base haul. The home side also had the game's only stolen bag, drew more walks, and stranded fewer of its own runners on base at a five to eight measure.
Bagley, Gill, Hedlund, and McClowry all tallied two hits for Wheaton this afternoon, with the former pair each scoring one run. McClowry earned a game-high three RBI and Hedlund contributed two. Engel and Yi both posted one hit and two runs, with the latter also going for one RBI and the only stolen base of the day.
Nate Burden started the day on the mound and sat down an impressive nine Carthage batters across his six innings of work. The freshman walked only one Firebird hitter and gave up just two hits into the field from the 26 batters he faced.
JD Van Hook replicated his feat from Tuesday's game and earned the win this afternoon with another scoreless showing, tallying two strikeouts in two innings of relief. Smith then picked up his second save of the week with his final-inning cameo, tossing a pivotal strikeout to help Wheaton close out the game.
The Thunder will stay at Lee Pfund Stadium for their next contest, as the team finishes another two-game program against the CCIW's other Wisconsin side, the Carroll Pioneers. Wheaton and Carroll are set to meet at 5 PM on Wednesday for the second leg of their regular season series following the Thunder's 5-3 victory in Waukesha this past Tuesday.
